Howy you again everyone I've been Testing a lot of super telephoto lenses Over the past 12 months or so which as Always as exciting as as challenging but This is easily the one with the most Interesting even record-breaking Zoom Range the new Canon rf200 to 800 mm f6.3 To 9 is USM no l in there though despite Looking like it should have there's no Red ring here today it's a full-frame Lens only for Canon's eosr system mless Cameras and it costs $1,900 or about £2,300 here in the UK I Don't have that kind of money so I'd Like to say thank you to Canon UK for Loaring me this lens for a week for Testing although as usual it's a totally Independent review and that Zoom range Is really quite exciting any lens ending In 800 millim is always going to capture People's imaginations let alone one that Starts at 200 this is immensely useful For wildlife and particularly bird Photography when you could zoom out look Around for a subject then Zoom right in And catch them just a Pity the zoom ring Has such a long throw takes a little While to actually zoom in but still Awesome 800 mm is a huge focal length For a fullframe lens and so even with a Maximum aperture that darkens to F9 as You zoom in this lens is still pretty Big and at 2 kg heavy but if you want Those kind of focal lengths that really
Is more or less just the price you have To pay the lens is made mostly of Plastic to keep the weight down and it Feels reasonably tough it's all based on A metal lens mount with a weather Ceiling gasket around the edge Unsurprisingly it comes with a strong Metallic adjustable tripod mount then The lens has one of Canon's customizable Control Rings this one turns smoothly in Front of that a focus hold button as Well as switches for autofocus and for Image stabilization talking about a Stabilization here's some footage with It turned off and now turned on at 800 Mm it's not performing Miracles by any Means but it certainly is helping and to Be fair I shot this footage handheld on A slightly windy day then comes the Manual focus ring which turns nice and Smoothly as you can see here the Focus Motor responds very well to it being Turned and also whether you're zoomed Out or zoomed in we see little Focus Breathing all good news there when it Comes to auto focus even when shooting At 800 mm and F9 it's silent accurate And very fast and the mechanism had no Trouble in my experience with tracking Subjects then comes the large rubberized Zoom ring which can be set to move more Smoothly or a bit more tightly I repeat My previous mild criticism that its Throw is a bit too long for me I wish it
Could turn more quickly for faster zooms But then again In fairness it's a big Mechanism And that's about it really the front Edge of the lens does not have a Rubberized coating which is a bit of a Shame as it would protect it somewhat From knocks and bumps but you do get a Large plastic lens hood here and the Lens does have a 95 mm filter thread Overall great build quality here be Aware that in real life the lens is a Bit bigger and heavier than it looks in This video footage anyway image quality We'll start with my fullframe camera a Canon EOS R5 with its challenging 45 map Sensor in camera Corrections are all Turned on at 200 mm and f6.3 image Sharpness and contrast are both good but Not perfect Corner image quality just Looks a little softer but the picture is Still holding up well stop down to f8 For a little more sharpness and contrast In those corners and a little more Punchiness back in the middle to at f11 And F16 defraction kicks in noticeably Softening the whole image frame let's Zoom in halfway to 500 mm at the new Maximum aperture of f8 the image is very Sharp in the middle right away a little Better than it was at 200 mm Corner Image quality is looking better than Before too although they're still not Perfectly sharp stop down further to f11
Or darker and the all round image just Gets softer again finally let's Zoom all The way into 800 mm in the middle of the Image sharpness and contrast are just Okay now nothing special really Corner Image quality is about the same again Stopping down to f11 or darker simply Introduces softness due to defraction Overall it's a competent performance Here considering the lens's huge Zoom Range but I'd be lying if I said I Wasn't hoping for a bit more sharpness All right let's really challenge the Lens Now by putting it onto my apsc Camera a Canon EOS R7 with its very Demanding 32.5 map cropped sensor I feel Bad doing this in a way it's going to Stretch this lens to its limit but a lot Of wildlife photographers like to shoot On apsc for the extra reach at 200 mm And f6.3 sharpness and contrast in the Middle of the image are good but not Great the image Corners are looking okay Here too at f8 those Corners look about The same but back in the middle Sharpness and contrast are now looking Even better to me however as you'd Expect stop down f11 or F16 and Defraction really kicks in softening the Image again all right let's zoom in Halfway to 500 mm now at the new maximum Apture of f8 the lens is looking fairly Nice and sharp in the middle good the Corners are looking good here too and
That's an impressive performance on such A demanding sensor stop down to f11 Though and again softness let's zoom Into 800 mm now on an absc camera that's The equivalent of 1,200 80 mm so you're Getting an absolutely crazy reach here At the new maximum aperture of F9 image Quality in the middle is a little soft Now with low contrast but a reasonable Level of detail is still making its way Through the good news is that the image Corners aren't really much softer and The image is still holding itself Together just about and again from F1 Onwards the lens just starts getting Softer again overall on an apsc camera Defraction is this lens's biggest enemy As you might expect the lens is never Super sharp especially when you're Zoomed in but neither does it get badly Soft and for such a telephoto optic on Such a challenging camera this is quite Usable okay let's turn off those in Camera Corrections and take a look at Distortion and vignetting on a Full-frame camera at 200 mm and f6.3 we See moderate pin cushion Distortion here But very little vignetting zoom into 500 Mm and that Distortion is reduced but The vignetting is stronger stop down to F11 to see the corners brighten up Zoom All the way into 800 mm and Distortion Is virtually gone vignetting is a little High still though stop down to f11 or
F16 to see those Corners brighten up Next close-up image quality if you want To shoot closeup with this lens then You'll actually get best results by Zooming out to 200 mm where at f6.3 we See great sharpness close up and stop Down to f8 for just an edge of extra Resolution to emerge let's see how the Lens works against bright light good News here whether zoomed out to 200 mm Or into 800 mm flaring is very low and Contrast remains good finally bcka good News here too even quite difficult Backgrounds are rendered fairly smoothly By this lens and there are no real Problems here to report overall while I Was very impressed with the 200 to 800 And I know a lot of people are going to Find it useful I still had conflicting Feelings about it the lens is a little Bigger and heavier than I was hoping it Might be and perhaps not quite as sharp Although its Optical performance is Undeniably reasonably good and its dark Aperture while not disastrous does make For a more difficult shooting experience I also really wish that Zoom ring turned A bit easier and faster for SNAP zooms Into fleeting Birds I'm shooting Although on the other hand you can Understand it'll be difficult for Canon To make a zoom mechanism much faster Than this on such a big lens I don't Know I'm left with a feeling that I'm
Perhaps being a bit too fussy here it is A good lens very impressive and it does Come recommended if you bear in mind That it's a little big and heavy and That a tripod will greatly help when You're shooting with it then In fairness You'll probably get some fantastic shots With that useful Zoom Range Thanks for watching everyone testing out Long telephoto zoom lenses like these is A huge amount of work for me so I'm Especially thankful to all my lovely Patreon supporters who make it possible For this channel to keep going onwards And upwards sponsorship free check it Out in the description below supporters Get all kinds of exclusive bonus content Early Access and a warm happy feeling Inside for having made such a difference Ciao for now everyone
