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BradleyGibson
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Registered: Jul 28, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 39
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Review Date: Dec 17, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $10,900.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Diminutive size for an optic of this length, and very reasonable weight as well.
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Cons:
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Top 10 cons about this lens:
10. Rather long min. focus distance of 6m (workaround: use extension tubes).
9. "Only" f/5.6 (workaround: use a high-ISO-friendly body).
8. Price (workaround: start playing the lottery?)
7. Price
6. Price
...
1. Did I mention the price? :)
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The lens is built to the best of Canon's toughness standards. No plastic--er, I mean--"polycarbonate" barrels here. Yet despite the build quality is actually lighter than the 600 f/4 and 400 f/2.8! 16% lighter, actually!
It takes the same hood as the 400/2.8 (so you an get an idea of the size of the first optic) and is just a hair longer than the 600 f/4 (by only 5mm--the thickness of a few coins.)
I find the lens is handholdable for reasonable lengths of time, but to get every last ounce of quality you'll want to tripod mount it.
On the tripod, the IS 'wanders' negating its effectiveness at longer shutter speeds. The effect cannot be seen in the viewfinder--use LiveView at 10x to watch the scene slide around. Note that this is direct contrast to what Canon says--that the IS is tripod-aware and will help with issues like mirror slap (and presumably shutter vibration, wind vibration, and vibration from the photographer moving about nearby--all of which are issues with this lens). You must turn off IS at slow shutter speeds with this lens. I tested a number of other lenses, tripods and bodies, and have determined this to be normal behavior across the EF 200/2L IS USM, EF 300/2.8L IS USM and EF 800/5.6L IS USM lenses with a 5D Mark II and a 1D Mark III with carbon and aluminum tripods. Others have reported similar behavior with other Canon super-teles. At high shutter speeds, I don't see how it will hurt--IS will at worst turn high-frequency vibration into low-frequency vibration, which the high shutter speed will all but eliminate, yielding sharper pictures.
I found that this lens magnifies the air itself, readily showing heat waves (even with snow on the ground here in Seattle) once the sun comes up. This shows up as somewhat ugly bokeh; I've shot in more stable air (including indoor) and/or with a faster shutter speed to eliminate the problem.
With all the factors 'just right', this lens does just what it claims. Obviously with 16x optical magnifcation, it will demand the very best of your technique to realize this, but the buttery smooth bokeh, and the pin-sharp details will make it all worth it.
Recommended--if you don't mind working on your technique.
-Brad
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 Dec 17, 2009
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thedigitalbean
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Buy and Sell: On
Registered: Jun 24, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 4151
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Review Date: Jun 21, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $10,600.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Very sharp, beautiful colors, fast AF, very effective IS, lack of CA
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Cons:
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Vignetting at f/5.6, price
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I've had this lens for 9 months now so I think I have a good idea of its characteristics. I had the 600 before and still have the 500.
The IQ is incredible and its a fine piece of glass. It does vignette at f/5.6. One other difference between this and the 500 and 600 is the lack of CA, even at the edges of the frame. The IS is also a lot of more effective. I've found that I can forego the Wimberley and shoot with a monopod or even short bursts handheld (something I couldn't really do with the 600).
Yes its expensive but the sting of the cost goes away after a few months 
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Jun 21, 2009
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Dantis
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Registered: May 6, 2009
Location: Lithuania
Posts: 0
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May 7, 2009
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dolina
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Registered: Nov 5, 2008
Location: United States
Posts: 1125
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Review Date: Feb 16, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Longest Canon lens in production, 4-stop IS, 1.9lbs lighter than the 600/4L IS, full weather seal, faster AF and age (marketed late 2007, shipped mid-2008). Updated design makes it look like it wasn't designed from the 90's.
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Cons:
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Some vignetting at f/5.6, price (though justifiable due to its "newness) and a lens case that's two inches too big for airline carry on. Lens cover is cumbersome to use. No AF using EF 2x Ext and center-point AF for EF 1.4x Ext with 1-series bodies only.
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This is my first Super Telephoto lens and decided to go big time. It's almost perfect except for the fact that it isn't f/4 but it's understandable seeming it'll weigh much much much more and be longer by maybe a foot.
This lens is perfect for those who aren't willing to go into the water or want to shoot from the comfort of their car seat when doing wildlife photography.
On a full frame body it is perfect for polo games where you are situated in the center field and the horses/riders are at the goal post. On a 1D body it would fill the frame and on a 1.6x cropped body it'll be too long.
When using 2x extenders you lose all AF. While 1.4x extenders allows only center-point AF on a 1-series body.
This is my experience shooting the moon. With the combination of 800L + 2x Ext + 40D body the full moon fills the top and bottom of the frame perfectly.
It would be perfectly priced if it was $1000 more than the 600/4L IS.
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Feb 16, 2009
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mikerae
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Registered: Feb 12, 2009
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 13
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Review Date: Feb 12, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Outstanding image quality, Image Stabilization, Fast accurate focus, Relatively low weight,
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Cons:
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Usual silly Canon case and end cover,
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I have used the 800 f5.6 since August 08 and the 500 f4 for three years and can give you my opinion on the two lenses I use. The image quality from the 500 is really excellent, however, the 800 is better. The best way I can describe the difference is that the RAW images from the 800 look as if they have been sharpened when compared side by side with the 500 images. The difference is small but still obvious to my eye. I was using the 500 with a lot with a canon 1.4 converter and the 800 image quality is very obviously much better than the 500 + 1.4.
Apart from the step up in image quality with the 800 it also has much improved Image Stabilization that has allowed me to get usable images that I would have found almost impossible with the 500. It is possible to get sharp images from the 800 at ridiculously slow shutter speeds (much slower than 100/sec) when hand holding or resting the lens on a car door etc. Hand held example
http://www.mikerae.com/life-in-the-landscape/52/otters-west-coast-scotland-and-hebrides#image173
resting on hide window example
http://www.mikerae.com/life-in-the-landscape/56/life-and-landscape-in-east-anglia#image181
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Feb 12, 2009
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burningheart
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Registered: Mar 20, 2005
Location: Canada
Posts: 1228
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Review Date: Jul 30, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Quiet fast focus, excellent image stabilization, great IQ, lighter than thought, can be handheld for short periods of time. Terrific detail very sharp and takes beautiful shots on my modified IR 5D.
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Cons:
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I would prefer a builtin hood like the old FD version or the 400 F5.6L, The case has no room for accessories and is a little hard to close if you don't get it in just rigt, no negatives on the lens itself.
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As I moved from FD to EF lenses this was the only focal length that was not available tha I had in FD. Once this was announced I wanted it. Once it arrived was suprised how light this lens was and how well balanced. Though both weigh essentially the same. The old FD was very front heavy but the EF is better balanced in the center. The first tests were handheld with IS on and it worked great.
I find it very fast to focus, while mounted on my wimberley I was following a small bird quickly moving around the rocks by a creek, each time I depressed the shutter button halfway down it was instant focus.
The lens is tack sharp and even looks great at ISO3200 on a 5D.
Took a few shots with my modified 5D for IR and again extremely fast focus, sharp and great IQ.
What don't I like the is lens hood, you reverse it over the end of the lens and put the lens bag on. I prefer a builtin hood which would be much quicker to setup. For the dollars Canon charges they could have provided a builtin hood. as it turns out this hood is the same as the EF 400 F2.8, even the front lens bag identifies both lenses on it.
The image quality surpases the old FD version by miles.
You may pay a lot more than a shorter focal lengths, but the nice thing is it is 800mm without TC's. No loss of aperature or IQ. Extension tubes are handy to have when using this lens so you can decrease minimum focal length. Great lens highly recommend.
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Jul 30, 2008
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HOWARD KEARLEY
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Registered: Jul 16, 2008
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 2557
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Review Date: Jul 28, 2008
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Recommend? |
Price paid: Not Indicated
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Pros:
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Image quality, balance.
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Cons:
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price, but guess you get what you pay for.
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picked my lens up at the weekend in the UK.
WOW!
used hand held and wow what a delight, Image quality is just superb.
soon forgot about the price when using this beauty!
www.howardkearley.com
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Jul 28, 2008
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HOWARD KEARLEY
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Registered: Jul 16, 2008
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 2557
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Review Date: Jul 28, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Image quality, balance.
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Cons:
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price, but guess you get what you pay for.
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Picked this up in the UK at the weekend.
WOW! used this hand held and Images are just great!, soon forgot about the price when using this beauty.
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Jul 28, 2008
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JWilsonphoto
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Registered: Jan 16, 2002
Location: United States
Posts: 5843
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Review Date: Jul 8, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $11,800.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Build quality, balance, image character, performance.
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Cons:
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It's not $499.00 :) You get what you pay for.
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I picked up my 800 late last week and shot a few test images on the way home. The conditions were challenging, a 100 degree Texas afternoon with heat waves that were almost solid objects. The lens performed well in those conditions, although it was confused at times between the intended subject and the heat waves, completely understandable. On the other hand, if your going for a Monet effect, you can create some incredible images in these conditions.
The second outing was a much cooler morning and closer subjects. The 800 performed flawlessly in every mode. Autofocus is fast and accurate, the character and color of the images produce by this marvel are nothing short of amazing. The lens is nicely balanced, much easier to shoot with than my 600, and I do all my work hand held.
Great work Canon!
Jim Wilson
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Jul 8, 2008
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fredster
Online
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Registered: Jun 8, 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 147
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Review Date: Jun 25, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $11,500.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Images are tack sharp! fast focus, you can hand hold it, one fine piece of equipment!
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Cons:
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Why Canon did not do this much sooner! cannot fine fault with it.
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Today I had a nice day sunny skies so i figured I road test the lens boy was I surprised when I got home and looked at the images a Killer lens to take killer images!! I really fell in love with this lens!!
from X413169 down were all taken today and all were hand held all
are raw images right out of the box. I want to thank Greg for hosting my images.
http://www.gschneiderphoto.com/800samples
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Jun 25, 2008
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Scott Salter
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Registered: Sep 9, 2006
Location: Australia
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Jun 20, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Longest lens currently in the canon line up but not as long or heavy as the 600 f4.
Image quality to die for I repeat to die for!! Can be hand held if your shoulders hold up min can manage one or two shots only. http://www.pbase.com/scottsdigital/800_f56
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Cons:
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The price but I guess you get what you pay for.
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Jun 20, 2008
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