On the 35th anniversary of Canon’s EOS line, the company has announced two new RF-mount super-telephoto lenses: the RF 800mm f/5.6 L IS USM and RF 1200mm f/8 L IS USM. While these lenses are similar in name to their EF counterparts, both lenses feature new optical constructions and weigh quite a bit less.

Both super-telephoto fixed focal length lenses are quite light for their considerable abilities and share many of the same features such as Super Spectra Coating (SSC) and Air Sphere Coating (ASC) to help minimize ghosting and flaring, compatibility with both the RF1.4x and RF2x extenders and a customizable electronic focusing ring with manual focus capability during Servo AF.

Additional features shared by both lenses include:

• Two focus presets, with the ability to instantly switch between memorized focus distances
• Circular nine-bladed aperture provides photographers with exceptionally beautiful and soft blurred backgrounds and bokeh
• Renowned Canon L-Series durability and construction with dust and water resistance, plus fluorine coating on the front element for easy cleaning

Canon RF800mm f/5.6L IS USM

The RF800mm f/5.6 L IS USM weighs in at just 6.9 lbs and features a minimum focusing distance of 2.6 meters — maximum close-up magnification is a superb 0.34x, allowing wildlife image creators to fill the frame with small subjects, such as birds, at its minimum focusing distance. Optical image stabilization is up to 4.5 stops of shake correction and includes three IS operation modes. When using the RF1.4x or RF2x extenders, users can experience enhanced effective focal lengths of 1,120mm and 1,600mm respectively.