Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM Telephoto Lens

Canon's 800mm f/5.6L IS USM

Not for everyone. Priced at $12,000 US, it's out of a majority of photographers price range, even for folks that might be able to utilize it for their vocation. But since it's the longest / fastest super-telephoto currently available from Canon (as their remarkable 1,200mm has been discontinued) it's important to at least knowi what this lens is about. This is one of (if not the sharpest) the very sharpest prime lenses made by Canon or Nikon. At this focal length, any constraints to sharpness are almost certainly atmospheric conditions caused by haze, humidity and mirage.

This is the longest telephoto lens among Canon's lineup and a terrific choice for any long-distance application-outdoor sports, wildlife, news photojournalism, etc. It's actually lighter than Canon's EF 600mm f/4L IS lens, weighing just under 10 lbs. It uses a refined optical design, with two fluorite lens elements, one UD element and one Super-UD-glass element, for outstanding correction of color fringing and superb contrast and sharpness.

Like all L series lenses, this one is built extremely solid. It may feel fairly large and bulky to those who haven't used L series lenses before. The extra bulk is comes from higher quality glass and the use of more durable materials (metal vs. plastic).

This super-telephoto lens uses magnesium-alloy barrel construction to enhance its light weight and has weather-resistant gaskets throughout for use in harsh conditions. It's compatible with both the EF 1.4x II and 2x II tele extenders for even more reach: EOS cameras with 45 AF points will continue to provide autofocus at the center AF point when the lens is used with the 1.4x extender. Finally, it's image stabilized, providing up to 4 stops of correction for camera shake. This makes it even more practical in many situations.

Super Telephoto Lens
High Power telephoto lenses from 400 mm to 800 mm (APS-C 300 mm 500 mm) and longer are very expensive, even for the slower versions, but they provide the ultimate in telephoto photography. Deep pockets are needed for most lenses in this range, particularly the faster versions, as one lens can cost more than the average person may spend on photography in their life. A super-telephoto lens can reveal far-off objects barely visible to the human eye.
A professional-quality 400 mm ƒ/2.8 lens is the ultimate dream lens of many sports and wildlife photographers, which they may save for years to acquire. A 600 mm ƒ/4 lens is even more striking, but the 16-times magnification of an 800 mm ƒ/5.6 lens can also be used for astrophotography with clear, vivid results.

Professional photographers are the primary consumers of such magnificent lenses. A majority of the images we see in publications are shot with these lenses.

Buy the Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM Lens

Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM Telephoto Lens