Used Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM Lens

2025-05-13T14:36:48

I love this lens and I knew before the purchase it's short comings and the most talked about short coming is it's fixed f/11 aperture. To compensate I use this lens on my full frame 30.3 megapixel camera. I keep my ISO on auto and with the more advanced ISO technology in the mirrorless line I find I can get very sharp images and also some fair flexibility during lower light situations as well. Considering the price of this lens you get a good bang for your buck.

Richard P.

2024-06-08T20:00:00

Great lens and cheap for its length but requires practice to find targets quickly.

Jim B.

Originally posted at

2024-04-17T20:00:00

its a great lens to learn on for bird watching and astrophotography. its a lens that's good at a lot of things but not great at anything. It fixed f11 really hinders it from being perfect.

Skyguy

Originally posted at

2024-03-20T20:00:00

Older cameras just couldn't autofocus with f11 lenses. Focusing with lenses at f11 and smaller is quite a feat. I have been very with the lens. The close focusing of 20 ft. has been a problem on a few uses. Hey Canon, we really want and need RF extension tubes. Since the purchase of the 800 I have purchased and am using the RF 100-500 (with and without the RF 1.4x Extender). The L lens is quite nice and has a price to boot. The big plusses for 800 f11 is that it is a very affordable and light weight way to jump into a lens that long. I use my gear 90% of the time for bird photography. So for beginners and those on a budget the lens in invaluable.

Some T.

Originally posted at

2024-03-09T19:00:00

All things considered, I do like this lens. As with every piece of equipment, you need to know when and how to use it to get the best results. At first, I have to admit I wasn't impressed with this lens. But I was in a hurry the other day and didn't have the time or patience to take out my "real" 800, so I grabbed this one and, as things turned out, the pictures were amazing. Yes, you need really good light and have to know how to manage your shutter speed and ISO to accommodate the fixed f/11. But all that notwithstanding, the lens itself does what its supposed to do, and at less than 1/10 the cost of something better and bulkier. I'm glad I have this one1

RJF

Originally posted at

2024-02-07T04:07:36

I orginally rented this lens as I thought 800mm at f11 would be hard to shoot with, was I wrong! The second day of the rental I placed my order to purchase this lens. Amazing cleariity hand holding at 1/250 sec at 800mm! I have won awards for several of my images with this lens!

TRAVIS P.

2024-01-08T19:00:00

I bought this lens refurbished from this Canon website for my new Canon R8. Active in bird photography, I wanted something to complement my EF 80-200mm IS L II with a 1.4x adapter. The EF zoom is outstanding, but 280mm from this lens/adapter combo just can't get me close enough to the wildlife. The 800mm is shockingly light compared to my EF lens, and when I use the R8's 1.6 crop option? I am able to get 1280mm from this setup. I've never used anything beyond 600mm in the past, so this lens allows me to obtain clear shots from very long distances. The stabilization with up to 4 stops works very well, as I primarily use this lens hand-held. I just set my shutter to 1000 to ensure the lens does not pickup my movement. Yes, with an f11, this lens is relegated to sunny days. The only other issue I encounter is the long minimum focusing distance (about 19 feet). I missed a few shots of birds landing closer to me; however, I realize this lens' purpose? extreme long distance photography. In this capacity, this 800mm lens does an outstanding job!

CB7

Originally posted at

2023-01-13T11:38:39

Without question this is the best bang-for-the-buck lens regarding RF lenses! Understanding it's limitations is key but the trade-off is well worth it when you consider the 800mm reach!

MICHAEL A.

2022-11-30T19:00:00

Tested this lens under different conditions, as expected low light and birds in flight were rather difficult. So my final test was done with an R7 and the RF800 f11. my best results were with bright early morning sunlight, however there are some concerns about the focus "abilities" of this lens. I've added a few screen shots of the pictures in Digital Photo Professional software that shows the focus point. The camera did go to the eye but the focus is actually about 1 to 2 feet in front of the bird...pictures speak for themselves.

PSP

Originally posted at

2022-11-15T19:00:00

I've only used it to take shots of the moon so far but I'm happy with the results!

Sarge1

Originally posted at

2022-09-16T20:00:00

Purchased from the Canon Store. Owned it for a year now and have achieved good results when used under the right conditions. Works well for surfer shots from the beach. Light enough for hand held use,but I like it setup on a monopod or tripod.

JohnJoseph

Originally posted at

2022-09-02T14:37:45

Great lens with awesome reach. Be prepared to take a smaller reach lens with you too, as 800mm is a damn good closeup lens and gets too close sometimes. Great value at $899 USD. Bought mine in the US and saved $500 on the Australian price.

KERRIGAN E.

2022-08-04T20:00:00

Like others said, the AF randomly stops working. This 100% kills this lens for me. I have gotten decent photos but I simply don?t trust it- like at all. I originally had it paired with the RP body and thought it was the AF in the body causing issues, so I upgraded to the R6 and the problem is still there. I also have failed to get the AF to work at the 20? mark. I really wish I didn?t buy this and sadly wouldn't recommend it to anyone, even for the price.

Focus83_photo

Originally posted at

2022-07-13T08:23:51

I am amazed at the clarity I get on my canon R5 with lens. It is well worth the money and I can recommend it to anyone who wants to get into long distance photography and not wanting to pay $10000 plus for an L lens. If you have steady hands the pictures are very sharp as long as you have good light. After all it is an F11 lens.

KERRIGAN E.

2022-05-30T13:38:24

Took a bit to talk myself into this purchase, because of the whole "f/11 thing". I needn't have worried. Yes, you need it to be nice outside to use this lens, but the telephoto part helps the bokeh plenty by virtue OF being a telephoto lens. It has a built-in monopod/tripod mount. It's also easy to carry, considering its size. I love shooting with this thing. Just one complaint, as with all Canon lenses. Dear Canon, Your customers pay good money for your lenses. INCLUDE THE HOOD! Making that a separate purchase is classless.

DANIELLE C.

2022-02-07T19:00:00

I have been using this lens for a little over a month. I bought it in the hopes that it would work on my birding photography, particularly birds in flight despite reading that it would be difficult to do so. So far I have not had any issues with it in that regard. I am really enjoying it and am amazed at its sharpness. I know it needs lots of light but I rarely if ever go out photographing on cloudy days so that?s not a problem for me. I do wish it used the full screen for focusing points but so far I have managed to work with what it offers. Overall I am extremely pleased with the results

JorgeM

Originally posted at

2022-01-08T19:00:00

I purchased this lens for wildlife photography realizing the lens aperture is fixed at f11. I figured I could work around that and I have. The pictures are mostly very sharp and I am impressed with the quality for the price, when it is working. I did not see at the time or it was not there when I purchased it as it is VERY tiny this Disclaimer; "^May lose AF functionality". I assure you it DOES! I have done some research and quite a few people have had the same issue I have. You will be using the AF capabilities of this lens and it will just stop auto focusing. I switched to manual focus and got it close and switched back to auto focus and it worked again a little and then stopped focusing again. I tried shutting off my R6 and turning it back on and it started working again until it stopped auto focusing again. Canon needs to fix this problem not just add a tiny disclaimer that is very easily missed. I would love to recommend this lens but I can not because of this issue.

hyaduckh

Originally posted at

2022-01-02T19:00:00

Bought this 800mm for my R5, and since putting it on, I have not used my 100-400 mkii, with the 1.4 mkii ext. Center focus, not a problem. Do I miss some shot? Yes, but I get more. The two bird in-flight shots were missed focus, but because the F11, they were within the focal plane.

MBelue

Originally posted at

2022-01-02T19:00:00

Bought this 800mm for my R5, and since putting it on, I have not used my 100-400 mkii, with the 1.4 mkii ext. Center focus, not a problem. Do I miss some shot? Yes, but I get more. The two bird in-flight shots were missed focus, but because the F11, they were within the focal plane.

MOBelue

Originally posted at

2021-12-07T14:45:25

Fast focusing, and sharp! Although a fixed f11 I mainly use this lens after the sun is up and the subject is in good light. Primarily shooting Bald Eagles, I can get some good reach with this lens. It's also lightweight and relatively easy to hand hold.

Stephen K.

2021-10-30T20:00:00

It's not all I bought it for but the terrain detail it reveals on a full moon is beautiful. The plain signs of moons of Uranus with front to back contrast from the sunlight and I even got a picture of Saturn showing the ring system, no detail, just the shape. That took a handful of shots due to the darkness and shutter times but that and the moon's earth are among my most pleasing shots.

DWH

Originally posted at

2021-09-29T20:00:00

This is a very light weight, super tele lens While I wish it was an f/8,I appreciate what it offers. it allow you to pack light, Carry anywhere , and it is comparatively very sharp! Yes it has its limitations, but for its price, it delivers unbeatable value.

Beji

Originally posted at

2021-09-27T08:59:13

I have not have time to try it out extensively. But, the few test photos that I shot were extremely sharp. It works well with my Canon EOS R5. But, there is a missing manual. You have to download it from Canon. It is a short but very useful PDF manual named rf600-800-f11isstm-im-eng.pdf that I got from Canon support. It explains the operation of RF-600 and the RF-800.

JAMES H.

2021-07-24T20:00:00

The f stop is only 11 Closest focus distance is 20ft.

Jws

Originally posted at

2021-06-23T20:00:00

This is a marvel of optics by Canon. I do wish they would have tried to bring the Fstop up a bit. I think if F11 got us this lens then an 8 would get us a larger, but still compact lens. It probably could not worth with the telescoping part of the lens, but I would like to see that lens.

Obinx

Originally posted at

2021-06-07T00:16:48

For the money, this is an awesome lens and a bargain! I was really surprised how sharp it is, I highly recommend buying it!

Michael A.

2021-05-31T20:00:00

The Canon RF 800mm f11 actually focuses faster than I thought it would. What I did notice is that you'll find atmospheric distortion your eyes don't see over longer distances but for objects within reasonable range it's nice and sharp. I used it on an R6 and was more than happy with it. A few years ago I rented a different brand 150-600mm and was not satisfied with it, then purchased the 100-400mm MkII Canon which works great on the R6 with the adaptor but I was looking for more reach for a birding trip to Eastern Oregon. At 800mm birds in flight take more practice but I'm also dealing with the after effects of a stroke so no heavy lens would do either. Glad I made the purchase, just wish I'd done it sooner for more practice time.

Paul O.

Originally posted at

2021-04-20T20:27:32

Jus what I was looking for. 5 ??

PEDRO M.

2021-03-31T20:00:00

Great lens, but doc1152 is wrong. You are not using a 1280mm lens, you are cropping a 800mm lens to give you the FOV that a 1280mm lens would give you on a larger format. Your reproduction ratio, the size the image is projected on your sensor, is the same size regardless of that sensor size. The magnification is the same. Your crop camera crops a 1.6 ratio, it does not enlarge by 1.6. I rented one to use on my R5. This a great lens for someone that can't afford the Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM Lens. It will do everything you want it to so and then some. Great addition to the Canon lineup.

Blanche

Originally posted at

2021-03-17T13:47:18

This lens has been a great addition to my camera bag. Its light and can easily be hand held. The quality image's have been really good.

MARK C.