Canon's new 500/f4 telephoto

I'm an amateur UK natural history photographer who has already parted

with a deposit for Canon's latest 500mm/f4 lens. The problem is I

haven't seen one yet so I don't know what I'm letting myself in for.

 

Has any one out there got one yet? If so what are their first

impressions? Is it every thing that Canon claim it is in their press

release? I'm told that they've done away with the 3 speed manual

focussing. What other changes are there other than the increased

speed?

 

Are the tripod mounting centres the same as the old 500 allowing the

use of the existing mounting plate or will it need to be modified?

 

Thanks in advance for any advise.

 

Regards

I try to keep this forum focused on facts rather than speculation.

I don't think the 500/4 is out yet, so unless someone here has had

a "loaner" from Canon, I doubt there is any hard information

available, except for that put out by Canon.

Brian,

 

Although I haven't had my hands on them yet, I have received a bunch of literature on them from Canon Professional Services and can offer you a bit of info.

 

You are correct in the fact that they have done away the the 3 speed electronic manual focus and have replaced with a fully manual focus of just one speed. According to a few people I know who have had a chance to use some of the new lenses this MF is excellent however, very smooth. Looking at the photos of the lens the tripod mount is indeed different though I'm not sure a new mounting plate would be required. The weight of the new lens is 8.5 lbs as compared to 6.6 for the old 500. Close focus is improved to 14.8' from16.4'. The new drop in filters are 52mm. There is a rubber ring on the lens mount to insure a stable interface with the camera.

 

There are 2 UD elements #'s 2 & 3 and one flourite element #6. Canon claims fastest AF in the world for 500mm lens when combined with the Eos 3. AF with 2X converter with Eos 3. It's obviously a bulkier lens than the old one but according to those who have used one, it balances wonderfully and can actually be handheld for a short period of time comfortably. The 4 AF hold buttons on the barrel can also be used for AF activation with a new CF that can be programed into the Eos 3 by Canon (Eos 3 Software Version 1.7) Hope this helped some.

 

D. Robert Franz

This link to EOS-Magazine gives technical specifications on all four new lenses.

 

http://www.eos-magazine.com/News_13_ISsuperspecs.html

 

Here are UK prices:

Prices and availability

 

UK prices and availability of the new lenses

is as follows:

 

EF 300mm f2.8L IS USM

#3999.99 - July 1999

EF 400mm f2.8L IS USM

#6999.99 - October 1999

EF 500mm f4L IS USM

#5999.99 - July 1999

EF 600mm f4L IS USM

#7999.99 - October 1999

 

The current non-IS versions of these lenses

will continue to be available.

 

Hope this helps,

Sandra

Most info I have seen <A HREF="http://www.tanchung.com/reviews/revequipcanon4isusmlens.htm">Is Here</A>

Living in the UK, you may be able to find the French magazine Chasseurs d'Images at a magazine stand. Their current (August September) issue has a review of the new Canon telephotos.

 

A summary of their first impressions can be found on their web site (www.photim.com). Click on "Les Infos" on their home page, then scroll down to the reference to the article, and click on that.

 

The magazine and Canon are co-sponsoring events in which you can borrow Canon lenses (even THOSE lenses). The events are in France, and maybe Belgium, which is a lot nearer to you than to me (I live in the U.S.) Of course, the magazine and its web site are in French.

I live in england and three week ago i so the new canon 500 f4 allready in use.

a friend of mine even made picture of hobby in flight with it and

told me that the lens was bloody good!

Here is the official word from Chuck Westfall of Canon USA on price and availabity of the 500/4L (in the US):

<p>

<em>The 300/2.8L IS and 500/4L IS have been list priced at $8,000 and

$11,400 respectively, and dealer shipments began this week</em>. (This week is the week of August 1-7th) <em>The

400/2.8L IS and 600/4L IS have not yet been priced, and dealer

shipments are not expected to begin until mid-October at the earliest</em>

<p>

I have no list-to-street price conversion factors! 60-70% might be

a reasonable guess.

<br>[<font size=-1>Camera World of Oregon now has the lenses listed on their web site for $5400

and $7600 for the 300 and 500 respectively. Just a hair more than the Nikkors - Mark Ciccarello] </font>

<p>

Also, the info given in a post above about the non-IS versions still being in production is <b>wrong</b>. Non-IS version of these new IS telephotos will <b>NOT</b> be available for long. Again directly from Chuck:

<p>

"<em>The 4 new IS super-telephotos (300/2.8L IS, 400/2.8L IS, 500/4L IS

and 600/4L IS) definitely replace their predecessors (300/2.8L,

400/2.8L II, 500/4.5L and 600/4L). I'm sure there will be a small

number of the older lenses available in the market for a while, but

they are definitely out of production and will be removed from our

dealer catalogs in due course."</em>

I've heard that all the new super telephoto IS lenses will be on show at the Rutland Bird Fair (UK) on Friday 20th to the 22nd August. This is only a rumour though.

 

Mike Lane

It doesn't make much sense for Canon to produce both IS and non-IS versions of those big lenses, especially the old 500mm/f4.5 AF, which cannot AF with most EOS bodies (except the EOS 3) once you snap a 1.4x teleconvertor on.

 

Unfortunately, the new lenses represent a fairly steep price increase to the entire line. Those who don't have to have IS will be forced to pay quite a bit more if they buy new. However, those who upgrade to the IS version will send plenty used lenses to the second-hand market, perhaps driving down the price.

I know it's not the 500 f/4, but I got to use a new 300 2.8L IS for an entire day at an air show (EAA). That thing seemed just as easy to hand-hold as my 70-200L. The shots were SUPER sharp. When I dropped it off I got to finish off my roll with a 600 f/4L IS. WOW.

If as expected the non IS lenses are discontinued the price of used non IS lenses may go down initially if they do in fact flood the market. I also believe that they will eventually go back up. (I hope) Those who do not need IS will find the the new lenses even further out of reach and the older used ones more attractive than ever.

There are some reviews of this camera in the EOS archives as some of the lucky folks were able to test them at a Canon showing.

 

http://www.psych.helsinki.fi/mailman/listinfo/eos

 

Search the archives. There is an esp good review of the new 300.