Mirrorless Super-Telephoto Lenses: What You Should Know
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Loading... - Somantha Victor
- 14 Jun 2022
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It is no secret that all the way back in 2008, Panasonic kicked off what would eventually become a revolution within the camera industry, when they launched the Lumix DMC-G1. This unassuming, comparatively small, digital camera with interchangeable lenses was the first Mirrorless camera.
Today, 14 years later, every mainstream camera manufacturer offers mirrorless cameras within their line-up. In fact, mirrorless cameras make up the majority of cameras on sale today along with lenses for these cameras. But there has been a bit of an empty spot on the shelf of most mirrorless manufacturers: Super-Telephoto Lenses.
A super-telephoto lens is generally considered a lens with a focal length above 400mm. This is where lenses start to get big, heavy and expensive, and most camera manufacturers simply did not have a proper selection of these lenses for their mirrorless line-up. That has changed and since 2018, an increasing amount of super-telephoto lenses have been released, with both Canon and Nikon bringing some brand new glass to the party. They’re big and heavy, but not as big and heavy as you might expect…
NEW CANON ENTRIES
Canon upped the ante when they announced the RF 1200mm f/8 L IS USM Lens in 2022. As this is being written, the Canon RF 1200mm is the longest full-frame focal length lens in production and you can add a 2x extender. Yes, you read that correctly; 2400mm of Canon L-series goodness.
Now for the really important part. The big and heavy part. You might not know this, but Canon has made a 1200mm lens before. In 1993 the EF 1200mm f/5.6 was unveiled and if you look at this lens, next to a person for scale, it is a little bit ridiculous. It was 83.6cm in length.
It gets even more ridiculous. This lens weighed 16.5kg. This was not a usable lens. Apparently, fewer than 100 were ever made and Canon discontinued it in 2005. Fast forward to 2022 and the new RF 1200mm f/8 L IS USM is a very different beast.
When you pick it up you are shocked by the weight of the lens. The lack of weight. It catches you by surprise and is far lighter than you expect. How about 13.16kg lighter than the old 1200mm? The RF 1200mm weighs in at just 3.34kg, and while that is definitely still a heavy lens, it is a vast improvement on what came before. In addition, the new lens is also 299mm shorter and significantly “thinner.”
Along with the RF 1200mm, Canon also announced a new RF 800mm f/5.6 L IS USM lens. At the time of writing, Canon still manufacture a EF 800mm f/5.6 L IS USM Lens and this has been in production since 2008. One would not expect as significant an improvement in size and weight as on the 1200mm, dealing with a far newer lens design compared to the 1200mm from 1993, but the new RF 800mm is still quite a bit smaller and lighter.
A 1.36kg weight loss is nothing to scoff at and the RF 800mm f/5.6 is 29mm shorter than the EF 800mm, not bad at all.
With these two new additions, Canon now offers a range of L-series super-telephoto prime lenses designed to meet the most serious of demands. In addition to the RF 1200mm f/8 and RF 800mm f/5.6, an RF 600mm f/4 and RF 400mm f/2.8 is also available. Read More…
