Canon RF600mm f/11 and RF800mm f/11 Review

Canon launched two interesting telephoto lenses in July 2020, they are the Canon RF600mm f/11 IS STM and RF800mm f/11 IS STM lenses, announced together with the launch of the Canon EOS R5 and EOS R6. Back in 2020, I had a short hands on experience with the RF600mm f/11 IS STM and RF800mm f/11 IS STM lenses, those two prime lenses definitely caught my attention and I was planning to review them down the road. However, since I was blown and carried away by the Canon EOS R5 and EOS R6 full-frame mirrorless cameras, my attention at that time was on those two cameras first. Fast forward to 2022, I finally made plans and arrangements to do the Canon RF600mm f/11 IS STM and RF800mm f/11 IS STM review.

Both RF600mm f/11 and RF800mm f/11 were reviewed together with the Canon EOS R3 full-frame mirrorless camera. Inside my Canon EOS R3 review article, I shared on bringing the RF600mm f/11 and RF800mm f/11 lenses out for photography walks and wildlife shoot, part of my own short visual stories collection titled, “A TGH Photography x Canon EOS R3 Explorer Series Production”.

Interesting lenses, why does Canon design and manufacture such type of prime lenses? That got me thinking, I finally got to test and review both lenses, let me share with you my experiences, thoughts and views.

During my photography walkabouts, I alternate between those two lenses to bring out with my other Canon lenses. The RF600mm f/11 is more versatile as it can cover more areas beside wildlife photography, it can be used for cityscape and landscape photography. However, for wildlife photography, a longer focal length is always preferred and most welcomed, thus the RF800mm f/11 is stronger in the wildlife photography segment.

Pros

Lightweight, compact and portable
Not expensive compared to the L lens 600mm and 800mm counterparts
Output is sharp for the f/11 lenses when shot in good light conditions
Paired with a fast and accurate AF camera such as the Canon EOS R3, it makes RF600mm f/11 and RF800mm f/11 easy to use in good light conditions

Cons

It’s f/11 only
Not a fast prime lens
Struggle in low light situations – photos output quality is not good and autofocus (AF) is slow

600mm f/11 vs 800mm f/11, how to choose?

Choose 600mm f/11 for both cityscape / travel / wildlife, it’s a more versatile lens that can do a good mix of photography genres when traveling overseas.

Choose 800mm f/11 for dedicated wildlife photography, the field of view is a lot more cropped and tight.

Thoughts and Views

Both Canon RF600mm f/11 IS STM and RF800mm f/11 IS STM lenses are good starter prime lenses for photographers starting to enter into wildlife photography.
When used in good light conditions, it’s easy to use and can produce decent sharp photos
The price point for both lenses, it’s value for money without breaking your personal bank owning telephoto lenses. Owning a large aperture / fast prime telephoto lens such as RF400mm f/2.8L IS USM, 600mm f/4L IS USM lenses or RF800mm f/5.6L IS USM lenses, you need the extra funds as they are very expensive.
Both are ideal travel photography / wildlife photography lenses, it’s really lightweight, compact and portable, easy to use.

In my personal humble opinion, for those are who are looking into owning the Canon RF600mm f/11 IS STM or RF800mm f/11 IS STM lenses, a key point to take note is to know and understand the limitations of f/11, how you can make the best of those two prime f/11 lenses, and making the best use of light and timing to ensure its strengths are being tapped upon.