Canon drops two new big whites, at a combined price of $37K! Meet the Canon RF 800mm f/5.6 and Canon RF 1200mm f/8
(Image credit: Canon)
After a series of leaks, the Canon RF 800mm f/5.6 L IS USM and Canon RF 1200mm f/8 L IS USM lenses have been officially announced – and these two new "big whites" come with big price tags to match, with the 800mm clocking in at $16,999 / £19,099.99 / AU$29,799 and the 1200mm at $20,000 / £22,449.99 / $35,099.
As Canon points out, the Canon RF 1200mm f/8 L IS USM is "the world’s longest AF focal length lens for mirrorless cameras" and "the longest focal length on the market that isn’t a telescope".
It is also "the smallest lens of its size ever released", being 13kgs lighter and 30cm shorter than the Canon EF 1200mm f/5.6L USM, weighing in at a comparatively light 3.34kg. It also boasts up to 4 stops of image stabilization, which will no doubt be amplified when used with stabilized bodies like the Canon EOS R3, Canon EOS R5 and Canon EOS R6.
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Canon RF 1200mm f/8 L IS USM(Image credit: Canon)
Canon RF 1200mm f/8 L IS USM(Image credit: Canon)
Canon RF 1200mm f/8 L IS USM(Image credit: Canon)
Canon RF 1200mm f/8 L IS USM(Image credit: Canon)
Canon RF 1200mm f/8 L IS USM(Image credit: Canon)
The Canon RF 800mm f/5.6 L IS USM can't make the industry beating size boasts as its longer sibling, but is nonetheless Canon’s shortest and lightest ever 800mm L-series lens at just over 3.1kg.
However, the 800mm f/5.6 does achieve a class-leading focusing distance of just 2.6m ("less than half the distance of other 800mm f/5.6 lenses", according to Canon), while the 1200mm can focus to 4.3m.
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Both optics feature a 9-blade aperture and a host of Canon's top tier lens coatings, including ASC (Air Sphere Coating) to minimize ghosting and flare, particle-repellent fluorine, along with the highly reflective white infrared heat shield coating on the lens bodies that offers UV weather resistance and heat reduction.
As is standard for L lenses they are, of course, fully weather sealed, with drip and dustproof structure employed for the mounting, switch and focus rings. Both also possess complex optical formulas featuring Fluorite, UD (ultra-low dispersion) and Super UD elements, to achieve maximum resolution and correction of chromatic aberration.
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(Image credit: Canon)
(Image credit: Canon)
(Image credit: Canon)
Big, powerful lenses require big, powerful components to shift all those heavy lens elements around. So the lenses feature Ring USM Drive, Dual Power Drive, high-speed CPU and optimized AF algorithms for quick, quiet autofocus performance – marrying with the animal AF modes on the R3, R5 and R6.
Obviously with their enormous price tags, the Canon RF 800mm f/5.6 L IS USM and Canon RF 1200mm f/8 L IS USM lenses aren't aimed at common or garden photographers; rather, they're aimed at sport and wildlife pros, along with the news gathering and surveillance industries. If you have deep pockets, you can pick up both lenses from late May 2022.
James has 22 years experience as a journalist, serving as editor of Digital Camera World for 6 of them. He started working in the photography industry in 2014, product testing and shooting ad campaigns for Olympus, as well as clients like Aston Martin Racing, Elinchrom and L'Oréal. An Olympus, Canon and Hasselblad shooter, he has a wealth of knowledge on cameras of all makes.
