Canon RF 300-600mm f/5.6L IS USM: What to Expect and When It Might Land
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I don't get the price estimate... the extremely popular "Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G" is $1898 at BH right now, I can see $2,500-$3,000 for the (slightly faster at the long end, but longer at the short end) Canon, but that's about it...
Then there's the Nikon NIKKOR Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR at $1,897...
At $8k+ you could get the 200-600 and an A1 II ($6,498) as well, or with the A7V and a bunch of other stuff... or the Nikon with a Z8 ($3,497) and a nice exotic holiday.
I'm sticking with my R5II tho... but the lens, which would be a really good fit for me, needs to be sub-3k at-point-of-sale for me to bite, as I do want it but didn't win the lottery this week...
BTW in 2018 I paid £1334 new from a London Canon Pro dealer for my 100-400 II, which is super-sharp wide-open, list was £1945, it's about 400 more now.
If it was f/4 then maybe the big bucks...
Then there's the Nikon NIKKOR Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR at $1,897...
At $8k+ you could get the 200-600 and an A1 II ($6,498) as well, or with the A7V and a bunch of other stuff... or the Nikon with a Z8 ($3,497) and a nice exotic holiday.
I'm sticking with my R5II tho... but the lens, which would be a really good fit for me, needs to be sub-3k at-point-of-sale for me to bite, as I do want it but didn't win the lottery this week...
BTW in 2018 I paid £1334 new from a London Canon Pro dealer for my 100-400 II, which is super-sharp wide-open, list was £1945, it's about 400 more now.
If it was f/4 then maybe the big bucks...
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I really don’t, either. I suspect there’s something missing from or incorrect about the rumor.
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The 2 lenses you mention are consumer tier. That doesn't mean they aren't sharp, or really great to use. But both have less than 100mm front elements, and variable aperture, whereas lenses with more than 100mm will be more expensive by nature as they are using considerably more glass. If it's an L lens, than it will almost always have better optics, better build quality, better weather sealing, etc, than a consumer level lens.
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Well within Canon's catalog it makes some sense. A 600 5.6 would be above that magic 100mm mark where Canon tends to charge near 5 figures for lenses. But if their goal is to entice the Freds of the world, I'm not sure this lens would move that needle very much.
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I suspect this lens is a variant of the RF 100-300mm f/2.8 given the identical entrance pupil / front element size and that it's a high quality L lens and that it sounds like Canon is developing it quickly and it probably shares the main housing and many components the cost of manufacture will be similar then it's going to have to be priced at about the same level.
However because it's only third of a stop faster than the Sony and Nikon zooms it'll be a real orphan with very few people buying it.
Seems rather odd decision to make this variant and I would prefer Canon to either make a mark ii version of the 100-300mm with builtin 1.4x and 2x extenders which would make a very attractive lens with the best of both worlds:
- 100-300mm f/2.8
- 140-420mm f/4
- 200-600mm f/5.6
- 70-200mm f/2
- 98-280mm f/2.8
- 140-400mm f/4
I think both of these would be very appealing despite the high price and I'd probably buy one instead of the original 100-300 which I'm currently saving up for.
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I fully get the price estimate, but I don't think the range is fully accurate. A zoom that is maxes out at 600/5.6, is gonna be costly. That would require the same size glass as a 300/2.8. So the floor, would be the price of a zooming 300/2.8. Luckily... we have a zooming 300/2.8 to draw conclusions with. Unluckily, that is a $9,500 lens. Unfortunately, I believe that will be the floor. Also, it will undoubtedly, be relatively heavy. So, IMO, we are effectively looking at a second 200-400/4.0 type scenario. Too costly to be widely adopted, too heavy and slow to be well received by those in the market for a super telephoto.
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Craig did a posting on this same lens within the last couple weeks. His assumed price was $6000, not $10,000. That price seems high but plausible given the lens' specs.
Sigma has discontinued their 120-300 F/2.8 DG OS HSM lens for DSLRs, their third generation. Its price was $3600. I don't doubt that they are currently working on a fourth generation for mirrorless cameras, that it will be excellent or that, even with the Trump Tariff, it will cost less than half the price of the Canon 100-300.
Sigma has discontinued their 120-300 F/2.8 DG OS HSM lens for DSLRs, their third generation. Its price was $3600. I don't doubt that they are currently working on a fourth generation for mirrorless cameras, that it will be excellent or that, even with the Trump Tariff, it will cost less than half the price of the Canon 100-300.
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The only thing that matters is whether people buy their stuff. Buyer/seller relationships are always adversarial.
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A 180/200-600 zoom that varies by 1/3 stop over its range is barely a variable zoom, plus the 100-500 is slower again (and shorter) at its 500mm long end...
From this my feeling is they do need a competitor to the Sony/Nikon lenses (which limits the price point) and something better than the non-L long lenses, which don't grab me as I'm not that far down the price/quality trade-off. I wouldn't buy the 100-500, as it's too slow at f/7.1 and a little short at the long end, and very slow with an extender, plus the short end disappears with that extender (which you don't always have time to remove), which is a curious limitation for an expensive lens.
I could be wrong and it will be super-expensive (wouldn't be the first time), but if so that leaves the 200-800 against the x-600s and it's not that great, plus very slow. (I was shooting fast-moving birds at 1/2500 today as 1/1600 and 1/2000 weren't quite enough... part of them was black so I also had 2/3 stop extra exposure, used f/5.6 as f/4 was too small a DoF... less aperture would have been challenging as the blacks will need raising a bit and ISO was a bit on the high side already - nesting underneath stuff is very inconsiderate to photographers wanting decent light.)
From this my feeling is they do need a competitor to the Sony/Nikon lenses (which limits the price point) and something better than the non-L long lenses, which don't grab me as I'm not that far down the price/quality trade-off. I wouldn't buy the 100-500, as it's too slow at f/7.1 and a little short at the long end, and very slow with an extender, plus the short end disappears with that extender (which you don't always have time to remove), which is a curious limitation for an expensive lens.
I could be wrong and it will be super-expensive (wouldn't be the first time), but if so that leaves the 200-800 against the x-600s and it's not that great, plus very slow. (I was shooting fast-moving birds at 1/2500 today as 1/1600 and 1/2000 weren't quite enough... part of them was black so I also had 2/3 stop extra exposure, used f/5.6 as f/4 was too small a DoF... less aperture would have been challenging as the blacks will need raising a bit and ISO was a bit on the high side already - nesting underneath stuff is very inconsiderate to photographers wanting decent light.)
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Potential mitigating factors include (1) the presence of attractive alternatives to this transaction and (2) the likelihood that the two parties will be forced to interact with each other repeatedly in the future.
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Hopefully not. The latest news from CNN: "..for an initial 90 days, de-escalating a punishing trade war and buoying global markets. By May 14, the US will temporarily lower its overall tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%, while China will cut its levies on American imports from 125% to 10%."
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The 100-300/2.8 is made in Japan, imports from which are currently subject to a 10% tariff because the 24% tariff is on a 90-day pause. AFAIK, prior to this year the tariff on ILC lenses was 2.45% and there was no tariff on ILC bodies.
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