500mm vs 600mm?

jerste 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!

For most people the difference is huge because it is a difference between handholdable and non-handholdable lens. Generally lenses that are closer to 3 kg can be used without a tripod and lenses closer to 4 kg require a tripod. So the question is would you use the lens rather on tripod? do you work from hides or walk with the lens?

you have some amazing bird shots, Jerry. enjoyed viewing them very much.

Dave wrote:

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.

So far just the 600 & 800mm DO f/11’s

Dave wrote:

BirdShooter7 wrote:

Dave wrote:

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.

So far just the 600 & 800mm DO f/11’s

Yeah, I should have counted them. I was thinking higher end. Guess that makes me a snob.

I confess I did the same. But that was the context so I think it was fair enough.

So what aperture should a 500 DO 'big white' have? How's about a stop faster than the RF 100-500, which would make it an f/5? That would allow the front element to be 100 mm instead of the 125 mm of the EF 500/4L (and the 150 mm of the 600). Together with being shorter and lighter from the DO technology, that would make for a very compact lens by the standards of a big white prime - very much like the EF 400 DO with a 1.25x TC in fact. I could definitely be persuaded to shell out for that.

jjl wrote:

I'm in the market for one of these lenses, and looking for feedback from people who have one or both, and perhaps wish they had the other one. I'm just looking for insights that I might not have thought of.

I had both. Bought the 500 first and then the 600. Used the 600 most of the time. Birding.

You can never have too much reach for birding.

The 500 was handy, lighter.

CWaterston wrote:

jjl wrote:

I'm in the market for one of these lenses, and looking for feedback from people who have one or both, and perhaps wish they had the other one. I'm just looking for insights that I might not have thought of.

I had both. Bought the 500 first and then the 600. Used the 600 most of the time. Birding.

You can never have too much reach for birding.

The 500 was handy, lighter.

are those mk1 or mk2? i have difficulty handholding my 600mm, can't hold it more than a few minutes due to it being awkward and heavy for me. i am not too fond of using tripod or monopod, either.

BlueRay2 wrote:

are those mk1 or mk2? i have difficulty handholding my 600mm, can't hold it more than a few minutes due to it being awkward and heavy for me. i am not too fond of using tripod or monopod, either.

Those were the EF versions, probably mk1. F/4. Heavy, yes. I was in my 40s then and strong enough to carry them around. I could handhold them both, especially the 500, but it was more an exercise of "can I do it" than a regular practice.

I wouldn't buy those lenses again. I'm in my 60s and have no desire to lug heavy gear anymore. I also wouldn't pay today's prices--astonishing, they are.

Dave wrote:

BirdShooter7 wrote:

Dave wrote:

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.

So far just the 600 & 800mm DO f/11’s

Yeah, I should have counted them. I was thinking higher end. Guess that makes me a snob.

I figured you were and I’m eagerly awaiting a RF 500mm f/4.  In an interview a long while back a Canon exec seemed to suggest it would be a DO lens.

BirdShooter7 wrote:

Dave wrote:

BirdShooter7 wrote:

Dave wrote:

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.

So far just the 600 & 800mm DO f/11’s

Yeah, I should have counted them. I was thinking higher end. Guess that makes me a snob.

I figured you were and I’m eagerly awaiting a RF 500mm f/4. In an interview a long while back a Canon exec seemed to suggest it would be a DO lens.

Would you be happy with a slightly slower but more portable lens, such as an f/5? Just curious.