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Archive 2021 · Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM is it still a good lens?

Lassep
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM is it still a good lens?

For about a year I have been saving up for a new setup. I come from Nikon but I am not particular about the brand. This time I decided to move up to a professional telephoto hence the saving up part.

My main subject is birds and wildlife. I work in very flat marsh land so distances are always an issue.

I found a used Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM at a store with a two year warranty, within my budget. Having no prior experience with Canon nor with this lens a I am intrigued, but does lens still hold op optically today?

If I go cannon I am thinking of pairing it with the R5.

Apr 21, 2021 at 01:42 AM

KF
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM is it still a good lens?

Hi Lassep,

the EF 800/5.6 L IS is a wonderful lens. I owned one for many years and it helped me taking a lot of wonderful shots. But... it's really getting to be an 'old' lens now... Big, heavy and the MFD is "terrible" I think it's losing it's value fast now. Not an easy lens to sell anymore....
I sold mine some years ago and have been using the EF 500/4.0 L IS MK II since. Often also in combination with the 1.4 III converter. Much more flexible this way and a lot lighter and smaller. And a much better MFD...
What camera are you using at the moment? Crop or FF makes a difference of course. I've been using full frame all along. Cheers and good luck!

Apr 21, 2021 at 03:13 AM

Lassep
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM is it still a good lens?

Thank you for the reply KF that was exactly what I was hoping to learn. I had a feeling that such a bargain would almost be too good o be true and the lenses ability to resolve is paramount. The 500 looks like a very good choice. Unfortunately both that and the 600 are rare as unicorns second hand here in Europe. I shoot full frame and currently I do not own a camera (the horror, I know)

Apr 21, 2021 at 06:07 AM

Tirpitz666
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM is it still a good lens?

Have you considered as an alternative the Sony A1+200-600 F5.6-6.3G combo that would probably cost together less than a R5+used 800 5.6L?

You will have 5MP more rez (not so important), the fastest focusing camera around with no EVF blackout and zero rolling shutter (important) and a very capable and much more flexible lens which takes the 1.4TC very well. Yes, at 840mm you will be at F9 instead of F5.6, so that is a factor you need to consider of course, but with 50MP of camera, you can as well just shoot at 600mm F6.3 and crop, if light becomes an issue, and at that point the difference vs F5.6 won't be so big anymore

I suggest you take a look at the dedicated image thread in the Sony forum to see what the lens is capable of, it's surprisingly capable for a long zoom.

P.S. oh and of course the zoom is 2.2kg, so perfectly handholdable without have to resort to the mandatory tripop+gimbal that you wil have to use with the massive 800 F5.6, that at least for me is a huge advantage, if you like to shoot on the move.

Apr 21, 2021 at 06:53 AM

OSP2017
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM is it still a good lens?

If you're going to use it bare, 600 f4 + 1.4x gives you 840mm at 5.6 and it's a much more flexible setup. When I add a 1.4x to the 800, I start missing too many shots with my DSLRs. (R5 might be different though?) I do have plenty of good shots taken with the 800 but it's definitely not worth the aggravation for me.

(I do not own an 800 but I've rented two different copies from Canon CPS on several occasions as I really need the reach. One was somewhat better than the other but still too many missed shots.

)

Apr 21, 2021 at 07:07 AM

pcho
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM is it still a good lens?

I own both 800mm F5.6 and the 600mm f4 mklll. Anytime you use extenders you loose detail. For that reason the 800mm paired with R5 produces stunningly sharp images. Yes 800 is heavier but I don’t mind the weight. One point to note is the 800 is not 100% compatible in the sense that I don’t get full 10 shots per second mechanical but I don’t need the 10 shots. However the 600mm F4 mklll you get the full 10 shots per second.
If you can pick up a cheap 800 go for it
Perry

Apr 21, 2021 at 07:28 AM

jaredmizanin
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM is it still a good lens?

I own the 800L as well. I usually need the reach (although it stinks at times when it is too much!) and I was sick of messing around with teleconverters. If I had to do it all over again, the 600 II would be a better choice due to its versatility and better mfd, but I have no regrets. No option is perfect, but the 800 is perfect enough for me. Besides, I got a stellar deal on the 800 and I could not pass it up.

Apr 21, 2021 at 08:05 AM

Scott Stoness
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM is it still a good lens?

I have the 600v2 and use it lots on R5 and previously 5DSR.

My perspective is - they are all (500v3, 600v3, 800) heavier than I would like them to be. Its the price of f4. Get a tripod for long shots. Get a trainer to work on your muscles holding strength.

I use 600v2 for polar bear shooting hand held. Whale shooting too. Its heavy but I have also used it with 5dsr/1.4x shooting off a rolling boat of moma bears and cubs and it worked well. Aside from weight and length it is fantastic.

Remember that 8fps used to be top drawer 10 years ago and everyone got great shots.

Choose between them for reach and price and size and versatility - not Iq. Understand that 800/1.4x is getting really long and atmosphere and narrow field of view make them hard to use. 600v2/1.4 is just as good at 800.

Don't hesitate to buy the 800/5.6 if it is cheaper than 600v2. However, understand that often it will be too long but if you are primarly a long way off, thats fine.. But buy the 600v2 if its cheaper. Its a great lens and more versatile at useful mm.

But based on use (distance) and price, not iq.

Apr 21, 2021 at 08:41 AM

deke4774
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM is it still a good lens?

I own the 800L and use it with the R5 and it produces great quality images.
It will not reach 10 fps though with mechanical shutter as it is not one of the supported lenses; however, it does reach 7 fps in mechanical shutter and will reach 20 fps in electronic shutter.
If you need reach, it is an awesome lens and you can still add a teleconverter for even more.
If the price is right for you, I wouldn't hesitate, although, as mentioned by Jared the 600 II may be a better choice for versatility.
Derek

Apr 21, 2021 at 08:44 AM

Lassep
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM is it still a good lens?

Thank you for the replies.

Tirpitz: I have considered the 200-600 in combination with the A1. More than once. However i already had the A9II 200-600 combo and i was a little dissapointed with the resolving power. It may have been my A9II at fault for the loss of resolution. But i had a really hard time getting sharp images at anything but close distances of 1 - 20 meters.

OSP2017:Yeah i have been searching for a 600 Mark 2 for a while. I´ve seen precious few for sale and those were several thousand more than the 800 5.6 i was looking at. I am hoping more will spill over on the second hand market soon though

pcho: Nice to know it works with the R5 in the first place. Thats pretty good info. I am used to 6-7 FPS with the D850 and that was more than enough for me. I rarely really need a faster shutter speed, but the resolving power at a distance is important for the subjects i shoot. Do you have a gallery or some place i can see some of your pics using the combo?

jaredmizanin: All things considered, the 800 5.6 is about $7.000 which is close to a bargain here in europe. So it is a tempting proposition.

Scott Stoness: Thanks for the tips mate. I would also be looking at the 500 and 600 mark2, but they are never available second hand here. The 800 5.6 is about $2.000 cheaper than the 600s i´ve seen on rare occations, so pricewise it does fit. I am a relatively young and healthy man and i would be able to hand hold pretty heavy lenses, but is that even possible with an 800? i am not sure. I have a great manfrotto tripod with attached gimble, but that would severly limit my photography. Most of the time however i am shooting out of my car window, it is simply the best hide available in such a flat open area.

deke4774:I would love to see some images taken with the combo, do you have any posted somewhere for me to gawk at?

Apr 21, 2021 at 10:36 AM

CyberDyne
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM is it still a good lens?

For me the price would have to be very good to consider it vs. a 600mm IS II or III.

FYI the 800mm and 200mm f/2 are somewhere between the generation 1 IS lenses and the Gen II lenses chronologically, and therefore tech wise. They are far closer to being IS II lenses than the gen 1 to be sure, but the Gen II IS lenses do have better, well, everything.

Apr 21, 2021 at 10:45 AM

Tirpitz666
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM is it still a good lens?

Lassep, fair point on the A9II, but you are talking about a 24MP camera with a pretty heavy AA filter vs a 50MP which apparently doesn't have any, for sure the culprit was not the lens, just look at what the A7RIV can do with that (when it focuses properly, that is)

P.S. don't want to convince anyone, just saying that for me passing from a super-heavy 400 2.8 + 2X TC to a much lighter and flexible 200-600 zoom+1.4X TC that I can easily hand hold was somehow a revelation and I don't feel I've lost that much in terms of IQ, but I may well be less picky than you

Apr 21, 2021 at 12:39 PM

pcho
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM is it still a good lens?

Lassep wrote:
Thank you for the replies.

pcho: Nice to know it works with the R5 in the first place. Thats pretty good info. I am used to 6-7 FPS with the D850 and that was more than enough for me. I rarely really need a faster shutter speed, but the resolving power at a distance is important for the subjects i shoot. Do you have a gallery or some place i can see some of your pics using the 800

Go to my FB page under Perry Cho and 99% of the images are from using the 800mm. By the way the R5 works exceptionally well with 800. It’s the best camera I have ever used and I have owned all the 1 series except for the last one. Eye focus is just stunning. Before that I mainly photographed birds with my 5dsR which I still use successfully.
There is one small issue with re focusing from further away to a horizontal branch that’s closer to you. It struggles a bit and I have missed shots because of it. I have overcome that by roughly performing a manual focus so that I can see the branch before I apply auto focus.

Edited on Apr 21, 2021 at 05:40 PM · View previous versions

Apr 21, 2021 at 03:44 PM

AmbientMike
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM is it still a good lens?

Should be able to add the 2x III to 800 and still have af. At least, reading the Canon page, it says L lenses over 135mm.

Apr 21, 2021 at 03:52 PM

Andrew J
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM is it still a good lens?

AmbientMike wrote:
Should be able to add the 2x III to 800 and still have af. At least, reading the Canon page, it says L lenses over 135mm.

I am sure that is true. I double stack Canon 2x converters on my 600 f/4L vII and retain perfect AF with the R5.

Apr 21, 2021 at 07:12 PM

Lassep
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM is it still a good lens?

Tirpitz: Yes i know it is unfair to judge it on that sensor and i am also mighty tempted to build a Sony A1 system, but that 200-600 would be the center piece (besides some GM´s for landscape/portraits) but that longer lens is the only real option below $12.000 for Sony so it has to deliver and with my prior experience with it i am a little skittish going that route. I have not written it off entirely though!

pcho: Thank you. I think i found the facebook page, man you take some amazing bird pics. How does the 800 handle BIF specifically? and is it at all possible to hand hold the lens?

AmientMike: 1600mm would be pretty mind blowing!

Apr 22, 2021 at 06:33 AM

RobAmy
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM is it still a good lens?

pcho wrote:
There is one small issue with re focusing from further away to a horizontal branch that’s closer to you. It struggles a bit and I have missed shots because of it. I have overcome that by roughly performing a manual focus so that I can see the branch before I apply auto focus.

This is not an 800mm issue at all, most if not all mirrorless suffer from this. Even the 400mm III and 600mm III suffer from this.

Apr 22, 2021 at 06:47 AM

RobAmy
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM is it still a good lens?

I owned the 800mm for 8 1/2 years and loved it, I hand held 90% of my shots with the lens including BIF work. That said I went to the 600mm II and the 600mm III also but settled on 400mm f2.8 III and at 2x it is amazing and has much better MFD. Comes in at 3.5 lbs lighter also. If the price is right is is amazing glass but the 600mm II has some great pricing also. I never was a huge fan of the 2x on the 800mm, granted never used it with the R5 so only had MF with the 1dx bodies. A fun lens but one of the heavier options now.

Apr 22, 2021 at 06:55 AM

Flowernut
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM is it still a good lens?

I've had three 600's over the years and two 800's over the last 30 years. I'd buy the 600. The 600II with a 1.4x generally tests out better than the 800 (the digital picture etc.) Some very well know bird photographers (art moris etc) switched from the 800 to the 600. Considering size, weight, flexibility, optical performance to me the 600III is a no brainer even though the 600II may be a hair better. Unless all you photograph is small birds, the 800 is too restricting in my opinion. I realize many do not share my thoughts and that is ok. We are all entitled to our opinions including me.

Apr 22, 2021 at 06:56 AM

pcho
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM is it still a good lens?

RobAmy wrote:
This is not an 800mm issue at all, most if not all mirrorless suffer from this. Even the 400mm III and 600mm III suffer from this.

Yes I am aware of it, thank you. Hopefully the R3 will have quad pixel and fix the issue.

Apr 22, 2021 at 07:00 AM

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