The Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens is Canon's longest, almost heaviest
(the Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens
is 10g heavier) and most expensive EF lens.
It has the reach needed for - and is commonly used for - bird photography,
small and distant animal photography, surf photography (from shore), long distance sports photography ...
If you can get past its size, weight and price, the Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens, does not leave much to be disappointed in.
The size of the Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens is apparent in the above comparison photo with the
Canon EF 500mm f/4 L IS USM Lens
(above left).
Most photographers regard the 500 f/4 as a large lens - but, size is relative.
The Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens weighs in at 11.8 lbs (actually, it is the same weight as the shorter
Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens).
The 600 is 6.6" (168mm) in diameter and 18" (456mm) in length (without the
lens hood attached).
For comparison, the
Canon EF 500mm f/4 L IS USM Lens
weighs 8.5 lbs (3.3 lbs less than the 600) and measures 5.8" x 15.2".
Canon has made an effort to keep the Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens as light as possible without
sacrificing strength by utilizing a Magnesium alloy lens barrel.
The carbon fiber lens hood is very light (and very expensive to replace).
You will want to use it for protection and improved contrast.
I should note that Canon uses a protective front lens element in the 600 IS.
As with all Canon Super Telephoto L Lenses,
build quality of the Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens is excellent.
The focus ring and the many switches resident on the lens all work smoothly.
It will be obvious to a photographer that this is a very high quality piece of equipment - professional grade.
Although it is for the long focal length that many people buy the Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens,
its image quality is excellent as well.
The 600 IS has decent sharpness wide open and improves some until stopped down 1 f-stop or so.
The Canon EF 500mm f/4 L IS USM Lens
is very slightly sharper - but not enough so for sharpness to be a big differentiator.
Sharpness with
Canon Extenders
is also decent.
Some vignetting is apparent at f/4.
Color and contrast are very good.
Eliminating background distractions is generally
desired when photographing birds and similar subjects.
Combining a relatively wide 8-blade aperture with 600mm telescopic compression
can turn a background into a beautiful blur.
Colors and contrast produced by the Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens are both very good.
Image Stabilization (IS) is an excellent feature present on the Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens.
It will not stop subject motion, but makes a big difference in camera/lens motion.
Both Mode 1 and 2 IS are available.
Mode 1 IS attempts to stop camera/lens motion in all directions.
Mode 2 IS allows panning with a moving subject.
As with all IS-equipped lenses, an on/off switch allows IS to be disabled.
Even with the 600 IS mounted on a tripod, IS helps stop vibrations.
The IS version on this lens is tripod-sensing.
The Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens knows that a tripod is being used when vibrations go below a certain level.
Keep IS turned on when mounting the Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens on a tripod to take advantage
of this secondary IS mode - reducing mirror slap, shutter and tripod vibrations.
Utilizing Ring USM (Ultrasonic Motor), the Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens
autofocuses very fast and has FTM (Full Time manual focus).
A 3-position focus limiter switch allows focusing distances to be limited to a specific distance range - or to be unlimited.
Limiting the focus distance range can improve focus lock times.
Autofocus Stop buttons near the objective lens allow autofocus to be temporarily stopped.
AF accuracy is excellent in both one-shot and AI Servo modes.
The Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens' Focus Preset feature allows a specific focus distance to be programmed into the lens.
Pressing the Focus Preset button quickly sets focus to the pre-programmed distance.
You might want to use this feature if you have a perch set up for birds to land on.
When the bird lands, press the button and shoot.
The Tufted Titmouse picture above was taken with the Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens mounted on a
Canon Extender EF 1.4x
which was mounted on a
Full Frame
Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II Digital SLR.
This uncropped sample picture was taken at near-minimum focus distance for the Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens (18'/5.5m).
Photographers using a 1.3x FOVCF Digital SLR
should be able to get similar minimum focus distance framing without the 1.4x extender.
Photographers using a 1.6x FOVCF Digital SLR
should be able to get even tighter framing without the 1.4x extender.
The Canon EF 500mm f/4 L IS USM Lens
can produce identical framing to the sample shot above as it shares the same .12x magnification spec.
But, the 500 needs to be 3.2' (1m) closer to the subject (14.8'/4.5m) to achieve this framing.
Of course, an Extention Tube
can be used to allow closer focusing (higher image magnification, tighter subject framing).
Obviously, the Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens is compatible with - and is commonly used with - the
Canon Extender EF 1.4x and
Canon Extender EF 2x.
Image quality is degraded slightly with the 1.4x and moderately with the 2x.
Loss of contrast and sharpness are the most notable effects.
There is noticeably more barrel distortion when using the 1.4x with the 600mm on a Full Frame body
than with the
Canon EF 500mm f/4 L IS USM Lens
on the same body.
The above photo shows the
Canon EF 500mm f/4 L IS USM Lens
(left) and the Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens with their
lens hoods in place.
The 500 IS is shown with a
Wimberley P40 Lens Plate
attached, the 600 IS is shown with a
Wimberley P50 Lens Plate attached.
Also noticeable in the above photo is the padded top side of the tripod foot on these lenses.
The Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens is frequently carried upside down with the tripod foot acting as a handle.
The pad provides a better grip in addition to being more gentle on your fingers.
This tripod ring (or collar) has positive stops at each 90 degree setting as it rotates.
It is not removable on this lens (or the 500).
Most people find the Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens too heavy to shoot handheld with for any length of time.
And if you are super strong, you will want to use the tripod ring to rest on your hand
with your elbow on your hip for support.
So, there is little reason to remove it.
The foot itself is removable with a hex key wrench.
The primary reason I see to remove it is for replacement
with a specially designed lens plate foot such as one made by Wimberley.
Dragging your mouse down over the labels will show you the respective lens in the lower image.
| Model | Dimensions w/o Hood | Weight | MFD | MM | |||
| Canon EF 200mm f/2 L IS USM Lens | 5.0 x 8.2" | (128 x 208mm) | 5.6 lbs. | (2,520g) | 6.2' | (1.9m) | .12x |
| Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens | 5.0 x 9.9" | (128 x 252mm) | 5.6 lbs. | (2,550g) | 8.2' | (2.5m) | .13x |
| Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens | 6.4 x 13.7" | (163 x 349mm) | 11.8 lbs. | (5,370g) | 9.8' | (3.0m) | .15x |
| Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS USM Lens | 5.0 x 9.2" | (128 x 233mm) | 4.3 lbs. | (1,940g) | 11.5' | (3.5m) | .12x |
| Canon EF 500mm f/4 L IS USM Lens | 5.8 x 15.2" | (146 x 387mm) | 8.5 lbs. | (3,870g) | 14.8' | (4.5m) | .12x |
| Canon EF 600mm f/4 L IS USM Lens | 6.6 x 18.0" | (168 x 456mm) | 11.8 lbs. | (5,360g) | 18.0' | (5.5m) | .12x |
| Canon EF 800mm f/5.6 L IS USM Lens | 6.4 x 18.1" | (162 x 461mm) | 9.9 lbs. | (4,500g) | 19.7' | (6.0m) | .14x |
Plan on using a heavy duty tripod and a Wimberley Tripod Head II with this lens. When properly mounted on this setup, the Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens can be positioned with two fingers. Other support solutions include ground pods, car mounts and bean bags.
Although using the 600 IS tripod-mounted on the Wimberley Head is effortless, getting the rig to your shooting location is not. The Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens is a significant piece of equipment to transport - especially if the weight is on you. It is not fun to carry (especially knowing the financial loss involved with a drop). For this reason, many photographers choose the slightly shorter focal length Canon EF 500mm f/4 L IS USM Lens. If you do not have to carry the lens far (to your back yard feeders for example), the weight becomes less of a differentiating factor.
The Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens comes packed in a protective and lockable lens trunk (a very expensive item to buy separately) and includes a neck strap that attaches directly to the lens. You will not want to carry the 600 IS mounted to your camera body using the camera body's neck strap to support the entire weight. You risk damaging the lens mount on the body. The lens trunk 600 is somewhat larger than the Canon EF 500mm f/4 L IS USM Lens trunk (use the link to see pics of the lens trunk 500) and similar in size to the Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens trunk.
Good in-the-field cases for the Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens include the Lowepro Pro Trekker II AW Backpack, Lowepro Lens Trekker 600 AW Backpack and Lightware z600 Case.
The Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens utilizes 52mm drop-in filters and comes equipped with a drop-in gel filter holder with a glass filter installed. This glass filter is also a nice way to catch dust before it drops deep inside the lens. The Canon 52mm Drop-In Circular Polarizer Filter is probably the most-used drop-in filter available for this lens.
Small and/or distant wildlife is one of the most common Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens targets. Bird photographers love this lens - it is the ultimate tool for this type of photography. Large field sports are another common target of this lens for full-frame body users. With 600mm of focal length, you can shoot a large portion of a full-size soccer, football, baseball ... field. And the autofocus motor has no problem keeping up with the fast action. I typically utilize a sturdy monopod for shooting sports with this lens.
Unless you are with other avid/pro photographers (or alone), expect stares and lots of questions from those around you when using the Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens. It garners lots of attention. Respond politely and don't worry about it. Or show them the pictures you have taken with the Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. And in the hands of a good photographer, the Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens will create pictures that generate lots of admiration.
Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens Sample Pictures
Recommended Shopping Resources (Using these links to make your purchase supports this site)
Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens at B&H Photo
Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens at Adorama (Imported)
Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens at Adorama
Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens at Amazon.com
Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens at J&R
Find the best price on the Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens
Rent the Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens (Using these links supports this site)
Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens at LensRentals.com
* If out of stock, ask the rental company if they can accommodate your need.
More Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens Reviews & Information
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