Canon 600mm f/4L IS III (Page 2): Tend to agree. The OP might consider renting this lens to test it for his intended purposes. A fair test, however, will include effective handholding...

anotherview Loc: California

Tend to agree. The OP might consider renting this lens to test it for his intended purposes. A fair test, however, will include effective handholding technique.

Meanwhile, have a read here for this lens: https://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-600mm-f-4L-IS-III-USM-Lens.aspx

BassmanBruce wrote:

A “sharp” lens that has issues at slow shutter speeds is a reflection on the user/reviewers not the lens.

goldstar46 Loc: Tampa, Fl

anotherview wrote:

Tend to agree. The OP might consider renting this lens to test it for his intended purposes. A fair test, however, will include effective handholding technique.

Meanwhile, have a read here for this lens: https://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-600mm-f-4L-IS-III-USM-Lens.aspx

raymondh Loc: Walker, MI

goldstar46 wrote:

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Thank you for confirming what I have always felt about the 300 F2.8. I got it a couple years ago. It is an awesome lens. I also have the 1.4 & 2.0 extenders.
I’d like to do some birding & I think you lose a bit of aperture & focus speed using extenders. I appreciate your input.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

raymondh wrote:

Thank you for confirming what I have always felt about the 300 F2.8. I got it a couple years ago. It is an awesome lens. I also have the 1.4 & 2.0 extenders.
I’d like to do some birding & I think you lose a bit of aperture & focus speed using extenders. I appreciate your input.

Assure you're in AI Servo with the extenders. My experience is the stop / start of the AF is slower / sluggish vs just having the AF always engaged.

If you read the Digital Picture review linked above, when it gets to their analysis of the sharpness of the lens, they indicate they looked at three copies of the lens. They see some improvements in the technical aspects of the images while the absolute sharpness might be given to the v II lens.

When talking about the sharpest of the sharp, I own the 300L II and have rented the 400L II. I'd say the 400 is even sharper if I was given truth serum.

raymondh Loc: Walker, MI

Gene51 wrote:

This was a feral cat - taken at 1/25 sec, hand hel... (show quote)

Can’t argue with the quality or sharpness of these images. I suspect that you graduated top of your class at sniper school-I’m nowhere near that steady.

goldstar46 Loc: Tampa, Fl

raymondh wrote:

Thank you for confirming what I have always felt about the 300 F2.8. I got it a couple years ago. It is an awesome lens. I also have the 1.4 & 2.0 extenders.
I’d like to do some birding & I think you lose a bit of aperture & focus speed using extenders. I appreciate your input.

MountainDave

goldstar46 wrote:

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I bought a 300 2.8L IS II a few months ago mainly for the reasons you state. I was lusting after a used 600 vII but on the used market, it is almost 2X the 300. I shoot almost everything handheld, so weight is a factor too.

I already owned a few of Canon's best, but this lens was a revelation. Besides the insane clarity, the bokeh and color is to die for. The brightness is very noticeable too. At 5.6, the shutter speed is much higher than my 100-400 II for with the same ISO. No doubt this helps the AF which performs the best of any lens I have. It consistently focuses on the eye of a tiny, drab bird in poor light and a low contrast background. The biggest surprise is how well it works with my backup camera, a 77D, which can struggle with long lenses but performs superbly with the 300. This opens anther option where I can have a FOV of 480 and 2.8.

I bought mine used which saved 1800.

raymondh Loc: Walker, MI

Notorious T.O.D. wrote:

Or buy an R5 and RF100-500 and probably save some money...maybe enough to get an R6 and some other new RF lenses...and with an adapter you can use your existing L lenses...

Not quite ready for the R models yet. I figure that a 600 L lens will keep my existing dslrs in play and also work on mirrorless when I go that route.

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

You might want to check out Jeff Cable’s blog posts on the R5 and R6 if you have not read them...

raymondh wrote:

Not quite ready for the R models yet. I figure that a 600 L lens will keep my existing dslrs in play and also work on mirrorless when I go that route.

Bill_de Loc: US

raymondh wrote:

The link refers to the II model, not the III.

My error ... sorry!

Canon has this one (I think this is it) listed as backordered. Amazon shows it with 1 to 2 month delay, with delivery between April 16 and May 8th

https://smile.amazon.com/Canon-600mm-III-USM-Lens/dp/B07H4RG6JJ/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=canon+ef+600mm+f%2F4l+is+ii+usm+lens&qid=1617028934&sr=8-3

B&H says expected availability in 2 -4 weeks.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1433722-REG/canon_ef_600mm_f_4l_is.html

That's if I picked the correct lens this time.

Of course if it was on a ship that had to get through the Suez Canal there may be further delays.

---

raymondh Loc: Walker, MI

Bill_de wrote:

My error ... sorry! br br Canon has this one (I t... (show quote)

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

goldstar46 wrote:

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I like that suggestion. My son has the 300 f2.8L which I occasionally use, and it is a phenomenal lens, with or without an extender, and at 6Lbs, it isn’t light, but manageable.

raymondh Loc: Walker, MI

anotherview wrote:

Tend to agree. The OP might consider renting this lens to test it for his intended purposes. A fair test, however, will include effective handholding technique.

Meanwhile, have a read here for this lens: https://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-600mm-f-4L-IS-III-USM-Lens.aspx

This is a very detailed review that I hadn’t read. Thank you!!

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

raymondh wrote:

Can’t argue with the quality or sharpness of these images. I suspect that you graduated top of your class at sniper school-I’m nowhere near that steady.

Thanks!

Nah. I've been shooting lots of wildlife for many years. With cameras. I've never shot a gun, but I use sniper training methods - well-proven and have yet to fail me. It doesn't hurt that I forego coffee/tea on shooting days, and I completely avoid soft drinks and energy drinks.

But this completely blew me away. A kill shot at 2.2 miles.

https://www.military.com/video/canadian-sniper-reportedly-hits-isis-fighter-22-miles-away-breaks-record

The Canadian snipers are pretty amazing:

https://www.businessinsider.com/canadian-snipers-set-longest-kill-records-amid-fighting-in-afghanistan-2021-3

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

raymondh wrote:

I was considering rounding out my Canon L lens collection by spending my kids inheritance on this bad boy. Initially I read that this was one of the sharpest in the Canon family but I have since read some reviews from those that have it that it produces unusable images at slow shutter speeds. And Canon doesn't have it listed on their web site.
Any guesses on chances that Canon will correct the problem?

Canon won't be fixing the problem because it is a user problem and NOT a lens fault! It is simply vibration originating somewhere in the process of capturing the image and at 600mm vibration is greatly amplified.

bwa