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lokatz
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Re: Nikon D850+500 PF or Canon R5+100-500 - better for birds?
axlotl wrote:
G Dickson wrote:
Brilliant comparison review. Many thanks indeed for taking the time to do this. This shows just how good the D850 is even few years down the track. Truly one of the best ever DSLRs. It is also really interesting how canon's 100-500 fares so well against that 500. I do wonder what happened to the compact 600mm canon prime with DO that we were all teased with a few years ago.
That would be the RF 600mm f11 IS STM with the gapless DO front group. I had one until I bought the RF 100-500mm. But the 600 f11 is still a very good lens and remarkable value for money.
There is also an 800mm f11 also with DO front group.
Andrew
I believe Canon's original plan was to release a true 600mm DO, similar to the 400mm f/4 DO. Problem is, if I am not mistaken you need a front element diameter of 112mm at 600mm to get an f/5.6 lens, which is hardly practical, so that 600mm DO, or Nikon's 600mm PF for that matter, would more likely have to be an f/8 lens. Not that appealing, given that the expensive front element these lenses require would still make them rather expensive, the estimates I have seen being in the $4-5K range.
The RF 600 and 800 f/11 lenses with their simpler optical construction strike me as better compromises in this case. They are great entry-level teasers and work reasonably well in good light, AFAIK. On the other hand, they serve mostly to 'pave the way' towards the 100-500, which is good product marketing.
Nikon does not have similar low-cost offerings in its portfolio yet. Well, there are always the Sigma and Tamron tele zooms...