500mm vs 600mm?

Steve Balcombe wrote:

dgumshu wrote:

tetsumo wrote:

Thanks for all the great insights, I was wondering if the difference between the 600mm f4 IS II and the 500mm f4 IS II is just 730 grams is it such a big impact? Thanks!

I'll chime in to say that even though the weight is something to consider on the 600 F4 ll, don't forget about size and bulk. Due to size, I would not take the 600 F4 ll on most trips, as it was too big for the overhead on Regional jets which have more restrictions on carry on luggage size. Having to check-in that lens would be a nightmare in the making. My 500 F4 goes everywhere I go... along with others. It's compact enough to fit in a slim 7" high carry on roller case.

I agree. I had the 500, now have the 600 Mark III and even without the extra weight of the 600 Mark II I often wish I still had the 500. Unfortunately I couldn't justify the cost of keeping both.

I mainly planned to use the 600 in static situations on a big tripod, where the extra size wouldn't be too much of an issue. But it's turned out that I shoot it hand-held (or sometimes with a monopod) much more than I expected, and here the bulk is a definite disadvantage. It doesn't fit in any bag that I own (or would want) so it gets carried for miles on my shoulder.

Still hoping against hope that there will be an RF 500 DO...

(Edit: just been re-reading my various posts in this thread. If you do the same , please bear in mind that they were written in 2017 and where applicable relate to the 600 Mark II which was current at the time, not the Mark III which I later bought.)

Have any DO RF lenses been released?  What you are hoping for sounds very logical to me.
I wonder how many would choose the RF 100-500 over it, though.