Best of Canon 2023: #1 RF 200-800 F6.3-9 IS USM

[TheRealUnfocused]

I received my 200-800 from B&H on Friday. Not much chance to use it yet, but I agree it is the top product for Canon this year, mostly because it fills a much-desired niche and outdoes the competition. Is it a replacement for the 100-500? No. It's a big, heavy lens, but not as big or heavy as a big white, and at a fraction of the cost, plus it will fit in my carry-on alongside the 100-500. If you can afford only one lens, then the 100-500 is the obvious choice. But this lens offers an additional 100mm and is modestly faster than the 100-500 with a converter, plus you don't have to deal with the frustratingly short zoom range of the 100-500 with the converter.

This is a lens that I can take along when I might have rented a big white for special trips. Just about four such uses will mean the lens has paid for itself over a rental, plus it's far more convenient to travel with and can be handheld (although I might have to start lifting some weights).

 

[danfaz]

The 500-800 can be achieved by cropping or a TC.

Or by using on an R7, which yields impressive results.

 

[AJ]

He's in Mongolia!

In the middle of winter? That is hardcore. This is coming from a guy who lives on the Canadian Prairies.

 

[Exploreshootshare]

I received my 200-800 from B&H on Friday.

Have fun with it and enjoy it let us hear what you think, please!

 

[skyoctane]

I love this lens too so this was good to see.
Be extremely careful if you’re shooting it on a Canon R3. Mine is off to CPS today. If you own this combo it’s worth checking yours. Scary bad!

 

[bhf3737]

Or by using on an R7, which yeilds impressive results.

Agree. RF 200-800 + EOS R7 + Topaz Denoise AI is probably the most capable and affordable birding and wildlife combo available to date.

 

[AlanF]

Agree. RF 200-800 + EOS R7 + Topaz Denoise AI is probably the most capable and affordable birding and wildlife combo available to date.

Jan Wegener complained about the AF of the 200-800 on the R7. Do you have any experience of this?

 

[bhf3737]

I love this lens too so this was good to see.
Be extremely careful if you’re shooting it on a Canon R3. Mine is off to CPS today. If you own this combo it’s worth checking yours. Scary bad!

I put the lens on R3 and the separation of lens from the body, as described, does not happen in my case. It seems that the problem is not universal and may only apply to a certain batch of lens or cameras.

 

[bhf3737]

Jan Wegener complained about the AF of the 200-800 on the R7. Do you have any experience of this?

The R7 itself has inconsistency in AF, with or without using electronic shutter, on this 200-800 and 100-500 lenses. But when it nails it, the results are exceptional.

 

[Exploreshootshare]

Jan Wegener complained about the AF of the 200-800 on the R7. Do you have any experience of this?

I didnt shoot with the RF 200-800mm on the R7, but I shot with the RF 100-400mm and RF 100-500mm on the R6mkii (one week rental) and the R7 (three months experience). Compared to the R6mkii there more pics out of focus, but we're kind talking about a rate like:
R6mkii 38-39 out of 40 focus nailed
R7: 32-24 out of 40 focus nailed.

I used the R7 during our class field trip of three classes and took around 1.800 pic of kids running, jumping and playing. I delete very, very few pics due missed focus. Totally different story with the EOS R...

 

[AlanF]

The R7 itself has inconsistency in AF, with or without using electronic shutter, on this 200-800 and 100-500 lenses. But when it nails it, the results are exceptional.

I didnt shoot with the RF 200-800mm on the R7, but I shot with the RF 100-400mm and RF 100-500mm on the R6mkii (one week rental) and the R7 (three months experience). Compared to the R6mkii there more pics out of focus, but we're kind talking about a rate like:
R6mkii 38-39 out of 40 focus nailed
R7: 32-24 out of 40 focus nailed.

I used the R7 during our class field trip of three classes and took around 1.800 pic of kids running, jumping and playing. I delete very, very few pics due missed focus. Totally different story with the EOS R...

I find good consistency of AF for both the RF 100-500 and RF 100-400mm on the R7. I tried out the RF 200-800 on an R7 for a few shots on a flagpole on Friday and it seemed OK, but that was an easy target.

 

[TheRealUnfocused]

Jan Wegener complained about the AF of the 200-800 on the R7. Do you have any experience of this?

This is what Jan said in the video I watched (emphasis added). Maybe you saw a different video.

“The autofocus is not as fast as on some of Canon’s best lenses like the 100-500 for instance but it’s right up there and definitely usable in the field. The best test for the autofocus is obviously action photography but I didn’t really know where to go down here in Melbourne, but then the other day I randomly stumbled upon this crested tern colony giving me amazing opportunities for birds in flight videos and also intimate shots of the terns with their little babies. It was truly one of those magical moments in the field with the sun setting right behind the bird colony giving me some magical light and some amazing opportunities. I used the terns with the 800 mm lens on both the R5 and the R7 and both cameras managed to lock onto the terns very well giving me much more accurate results than in low light especially the R7 performed very well locking onto these brighter and whiter and bigger birds very well and with the more sunny conditions I also didn’t have any of the autofocus struggles that I encountered in low light.”

 

[TheRealUnfocused]

Have fun with it and enjoy it let us hear what you think, please!

My first impressions reflect what I've seen in reviews. I'm not wild about the non-removable tripod collar, the long throw of the zoom is less than ideal, the zoom is a bit stiff and the weight difference between this lens and the 100-500 is definitely noticeable. But these all strike me as minor issues that I was expecting. We are going to Sanibel next month and that will give us a better opportunity to test it out.

 

[David - Sydney]

Nor

In the middle of winter? That is hardcore. This is coming from a guy who lives on the Canadian Prairies.

northen Scandinavia was cold last week with -30C temps. Even Oslo/Stockholm were pretty bad. Leading news stories in the media.
Iceland was/is comparably barmy in comparison.

 

[AlanF]

This is what Jan said in the video I watched (emphasis added). Maybe you saw a different video.

“The autofocus is not as fast as on some of Canon’s best lenses like the 100-500 for instance but it’s right up there and definitely usable in the field. The best test for the autofocus is obviously action photography but I didn’t really know where to go down here in Melbourne, but then the other day I randomly stumbled upon this crested tern colony giving me amazing opportunities for birds in flight videos and also intimate shots of the terns with their little babies. It was truly one of those magical moments in the field with the sun setting right behind the bird colony giving me some magical light and some amazing opportunities. I used the terns with the 800 mm lens on both the R5 and the R7 and both cameras managed to lock onto the terns very well giving me much more accurate results than in low light especially the R7 performed very well locking onto these brighter and whiter and bigger birds very well and with the more sunny conditions I also didn’t have any of the autofocus struggles that I encountered in low light.”

RF 200-800 FULL REVIEW by Jan Wegener: Canon EOS R Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

Expert news, reviews and videos of the latest digital cameras, lenses, accessories, and phones. Get answers to your questions in our photography forums.

www.dpreview.com

"2. AF with R5 is good but not quite as fast as the RF100-500. AF with the R7 can be problematic (trouble locking or losing the locked point) with the R7 (Duane Paton also reported this, but then he also shot with Jan, and they probably traded notes). The R7 is known to have focus-locking problems with other lenses as well, so this is more of an R7 issue."

 

[David - Sydney]

Canon released some amazingly and unique lenses in the pro and consumer side and rounded out their body product range.
We can quibble about body features for some but the R mount body range appears to be complete now barring R1.

The 2 lens exceptions were mid price range and bright/wide lenses. The latter being my primary focus (boom tish!) for me this year hence a quiet year for me for Canon. Current 3rd party options would have filled that niche but I have survived with EF options with no money going to Canon.

If the rumour for new Canon primes is true for 2024 then that would open my wallet especially if a 14/1.4 and 20/1.4 comes out. Both have never been in Canon's range before. If Canon isn't interested then I hope that they approve 3rd party options even if in manual focus.

 

[Bennymiata]

Will this lens fit on an R100 ?

Yes

 

[Bennymiata]

I got my 200-800 a couple of weeks ago and I find it works very well with my R5.
It is big and fairly heavy but great fun to use. I also have the 100-500, but this a different lens and the 2 lenses are complimentary to each other.
As the R7 is not a pro body, it is to be expected that it won't focus as well as a pro body will.

 

[john1970]

I got my 200-800 a couple of weeks ago and I find it works very well with my R5.
It is big and fairly heavy but great fun to use. I also have the 100-500, but this a different lens and the 2 lenses are complimentary to each other.

+1 on that the two lens complement each other.

 

[TheRealUnfocused]

RF 200-800 FULL REVIEW by Jan Wegener: Canon EOS R Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

Expert news, reviews and videos of the latest digital cameras, lenses, accessories, and phones. Get answers to your questions in our photography forums.

www.dpreview.com

"2. AF with R5 is good but not quite as fast as the RF100-500. AF with the R7 can be problematic (trouble locking or losing the locked point) with the R7 (Duane Paton also reported this, but then he also shot with Jan, and they probably traded notes). The R7 is known to have focus-locking problems with other lenses as well, so this is more of an R7 issue."

Ah, now I see where the misunderstanding comes in. The DPReview forum story is actually a summary and paraphrasing of Wegener's video comments by someone named Hovland. I lifted the quotes directly from the original video. But, it's really not worth quibbling about. Wegner's overall conclusion is very positive for both bodies and as Hovland stated, it is probably more of an issue with the R7 than with the lens.