Canon EF 600mm f/4 L IS II USM : Specifications and Opinions

Reviews

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The following opinions have been automatically translated with Google Translate.

DavideOtta

sent on 15 Gennaio 2026

Pros: SHARPNESS-AF-color rendering-blur

Cons: fragile lens hood (I was a bit of a wild boar) and weight

Opinion: Super lens, grip used after about a year and a half of 500f4 first series. The difference was abysmal. Top sharpness with magical blur. It is worth the money it costs, it gives immense satisfaction. Obviously, compared to current models, it weighs more, but on a long mountain excursion with a heavy backpack to carry everything you need 13/14 kg, a kg in or less makes little difference. I use it 99% handheld since the conditions in which I usually shoot do not allow you to use a tripod comfortably. "fragile" lens hood, or perhaps a big mistake of mine was to fix it even when it was in the backpack, while it is only better to put it inside out without closing the screw that could be forced and in the long run you will ruin the thread. However, I recommend a foldable fabric lens hood, e.g. RolandPro. Excellent lens also with Tcs, obviously as long as there are clear air conditions.

_Axl_

sent on 22 Febbraio 2024

Pros: Perfect image quality, incredible sharpness, ideal lens to be multiplied, bright aperture, construction at the highest level, micro-contrast, blur and image stabilization.

Cons: Fragile lens hood fixing system, very expensive lens hood replacement (€ 919,00), weight compared to current models.

Opinion: Ultimate goal. Construction at the highest level, the lens body is entirely made of magnesium and/or titanium, the switches on the lens body are in the right place and show all the controls you need and the MAF ring is perfect and fluid. The lens is, of course, tropicalized like a Canon L-Series and, therefore, this allows its use even in adverse conditions. Optical design consisting of fluorite and UD elements that counteract aberrations and distortions. It's an exceptional lens and has the ideal range for wildlife photography (from large African mammals to passerines) and sports photography. 600mm with a constant f4 aperture is the best you could wish for to bring your subject closer without disturbing it. It's my favorite lens for Safaris where I mount it on the Canon R5 whose 45 Megapixel sensor is perfect to bring out all the details that this wonderful lens can give. The constant f4 aperture and the incredible IQ of this lens make it perfectly compatible with TCs, in particular, with the 1.4x III the loss of detail is almost zero, with the 2x III the drop is greater but the image remains fully usable. It is a definitive lens and this can be seen as soon as you open the images on the monitor that will be incredibly sharp and micro-contrasted, full of detail and with superb color restitution. But it is the detachment of the planes that leaves you speechless, already @600mm at f4 or, even better, @840 (with TC 1.4x inserted) at f5.6, the in-focus portion will emerge in a surreal way from a creamy, unique and wonderful blur that nothing, absolutely nothing, has to do with those applied in post production.

Eliad

sent on 22 Febbraio 2024

Pros: Photographic quality, Blur greater than the other lenses 500mm f4 - 400mm f2.8 - 300mm f2.8, in fact it is the lens that blurs the most of all, Stabilization excellent, Autofocus speed.

Cons: None other than the weight, but it weighs as much as the 400mm f2.8 II

Opinion: The lens par excellence, the 600mm is the most powerful lens in terms of optical quality, autofocus speed, blur, zoom. Compared to the younger siblings. Lens that doesn't need an extender, it brings everything closer with a spectacular micro contrast!! The lens allows a multiplication with an excellent 1.4x becoming an 840mm f5.6 (obviously with the depth of field of a 600mm f4 higher than all lenses) without loss of sharpness!!

Francesco Lo Gullo

sent on 15 Marzo 2023

Pros: Build quality, sharpness, stabilization.

Cons: Weight compared to the new models.

Opinion: I took it recently, trading in my beloved 500 mm II version, I immediately noticed a better sharpness already from F4, the stabilization is surprising and allows you to take home shots even without the use of the tripod. Excellent behavior with the extender canon 1.4 III. With the R5 he behaves very well and is very responsive and is always ready.

Valter Degni

sent on 07 Luglio 2022

Pros: Reduced weight compared to the previous model; Exceptional full aperture sharpness; Minimum distance of MAF at 4.5m; Fourth generation stabilization; Price since today July 2022 being out of production is at acceptable prices compared to the brand new versions.

Cons: none

Opinion: Having the opportunity to test its sharpness at full aperture, as soon as I could I replaced my old 600 series 1 (but glorious and faithful companion) with this. Sharpness that is not affected at all by the 1.4X III multiplier (always at full aperture) and its reduced minimum focusing distance allows unthinkable close-up shots, at the limit of the macro. A particular applause to the stabilizer that allows me to shoot from tripod up to 1/160 (with the 7D helps for ISO noise), also the low weight is felt with the backpack on your shoulders. It's an extraordinary optics of which I can not find faults for my way of shooting and in the short term to pair one of these new mirrorless, maybe the R7 (APSC), why not?

user4643

sent on 07 Marzo 2013

Pros: Lighter than the previous model; Exceptional sharpness at full aperture; Minimum distance from MAF to 4.5 m; Stabilization of the fourth generation

Cons: Switch to distance focus set distances are not always optimal; Price (obviously. ..)

Opinion: I own this perspective from January 2013 and I have to say I'm definitely money (tanti. ..) better spent since I started taking pictures. Having had both the Canon 600 f4 IS, both the 500 f4 IS, the first thing that I noticed immediately after taking up the 600II is its relative lightness compared to the previous version, and about equal to that of 500; However, the different weight distribution inside the lens makes the lens seem even lighter than its actual weight, and if you are used to shoot handheld with the 500 f4 IS, you will have no problem to do the same with the new 600 II. rnIl highlight of this view, however, is the fantastic clarity even at full aperture. In practice, the difference in sharpness at f4 next to the aperture, f5.6, is equal to about 5%, a value close to zero that finally makes it possible to fully use the widest aperture without loss of quality of the final, with the advantage of being able to use Faster shutter speeds or ISO values ??less noisy andwith the important bonus of a blurred even more enjoyable. Quest 'incredible sharpness it can also fully appreciate using teleconverters, especially the new 2X-III; even with this teleconverter, in fact, you can safely shoot wide open with no obvious drop in sharpness, even in subjects that are at a certain distance. In practice, close the iris of one or more stop only becomes useful to increase the depth of field. The only drawback is, of course, the reduction in AF speed with the EOS 1D series until the 1D MarkIV: AF speed with the 2XIII significantly slower, though, with the subjects at a distance not too far from the location of the MAF lens ring and selector distance of MAF in the correct position, the latching speed is very fast and the speed of the AF in the pursuit of a subject in flight is not affected much; Therefore, we can say that the combination lens + 2X-III canò be safely used to shoot subjects in flight, too fast, as long as the trajectory relatively constant. The situation is different if you use camera bodies 5D MKIII and 1D-X: in this case also using the 2XIII AF speed remains very rapid and even the coupling to the subject, taking the limiting distance of the mesa in focus on FULL, suffers very little so that you can very well keep fixed to FULL (with other EOS 1D series to keep MarkIV FULL meant not being able to connect almost never the subject). rnUn Another important improvement over the previous model is the reduction the minimum distance of focus, scope now to 4.5 m; for those photographing small birds from a hide (or the car), this is really important because it allows the use of only 600 or 600 with 1, 4X and still get blown up really big subject in the frame (with a minimum of 5.5 m MAF distance of the previous model, it was often necessary to use the 2X with birds such as wren, Regulus, Fiorrancino and others). rnL'unico defect, if it can be considered, in my opinion is in the distances that can be set with the selector of focus, not very suitable in the photography of birds in flight, especially those of small and medium size. Very often, the birds straddle between the distances from 4.5 to 16 and 16 m-infinity or pass but -16 +16 m away and vice versa, which means that you will lose the fire in one direction or in the other (but not with the 1DX thanks to its great AF system). From this point of view the 500 f / 4 (both the old model and new model type II) is better since setting the selector MAF of 10 m-infinity there is the almost absolute certainty of never losing focus with subjects in flight at a distance more or less ravvicinata.rnrnCONCLUSIONE: in spite of the price maybe a bit 'too much, the build quality (exceptional) and the optics, as well as other factors such as the contour reduces the overall weight and reducing the minimum focusing distance focus, in my opinion make the miles perabsolute or objective for the birds, especially in countries like ours where the distance of flight of the subject is more 'or less high.