# Review: Canon EF 1200mm f/5.6L from B&H Photo



## Canon Rumors Guy (May 22, 2015)

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B&H Photo has posted a longer review of Canon’s legendary EF 1200mm f/5.6L. It’s definitely a lens that presents some challenges when walking around New York City, but it still looks like a lot of fun.</p>
<p>Some History on the Lens:</p>
<blockquote><p>Canon made this lens available by special order only. A $10,000 deposit was required with the order and manufacturing would only start when several lenses were put on order. <em>Sports Illustrated</em> magazine purchased two 1200mm lenses in the 1990’s. Canon lent a lens to the<em> St. Louis Post-Dispatch</em> in 1999, so they could document Major League Baseball slugger Mark McGuire’s single-season home-run record attempt from center field; photographing every pitch McGuire faced that season. The extreme focal length of the lens gives a unique perspective of the distant view from the outfield fence that other lenses cannot capture.</p></blockquote>
<p><a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/features/bh-photographic-journey-legendary-canon-ef-1200mm-lens?/BI/2466/kbid/3296" target="_blank">Read the full review</a> | <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/801201815-USE/canon_2527a001_super_telephoto_1200mm_f_5_6l.html/bi/2466/kbid/3296" target="_blank">Canon EF 1200mm f/5.6L $180,000 at B&H Photo</a></p>
<p><em>*The offer still stands, if you buy the lens, I’ll buy you the <a href="http://www.lenscoat.com/lenscoatsuptmsup-canon-1200mm-p-914.html" target="_blank">LensCoat</a> for it!</em></p>
<p>Source: [<a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/features/bh-photographic-journey-legendary-canon-ef-1200mm-lens?/BI/2466/kbid/3296" target="_blank">B&H Photo</a>] via [<a href="http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/Canon_new_lenses.html" target="_blank">Northlight</a>]</p>
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## sanj (May 22, 2015)

By now I am CONVINCED that BH has promised CR a huge cut if CR helps out in getting this lens sold. Fine by me.


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## meywd (May 22, 2015)

sanj said:


> By now I am CONVINCED that BH has promised CR a huge cut if CR helps out in getting this lens sold. Fine by me.



well, even 1% of that is a lot.


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## Canon Rumors Guy (May 22, 2015)

sanj said:


> By now I am CONVINCED that BH has promised CR a huge cut if CR helps out in getting this lens sold. Fine by me.



I do have to support my growing family.


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## Luds34 (May 22, 2015)

Canon Rumors said:


> sanj said:
> 
> 
> > By now I am CONVINCED that BH has promised CR a huge cut if CR helps out in getting this lens sold. Fine by me.
> ...



Starting this Friday off with a cup of coffee and a little laugh seems like a great way to start a long weekend.

Thanks!


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## danski0224 (May 22, 2015)

All I need is the $179k burning a hole in my pocket. I can cover the rest...


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## jeffa4444 (May 22, 2015)

Great surveilance lens for Homeland Security and as Uncle Sam spend taxpayers money the price is no object!


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## tron (May 22, 2015)

Ohhh NO! This is a rumors site!

SO: First, Canon has to announce EF1200mm F/5.6L IS at least (not to mention EF1200mm F/5.6L IS II immediatelly after 8) 8) 8) ).

Then, they will have to give some to testers.

Then they make it available...


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## m (May 22, 2015)

> Please note that even if the Canon 1D X had featured a fully articulating LCD screen, this camera/lens combination is completely unsuitable for selfies.


Major disappointment.

Seriously, he _mentions_ that this would work with a 2x converter and mumbles about how this lens would perform on a crop body. Why on earth is not using it with a converter or at least trying it?


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## Pinchers of Peril (May 22, 2015)

Canon Rumors said:


> sanj said:
> 
> 
> > By now I am CONVINCED that BH has promised CR a huge cut if CR helps out in getting this lens sold. Fine by me.
> ...



BAHAHAHA


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## Pinchers of Peril (May 22, 2015)

I tried to add this to my cart and both my computer and my wallet immediately exploded.


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## Hjalmarg1 (May 22, 2015)

Canon Rumors said:


> sanj said:
> 
> 
> > By now I am CONVINCED that BH has promised CR a huge cut if CR helps out in getting this lens sold. Fine by me.
> ...


+1 CR


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## rowlandw (May 22, 2015)

What, no IS at the price? I was going to buy one until I realized I already own a $300 Panasonic fz70 that reaches 1200mm with stabilization.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (May 22, 2015)

Canon Rumors said:


> sanj said:
> 
> 
> > By now I am CONVINCED that BH has promised CR a huge cut if CR helps out in getting this lens sold. Fine by me.
> ...



That seems to have a familiar ring


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## monkey44 (May 22, 2015)

From the quote above :: "...Canon lent a lens to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 1999, so they could document Major League Baseball slugger Mark McGuire’s single-season home-run record attempt from center field; photographing every pitch McGuire faced that season."

Interesting ... How did Canon and the St Louis paper KNOW ahead of time that McGuire would break that record? A crystal ball? A gypsy future-teller?

It seems amazing to me that this claims from the first pitch of the season, both Canon and ST Louis Dispatch predicted McGuire WOULD break that record. 

I'd not be so surprised if the lens was 'borrowed' during the final month or so, once everyone knew the record was in jeopardy. An great feat by McGuire, 70 HR in a season but that predictable, hardly. Wonder if McGuire just suddenly decided to go after it, and convinced all major league pitchers to throw him gopher balls all season from day one ? Or, did like Bonds in 2001 with the clubs telling pitchers it was 'unethical' to walk him when he was going after a record. 

I know, a bit off topic, but interesting to sports guys who document the games...


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## davemody (May 22, 2015)

$180,000 and it's no good for Selfies?! Wow, I'm taking that out of my cart. Good thing I read the review first! Thanks CR!


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## jonathangrills (May 22, 2015)

Hmmm...I got my credit card out and then realized my Canon SX-50 can zoom to 1200mm...so never mind.


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## deletemyaccount (May 22, 2015)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> Canon Rumors said:
> 
> 
> > sanj said:
> ...


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## tron (May 23, 2015)

jonathangrills said:


> Hmmm...I got my credit card out and then realized my Canon SX-50 can zoom to 1200mm...so never mind.


 ;D ;D ;D


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## LetTheRightLensIn (May 23, 2015)

Canon Rumors said:


> sanj said:
> 
> 
> > By now I am CONVINCED that BH has promised CR a huge cut if CR helps out in getting this lens sold. Fine by me.
> ...



I see what you did there.


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## Brymills (May 23, 2015)

Looks nice but I'm waiting for the Mark 2 version...


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## Foxdude (May 23, 2015)

No IS, not good gor selfies, and most important, it lacks DR because it is Canon after all. One more huge disappointment from Canon. What the heck are they thinking? I'll switch to Sony!


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## Roo (May 24, 2015)

davemody said:


> $180,000 and it's no good for Selfies?! Wow, I'm taking that out of my cart. Good thing I read the review first! Thanks CR!



Who says it's no good for selfies? You just have to be creative and with the right attachment (or tape) it becomes a good selfie stick ;D


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## Aichbus (May 24, 2015)

I found both the lens and the article underwhelming, especially the article because it left out some major considerations. First of all: To get that "magic" 1200-mm-feeling, you can buy a 600 L II and a 2xIII extender. You just lose 1 stop of light. So agreed, that's not 100 % the same experience because of the slightly larger depth of field of the 600-mm-combo, but what you gain is a lot: For roughly 1/10 of the money you get probably almost the same image quality (no test was made, that's why I have to speculate) in a (for some) handholdable lens (at least I can handhold the 600 L II for a short time at least), and you get a very good IS. Since that beast came out, noise performance of cameras and optical knowhow in newer lenses improved a lot so that I think on the whole, if you need 1200 mm, the 600 L II with 2xIII is the way to go.

However, and now I am talking about an issue that was not really mentioned in the article, the optical quality of the lens can hardly be put to use if you use it like the authors of the articles, i. e. to photograph far away subjects. From my vast personal experience with my 600 L II I can say that there is a minimal chance only that you can take photos at 1200 mm without the air between the lens and the subject destroying the image quality. Even at 600 mm, haze is an issue. At 1200 mm, you have to have very special atmospheric conditions to get really sharp images from subjects that are several hundreds meters away. Let alone kilometers. If you are focusing on subjects near infinity (astronomical shots excepted) you will NEVER get a sharp image of an object. Never. Talking about the shots of that bridge in the article, I am pretty sure that images taken with an ordinarly 600 mm lens would be quite as (un)sharp as those taken with this beast, even if the beast were optically better).


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## applecider (May 24, 2015)

My big question here, and I'm serious, is will canon service this lens if anything breaks. They seem to have taken some pride in the series converting them from FD lenses to EF. I wonder if they keep track of the current owners and offer them some sort of support plan.

Imagine the price drop that would occur if canon came out with a good 1200mm f 5.6 DO lens that weighed less than 10# or 4 kg. and was hand luggable. Hint hint

And yes in comparison to a 600 L II and a 2xIII extender it would be nice to see some actual quality comparisons. Perhaps that is why the reviews are always short for time and bench testing is never feasible.......


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## candc (May 25, 2015)

i can't do a direct comparison because i don't have a 1200 laying around but i can say that the 600ii is pretty good with extenders. 

this is the 7dii, 600ii, sigma tc-2001. f/8, 1/250s, handheld. 



> And yes in comparison to a 600 L II and a 2xIII extender it would be nice to see some actual quality comparisons. Perhaps that is why the reviews are always short for time and bench testing is never feasible....


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## johnhenry (May 25, 2015)

applecider said:


> My big question here, and I'm serious, is will canon service this lens if anything breaks. They seem to have taken some pride in the series converting them from FD lenses to EF. I wonder if they keep track of the current owners and offer them some sort of support plan.
> 
> Imagine the price drop that would occur if canon came out with a good 1200mm f 5.6 DO lens that weighed less than 10# or 4 kg. and was hand luggable. Hint hint
> 
> And yes in comparison to a 600 L II and a 2xIII extender it would be nice to see some actual quality comparisons. Perhaps that is why the reviews are always short for time and bench testing is never feasible.......



The focus motors are one of the weak points of "legacy" equipment. This one and the 200mm 1.8 both share the same motor in their "focus by wire" design, meaning if the motor goes even manual focus will not work. When I got my 200mm 1.8, I also got a spare new motor for it from an camera equipment maker.

Someone else made the point about the ultimate resolution of the lens. With a lens this expensive and painstakingly made, there ARE options not available to the opticians such as "retouching". They basically test the complete optic against its own refection in an optical flat that is falt to say 1/20 of a wavelength of light, and adjust it to get the best results.


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