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Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM

Not since retiring the 1200mm has Canon released a lens at this focal length. The new Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS USM is the just the gizmo for those who know what they want, at $17,000 it better be! Some may argue that the 400/2.8 coupled with a 2x converter would do the job just as fine, with the added benefit of having a lens which can cater to multiple focal lengths. We can just be thankful that somebody at Canon thought otherwise.

On a more formal note, the lens is a serious piece of equipment weighing at 4.5 kilograms and nearly 20 inches with the lens hood. Similar to its other 'L' cousins, it is finished in the traditional white color. Care has been taken in making it fight dust and moisture by giving it a shield of rubber around the lens mount. The lens has been specially designed to deliver amazing depth of fields and closest of the close-ups. It also boasts of a set of fluorite lens elements which promise sharper picture with color correction too. Auto focus works sans the noise and is quick and efficient and so is manual focus. Image stabilization is yet another feature which might come handy for those on the move. The stabilization system detects the presence of a tripod, wherein it shifts into a secondary stabilization mode that can counteract mirror slap. This is particularly valuable as mirror lock-up is impractical to use when shooting sports and wildlife. On a monopod though, the normal stabilization is used.

This mammoth lens requires a heavy camera for good company. On a prosumer camera like the 400D, the lightness of the camera presents quite an imbalance to the setup. It is almost impossible to get sharp images, in spite of the image stabilization at exposures less than 1/2000 second. The minimum recommended equipment would be a EOS5D onwards. The lens and the 5D camera add up to an impressive weight of 3.5 kilograms, a package which highly limits the extent of handheld photography. The lens is compatible with latest cameras which offer up to a 43 point autofocus system. The focus limiter on the lens is highly useful when one is aware of the distance of the subject matter, as it drastically helps in cutting down on the time required for focus lock. Even in a low light setup, the autofocus performed remarkably well and there was hardly any time wasted on hunting

There was some evidence of corner vignette at wide open apertures. However, on moving to a f/8 aperture, this disappeared and the picture quality is what you would expect of a lens in this segment. Color reproduction is excellent with no presence of flaring or ghosting of shots. The image stabilization system was a revelation. At the given focal length, it was able to produce some truly sharp photos, which could give most tripod peers a good fight.

In all this is truly a lens for the telephoto aficionado. The birders, sports photographers would be the biggest purchasers of this lens for its outstanding reach as well as exacting sharpness.

Larry McGill
Wed, 18 Feb 2009 08:03:22 +0000

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