. . . is more reach. Between showers and late in the day today, I had a chance to put the just-arrived RF 800mm f/11 to a few targets. The only long optic I’ve ever seen that was this good was the previous copy of the lens I had when I was shooting the R6.
Reviewers who dissed this lens outright or gave it a middling review obviously either never used it or didn’t know how to use it. Yes, build quality isn’t pro level. Yes, no weather sealing. Yes, it’s an extremely slow lens. But the glass, the sharpness, the color rendering, the handling of light—all spectacular.
Oh, and one other thing that’s not pro: the weight. At around twenty feet, minimum focus distance isn’t anything to rave about, either; but neither is it unusually long for this focal length. But when this goes out to the field, the RF 100-400mm and extender will also be in the bag. How’s a foot to infinity, 100-1120mm, at a total weight of 2334 grams sound? Oh, that’s with hood and filter for both.
Now all I need is a bit of good light and a few critter friends . . .
