Great information sir. I have the 600 f/11 and I’m in same boat as you with the RF 800. Not my main lens but love playing around with it but the 200-800 offers so much more flexibility. Especially with allowing more light to come into the lens and camera
i got the 800 F/11 myself and thinking about the 200-800. One benefit of the F/11's i'm curious about is the weigth. the 800 weigths almost half of the 200-800 and the 600 i believe a 1/3rd. in case of the 600, i think this could still be a benefit if it's bright enough but you really want to reduce weigth (eg hiking), but having the 800mm i'll probably gonna use the 200-800 9 out of 10 times, since 1kg might not be that big of a deal. At the same time, i do like to have my whole lens lineup on me when i'm going out, so often i'll have the 800 on me just in case, and saving a kg there might be nice (i'd keep the 200-800 separate and only take/replace it if i intend to use it. that would also keep the 200-800 safer, since i wont take it with me all the time)
@@michaelktori5178 when I first rented the 800 F11, I thought this was going to be more of a problem than it is. I was surprised that I wasn’t getting any closer than 20ft most of the time. None the less, with the 200-800 having nearly half the MFD, that’s another plus 👍
@@matthewgehly I have to do all my photography from a mobility scooter whilst connected to a bottle of oxygen. I still find that the RF800 is my most used lens (and I have a lifetime's collection of lenses). My Tamron 150 -600 mounted on Canon 5Dsr is second choice.
Thanks for the video. Looking forward to seeing you work with the new lens. The 800 is not a low light lens, but great for reach and feeling close to a subject. Thanks to the denoise/enhance feature in Lightroom I have been able to recover some low light photos. Sometimes the 800 is too close. One evening a Great Horned Owl was perched at almost eye level with me. Never happened before this. I took a photo, but I cut off its tail feathers a little . There just was nowhere to back up. Might could have adjusted my framing but I was shooting vertical to try and fit. Plus I was excited and probably not really thinking about how I was framing it. Being able to retract a lens would have been better for this situation. And of course a lower aperture would have been better in the low light.
I had the same exact situation with a barred owl and the 800. I would rather have a zoom than a prime that allows me the option to pull back. By the way, do you have $1899 that I could borrow? Haha!
Awesome video! I watched your review of the 200-800mm then found this video. Very detailed review and explanation. I love your comparison between this lens and the 100-500L and the 800 F11. I also have the 100-500L. Although I have not tried the 200-800, I totally agree with you that I doubt that I will part with the 100-500L even if I end up buying the 200-800. I love the 100-500L.
Your support means a lot to me! I appreciate you taking the time to watch and leave such a positive comment. I love the 200-800, but the 100-500 is my go to lens for most of my shooting. 📷
I also have both the RF 100-500 and the RF 800, but have pre-ordered the RF 200-800 for the reasons you mentioned: Challenges with BIF because of small AF area of the R6; and missed shots being limited to 800mm with a moving subject.
Preordered this lens at 7:30 a.m. EDT the day of the announcement. Having a zoom makes it easier to track the subject and then you can zoom in to frame the photo. Will be a solid lens for mid-day photography, but might struggle a bit at the long-end due to the smaller f9 aperture especially with low light scenarios. For $1899 it is a solid value with a fast USM motor and reasonable weather sealing. The initial rumors were STM based focusing with no weather-sealing and I am glad to see that both of those rumors are incorrect.
Like you, the 100-500 is my go-to lens. I almost always start my outings with that on my R5. I also sometimes bring my 800 f/11. I'm not sure that I would ever bring both the 200-800 and the 100-500. I use the 100 to 200 range quite often and bringing just the 200-800 would leave a gap.
Thanks for the video and the arguments which I completely agree to! I'm indeed planning to sell the RF 800 f11 together with my trusty EF 100-400 L for the new lens. I often take both with me, as I also like to photograph stuff like flowers, mushrooms or butterflies up close. Not having to carry the weight and volume of both would be a relief. The 200-800 has a minimum focus distance of 0.8-3.3 meters as well as a decent magnification factor @ 200mm, albeit a bit smaller compared to the 100-400, but the resolution of my R5 leaves room for cropping anyway. Compared to the minimum 6m (!) of the RF800 it also means I won't be missing any more shots of birds getting too close e.g. by landing on a nearby fence, or of bigger animals for which a 800 is often far too narrow anyway. And finally the autofocus area is the whole frame now instead of the small square of the RF 800, which should make composing and getting more keepers much easier, too.
Very much on the fence. I am a huge fan of the RF800 f/11. Not so much a fan of long zooms at all. The 200-800 certainly has some advantages but I am unsure many of them mean that much to me. Of all of them, the extra 2/3 stop and closer focusing distance are the only ones likely to mean a thing to me. The fact it is a zoom gets a big meh from me. I'll be waiting to see if the new lens matches the IQ of the RF800 /11 when zoomed to 800. If it does I'm a "probably." If it doesn't, it will get a thumbs down from me. One thing is certain. We've come a long way from my first 800mm lenses!
Thanks Matt. I'm about to buy one. Already have the 100-500. I concerned about weight. Question to you is do you know if the heavy looking tripod collar is removable or not. No one seems to know.
Like you I have watched all the videos about this lens and they are very encouraging. I already have a 400mm DO ii that I occasionally use with a 2x extender but this lens will offer a lot more flexibility for those times when I don't want to switch extenders. In addition it will be intriguing to use a 1.4 extender on this lens!
Adding an extender to this lens when mounted on a crop sensor camera...you won't even need to leave your house to shoot anywhere within a five mile radius! Haha!
I love my 800 F11 for a birding lens on my R5. It is light to hike with and on the good sun days it provides great photos. I have a friend that has the R7 with the 100-500mm and she finds the 100-500 a superb lens with the crop factor. She has also found that the 100-500mm is faster at focusing than the 800 F11 and does not hunt as much. I will be test driving the 200-800mm from Canon professional services when its released to see if I am buying it. I need to know that the lens focuses faster than the 800 F11 and does not hunt as much. However I must admit the focus and hunting have actually gone down after several fixes in the R5 firmware.
I just love the 100-500. With the 1.6 crop mode of the R5, my viewfinder shows me a view at 800mm already. And the picture quality is amazing because that lens is sharp from start to finish. I don't think I will buy it for the reasons I just wrote but Canon rocks with such an offer and I believe that they will sell a lot !
I love the 100-500. Such as great lens. The only thing that I would say is that when you go to crop mode, you're no longer at 45 MP. By using the the 200-800 (although it's not an L lens) you would be taking advantage the R5's full 45 MPs.
@@Mathieu_Matheow_Benoit Well I am extremely satisfied with the job done by the camera. Doing it myself is an extra step not needed for me. I use it all the time even with large prints (36 inches).
I immediately got onto the preorder list. I have a RF100-400 and EF100-400Lii and the RF600/11, this lens will be f/8 at 600 more light and can find the object at 400 and zoom to 800! That was my main complaint well along with f/11 that it was hard to get BIF in the FOV
Just getting into bird photography, and was confused by the options available. However, this video helped me to decide on the 200-800 which I thought might be too heavy or unwieldy? But it certainly appears that the versatily zoom range with reasonable associated apertures certainly make this a darned good preference, so thank you!
Seems like we are not he same journey. I found the 800mm to be a lot of fun. The 100-500 is incredible for its sharpness and stabilization. I;ve preordered the 200-800 and see it being an 800 f/11 mark II fixing all the short comings 800 f11.
Thinking of 200-800 as an 800 f/11 Mark II is a great comparison. I’m really looking forward to photographing bald eagles at a local spot later this winter with the 200-800.
@@matthewgehly I came to that epiphany one night and talked about it in my last video on it. I can't wait to get it next week. The lens will be in short supply for some time. Canon did not expect such high demand. The reviews are favourable. I think this will replace the 800 f11 as the most fun lens ever in my inventory.
The first camera I had was Canon EOS RP + Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM Photographed for 2 years. There were not good luck, but also interesting shots. It's really hard to shoot flying birds, but maybe because this camera didn't have the best autofocus. Most recently , I purchased a new Canon EOS R6 Mark II camera and will try it with an 800mm lens . I'm waiting for a nice sunny weather. It's raining now . Subscribed to your channel Is interesting to do reviews. I also wanted to know what settings you make on the camera before shooting birds
Really debating this. I already own the 70-200 at f2.8 and the 100-500L i absolutely love them both, i just really dislike the extender on the 100-500 and being defaulted to 300 minimum for that lens. I appreciate your honesty and great info
Thanks for watching. I’m not a fan of extenders. I never bought an RF extender to use with the 100-500, but I wasn’t a fan during the EF days. I have a 70-200 and 100-500 as well and feel like the 200-800 will be a great companion lens.
I preordered the 200-800 and will be selling my 800 f11, if there is a market for it. The much improved MFD, some weather sealing, and being able to zoom sold me.
I totalt agree with you. I also keep my RF 100-500 and exchange my RF 800/F11 with this new RF 200-800mm. I have preordered one already. I’m not scared by F9 at all, because I would probably use F8 as a minimum anyway. See the good explanation from Janine from Pangolin where she explains how the focal depth is. My budget does not allow one of the big whites. I would rather use my money on a better camera ie. R5ii or R6ii
I here you guys talking but why are we stepping back instead of going forward? I would prefer to use an EF lens that opens to f4/ft5.6 instead of f/9 that's all I'm saying.
Beautiful pictures indeed you took with this combo R7 and the rf 800mm video. You missed a lot in your conclusions to my thought about your newer video about the rf 200-800. Your conclusions are very arbitrair in the heist of posting?
While I am considering picking one up, I'm really on the fence about selling my 800 f11, mainly due to the weight. I commute to work with my camera gear and can't imagine lugging the 200-800mm to work (though I used to do it with my 150-600mm on an SLR).
Why would anyone have to ditch the 800 F11 ? I’m definitely keeping mine. It will make a fine backup. I think it would be crazy to do the multi thousand mile, multi week birding trips I do, and only have 1 long birding lens with me. Anything could happen. I could drop it, I could get robbed, it could just fail, you name it. Granted, all my gear is insured, but that wouldn’t help me right then and there. Heck, if I didn’t end up buying the 200-800, I’d still buy another 800 F11. Best value in photography gear, I’ve ever purchased 👍
@@Chris_Wolfgram I recently picked up a spotting scope and given its weight with a tripod I would ideally only carry the 800 f11 + R6 and 1.4 extender in most situations. While its focus is slower I also find having the focus limiter for distant subjects to be helpful for seawatching, whereas the 200-800 may easily jump off focus.
Companies are always trying to lure us into buying fresh kit, often at vast expense, I have a Sigma 120-300 f2.8 which cost me £1100. Canon 100-300 f2.8 £11,000. You can get a s/h 100-400Lii for around £1000. Well with a 2x extender my 100-400 is a 200-800 f11. L series, half a stop is spit, I always underexpose by 2/3 stop anyway.. Whether the quality difference would be noticeable we will have to wait and see.
Thank You for a good review. I have the rf 800mm f11 and its a very sharp lens. I doubt a little if rf 200-800 can match the sharpness of rf 800. Yes its true with 800mm only its very difficult to find little birds in the branches. I have also Sony gear and FE 200-600mm very best for that purpose because it has very fast internal zoom and it keeps the focus point during zooming. But still I am considering the new Canon 200-800 ,but I have to wait labs test to see if this lens can deliver..
Doesn't 1.4x extender bring 100-500mm to 140-700MM with around F9? This combo probably is much lighter and as sharp or sharper. And if you have 800mm F11 already, F9 with 200-800 even worth consider buying? You said F7.1 to F9 is just marginal difference... Well F9 to F11 is just marginal difference too? I think this lens should have been either internal zoom 200-600 F6.3 or 300-800 F6.3. This 200-800 F9 is a mistake.
Correct I have the RF 100-500mm plus the 1.4extender i don’t see the big deal for me to Run out and grab the lens I’m Watching reviews and nobody has made a argument of why I Should purchase it 😅
100-500 4.5-7.1 would be f10 at 700mm. Image quality ALWAYS suffers when you add more glass (1.4). Whether the sharpness with the L lens and a 1.4 is better or worse than the 200-800 with no teleconverter is something to be tested by those who do that sort of thing, but regardless, it remains shorter and slower than the 200-800.
I really like that I can pull back. There are times that 800mm is way too much lens. To be able to shoot at f/8 at 637mm is a good deal to me. :) By the way, do you have $1,899 that I could borrow? Haha!
@@alansach8437 People are already reporting that 200-800 is not that sharp at long end. So I think the image quality with 1.4x with 100-500 and 200-800 at long end will probably be a wash. Why couldn't Canon see how happy people are with Nikon and Sony 200-600 F6.3? Mind boggling....
Unfortunately, you can't. The 90d uses EF lenses. The 200-800 is an RF (mirrorless) lens. The good thing is that if you decided to upgrade to a mirrorless camera, you'll be able to use your older EF lenses from your 90d with the new camera by purchasing an adaptor.
I'd rather have an 800 f/8 prime (not L) if they could bring it in at a reasonable price. On the other hand, I'd love to see an amateur 600 with a built in teleconverter - can't be impossible to make an affordable one - Sigma, Tamron?
I’m not a big fan of extenders. I’ve never used on with my 100-500. The 200-800 is not an L series lens, but you would be able to push back a bit more with it vs the 100-500 with an extender.
From what I understand, the AF area will be larger. I'm not sure about image quality yet, but the opportunity to zoom and shooting at a faster f/stop is what has me excited.
@@DJBastorI’m still waiting for it to arrive. Canon couldn’t meet the demand for the lens and even though I pre-ordered, the store I purchased from hasn’t been able to fulfill my order. I can’t wait to get my hands on it!
I have been using my 800 F11 on my Canon R7's for about a year and half. I've taken about 150K shots with this combo. Much of my best stuff can be seen on my photo page... Link in my channel. The 100-500 would not be anywhere close to long enough for me, the vast majority of the time. I've rented the 200-800 and should get it very soon, so I can see for myself. But here's some food for thought; Often, when I'm shooting with my 1280mm combo, from 20-22 ft, F11 gives me "just barely enough" depth of field. So I think with the 200-800, I'll often have it stopped down to F11.... if not F13, to get most of my bird in focus (while most guys will be worried if F9 is fast enough) especially if I am getting even closer to my birds, which of course will be possible with this lenses much shorter MFD. I'll mostly be pegged at 800mm (1280mm) with this lens, but it will be nice for those occasions when I come up on a larger, closer creature. Or, after I've already taken a bunch of "in my face" bird shots, and now want an environmental shot to go along with those :)
I checked out your page. Fantastic photography. I'm with you 100% on all of your observations about the lens. I often need to remind myself to stop down a bit...but it's usually too late! Haha! Thanks for watching! :)
@@OlivierFablu-c9m the 200-800 is a bit of a 'chunk' :) lol And Imagine this > I carried it around (just as I do all the time with my 800 F11) attached to a "fully deployed" tripod ! Sometimes for miles. With my 800 F11, this makes it a 10 lb combo. With the 200-800, its about 12 1/2 lbs.... It's nice that I can swing it up onto the legs for a break any time.... OR, swing it up and be shooting in about 2 or 3 seconds as well (the important part) :) I know of almost nobody else that does this, and that's cool. Thanking folks for leaving me with the advantage ;) How bad do you want that Nat Geo shot ?
Are you sure 200-800mm will be equally sharp as 800mm f f/11? Beside the price (equivalent of $2700) in Poland what I really do not like in 200-800mm is its weight and non-removable tripod collar. It renders this lens MUCH LESS hand-holdable. This 200-800mm seems much better companion for 100-400 class lenses (either budget-oriented RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 or speed-oriented RF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 II). I certainly don't see how 100-500mm and 200-800mm lenses are used alongside each other to the point it is economically justified to have both. As a wildlife shooter you'll end up catching yourself on using 200-800mm 99% of time. And the remaining 1% scenarios will be just to ease your conscience and blow the dust of 100-500mm
I see what you’re saying. For me, I can see different scenarios for both lenses. Which would make them the perfect wildlife setup. Still waiting for a 200-600! 😁
Thank you so much! Just had an appliance go down after I made this video. I didn't get on a pre-order list quite yet, so I might be waiting awhile! Haha! :)
Thank u for the video. F11, 9 even 7.1 are not the apertures I would like to use for wildlife photography. As a hobbyist; I decided to stick to DSLRs despite knowing the advantages of mirrorless cameras. I use EF 300mm f2.8L IS II + 2x III on 1DIV & 7D producing focal lengths of 780mm and 960mm respectively at f5.6. Also, prefer the instant view available through the OVF. Thanks again.
Thanks for the advice. However, I stick to my DSLRs and don't wanna waste money for unnecessary hardware. Rather use it for wildlife safaris in Kenya or India instead and enjoy watching and shooting them with my time-tested system. I shoot them in broad daylight therefore, hardly go above 1000 ISO. I also know about and use AI Denoise applications when felt necessary. But never remove all the noise and make my image look synthetic.
@@OlivierFablu-c9m Well, I am not impolite enough to declare that I don’t care about what the professionals think or do. I do care. And that’s one of my strengths as well. I asked many of them about my current wildlife photography gears (pro DSLRs & premium EF lenses) and wanted to know whether it is mandatory or wise for me to ditch all these and sustain an enormous financial blow for procuring complete mirrorless systems. All of them replied NO. Hope it relieves you of the predicament.
@@OlivierFablu-c9m As a hobbyist photographer, I'm shooting wildlife for the last 16 years. Therefore, I do know a little about the difference between wide and narrow apertures. The narrowest I accept for this genre is f8. The widest I own and use is 2.8. F11 or narrower are my apertures for landscape, nightscape, rain and long-exposure photography..
@@OlivierFablu-c9m You don’t need to know what I’m trying to express. But I do know what you’re trying to say. It’s just another boring promotion of the mirrorless system. Everybody is doing it, except a few real photographers. I watch their videos minutely. I do my photography and am happy with it. Whatever you think about it is immaterial. I don’t earn my living by selling photos. Therefore, if my images aren’t great, I couldn’t care less. This will be my last reaction to your comments. Stay well and enjoy your gears.
This lens is for the hobbyist, the guy who wants all the toys, and content creators looking to review the latest gear but not for the professional as this doesn't compete with a 600 f4 or an 800 5.6. I'm gonna continue to save my pennies stick with the 100-500 until I can swing for the fences and pick up the 600 f4.
Now that would be a fantastic L series lens! The price point would be the deciding factor. My guess is a lens like that will be released at the same time as the R5 Mark II. That will be an expensive day! :)
I am also wondering about that. I don't know how they will justify it being significantly more expensive than similar lenses from Nikon and Sony, but they will. It will be an L series lens and Canon will charge at least $3500.00-$4000.00 for it. The line Canon won't cross is giving us a lens longer and faster than the 100-500 4.5-7.1 for less money than the 100-500. That lens is $2800.00. That's the whole reason that the 200-800 goes to f8 at 450mm. Could not possibly be 7.1 at 500, and certainly not at 600!! Heaven forbid, or the price would have to be more than the 100-500!
@@matthewgehly Same, I'll hold out until I can afford the 600 f4 or perhaps something more primo will drop in the next year. Until than I will rock my 100-500 and borrow a big prime when I can. This is a fun hobbyist lens but not what I'm looking for. I would happily pay another 3-4k for something faster and sharper.
I personally wouldn't buy it. It's not an L series lens so the quality isn't there the 100/500 is a high quality lens and the price is now the same as the new 800mm if you want nearly 800mm buy an extender for your 100/500mm .
That's definitely a good way to go. Much cheaper if you already have the 100-500. One thing is for sure...the photographic technology is just crazy right now! can't imagine what another few years will bring!
You need to try it out before you comment on it, I have borrowed in for 3 days and it is a great lens for birds and the quality is as near to L series as it could be for the price. I will be buying one to add to my 100-500mm for use in the right conditions.Be aware the 200-800 should not be used in hot dry conditions due to heat haze long distance and worse there can be a hit variation between the body of the lens and the air right in front of the lens inside the black lens hood. This can be mitigated by covering the hood with a light wrap.
Thanks for sharing your opinion! I understand where you're coming from, but let me explain the intention behind the video. I made the video before ANYONE had used the lens to explain my thought process behind trading in the RF800 and the new 200-800. I thought it might be helpful for those considering a purchase.
@@mikeyseifert80 Trolling what? Sigma has wider apertures, background separation professional look. What you get from Canon? I would buy Canon but there is no good lenses apart from expensive ones
