Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM

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I was very surprised at just how light this lens is, you can read about it but until you actually put it into use, it just does not register. I recently acquired it, but my initial impression is that it is just a fabulous lens, which can be hand held easily, IQ is great, and improvbements to the IS is noticable. If you can afford it, go for it!

price, but you get what you pay for.

This lens is very similar to the rest of the version 2 super teles.
It is a big step up from the previous version.
Colour, contrast, sharpness, speed, weight, everything is better here, also the build quality.
I think the balance here is better than in the old 500, I can hand hold this one equally as good as the old 500, but the tracking and speed is much better in the new series.
It takes extenders extremely well, I can almost not see the difference between using the 1.4 (v3) or not.
Highly recommended.

I will shortly upload shots taken with this on my website www.phodiography.com

There have been enough reviews of this lens so I will just add a few opinions. I was surprised how light this lens is compared to the old one. It is bulky and looks like it should be a lot heavier. Reminded me of when I first picked up a 400DO and it was lighter than it looked. Tack sharp after calibration even with the new 2x teleconverter (which needed a lot of adjustment). First super tele I have had that was sharp with the 2x TC.
Barely fits in my roller bag but it does fit. Price is hard to justify because a used 500mm v1 is so good and less than 1/2 the price but that is a personal decision. (I just sold my old 500 here on FM and that was a great lens) Conclusion: The new 600 is a remarkable lens in all respects but not twice as good as the old 500mm.

Price (of course), massive lens hood

Let me start off by saying that I own the 500/4L II and previously owned the 500/4 L I and 800/5.6L.

Compared to the 500/L I, this lens has no CA, and youre getting 100mm extra for the same weight. Focusing with extenders is much, much faster, and the 4-stop IS is a Godsend. If you can afford it, it's a no-brainer.

Compared to the 500/L II, this lens is heavier, larger, and more expensive. Image quality and AF speed of both is excellent, but the 500 II is considerably more handholdable. Something about the 600 II that makes it more uncomfortable to handhold.

Compared to the 800/5.6, this lens is lighter, but fatter which makes keeping it in the car on your lap more difficult. Minimum focusing distance improvements is welcome, as I kept an extension tube on my 800/5.6 all the time for smaller birds which tended to come close. Focusing speed with 1dx is of course excellent and with the 1.4x III is at least as fast as the bare 800. If you are using a 1d mk IV i would recommend the 800 over the 600 + 1.4x since hunting performance is slower on that body with extenders. One other improvement over the 800 is that with the 1.4x, the 600 exhibits less vignetting - the 800 has quite stong vignetting on FF. However, personally, I think the 800 was slightly more comfortable to handhold than the 600/4 II for some reason.

I have yet to take the 600 on a real outing, just trips to the local park and such, but already I think I'm going to be living with this lens for many many many years to come. It's tack sharp, easy to handle on a tripod, and the focusing is ridiculously fast. I would recommend this lens be used with the 1Dx and the v3 extenders. I would also recommend a solid tripod and gimbal - RRS Series 3 or Gitzo Series 5 (Gitzo Series 3 is not stable enough for focal length), along with a full Wimberly or Mongoose head.

As for buying it, if youre not in a rush, wait for a Crutchfield "double points" special. With my points from buying this lens, I got $1,300 in gift cards from which you can use on other fun stuff, like a 1Dx or a new Flatscreen!

None of any significance

This only a tentative review as I used the lens for no more than 45 minutes, mostly for hand-held BIF shooting, courtesy of a local friend who let me use his brand new lens.

600 II behaves very similar to 500 II, in fact if it wasn't for the additional heft, I could be fooled into believing I was shooting with the 500 II.

However, some aspects of AF response are similar to 800L.

Lastly, the lens is noticeably more difficult to handle than 500 f/4 MkI and 400 MkII, although all those lenses are of similar weight. After about 1/2 hr of fairly intense swinging the lens to and fro, my back began to hurt.