Review comments regarding the Canon 800mm F5.6 lens July 2008
First, let me say that buying this lens is for someone that makes a living from photography, takes wildlife photography very serious as a hobby or you borrow one. It is an unbelievable price that would prohibit most photographers from the purchase.
The past four years my Canon 600 F4 has delivered hundreds of outstanding images and has taken the beating of world travel and even baggage handling by the airlines. Further, more than 20,000 cycles of shooting with AI Servo and Image Stabilization speak very well for the quality of the product.
Why then would I even consider another bank breaking purchase? My answer is pretty basic: First, I always seem to want to reach just a little further for the wildlife. Second, the new 800 is actually shorter and lighter than the 600.
My first feel out of the box was a noticeably lighter and more manageable lens than the 600. The same plate for my Wimberley mount quickly attached to the 800. Yes, you shouldn’t even consider trying to capture the best images without spending the money for the right tripod and Wimberley head. If you are going to dig this deep for a lens and a camera body to deliver the image; you best have enough left over to punctuate your effort with the best chance to capture that “one in a thousand” image. After all, if you want to haul this equipment to the best spots on the planet, place yourself in opportune spots for wildlife, you had better be ready with everything going for you when that Leopard finally appears for perhaps only seconds to capture the shot.
Now that I have it out of the box with a worthy Canon body (1Ds Mk III) and mounted on the Wimberley; I am ready to see what all this money can deliver. Since I usually shoot with AI Servo auto focus and IS “on”; my first capture was one of our usual back yard visitors, the birds. My preference is plenty of shutter speed with the lens wide open in the AV mode. If the eyes are sharp; I usually wind up happy at the computer later.
My first few clicks of the shutter left me wondering if I had the settings correct. The reason for that is the noticeably quieter operation of the lens. No rattle from IS and the focusing was whisper quiet as well. After rechecking my settings to make sure they were correct; I took more images while listening for the usual sound. It was pleasingly quiet and now I paid attention to the snappy rate at which it found focus (nice). I am starting to like the new toy and feeling a little less guilty about the money.
The bottom line for me is always a tack sharp image. All the money, less weight, smaller size, quieter operation, further reach, great looking MTF charts is not worth it if the subject isn’t outstanding in sharpness. You guessed it, my next move was to pull the card out and head for the computer.
Download complete, open up Capture One Pro 3.7.8, select the folder, wait for the jpeg previews and take a good peek. They look quite good and my first observation subjectively feels like they live up to what I see from the 600. Taking the first images through my time-tested workflow; I am eager to develop the RAW and look at the TIFF file in Photoshop CS3. With a 30” freshly calibrated Apple Cinema monitor I can take a good look in the “Actual Pixels” view. Now we are nearing the real test of looking at a print. Feeling pretty good about what I am seeing on the screen; I finish my workflow in CS3 and save the file as a TIFF in 360 PPI. I res the image up in Genuine Fractals 5.0 to a 24” wide to print on my Epson 9800 using an Image Print 7.0 RIP. I keep the PPI at 360 because that is what the Epson algorithm converts it to anyway. If you deliver your file in 360 you don’t fall short of the quality you desire. Epson technical staff has enlightened me that the printer will modify your file to accommodate the print head functionality. They probably do an excellent job with their software but why let something else take control of the file you are happy with at this point in the workflow.
The printer does its thing and I am there to grab the print as the cutter finishes its work. I take the print to some good light and start my scan by looking at the eyes. Wow, the quality is great! As I take my view around the rest of the image and return to the eyes of the subject several times; I am very pleased. My only regret at this moment is that some of my best photo buddies aren’t there to share in the results. That will come in time.
Canon has a real winner with this lens and a lucky few will have the thrill of what this lens can deliver. They seem to have optimized it for digital, stopped using lead, and lightened the load as well as other nice features. It makes me wonder if they will begin to move this technology to some of their other Super Telephoto lenses (I hope they will).
On the downside, the price is outrageously high and out of reach for most individuals. The National Geographic shooters and the sports shooters will probably own most of the 800’s unless Cannon can get the price down. For me, I have worked hard all my life and feel I have reached the point of spending on my serious hobby. Now, I need a real life field test on some bears in Alaska or some Leopards in Botswana. When those trips are complete; I will offer more feedback on this great addition to the Canon arsenal of lenses.
New images will begin to show up on my web site www.BrianHamptonPhotography.com if you care to take a look.
Kind regards,
Brian Hampton
