The Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM (Amazon, B&H) is primarily a photography lens, though it will be used for video.
In this article let’s take a comprehensive look at the important features and specifications of the Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM and see how good it will perform specifically for video, cinematography and filmmaking.
The aim of this article is to provide you with enough information and perspective so you can decide for yourself whether this lens is right for your film or video.
Important: This article is a comprehensive overview of the lens with available information; and an analysis based on our experience shooting for almost two decades. It is not a hands-on review. If and when we get hold of the lens we’ll be sure to publish a detailed review. If this is not your cup of tea you can stop reading.
Here’s Canon’s official video for a quick overview:
Click to what you want quickly:
- TLDR;
- EF vs RF:
- Features:
- Control:
- Basics:
- What about Teleconverters and Extenders?
- Alternatives to the RF 800mm f/11 IS STM
TLDR;
What you need to know for video work about the Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM (Amazon, B&H):
- The Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM is a super telephoto and close up lens.
- The lens stay sharp across the frame.
- Focus ring can be changed to fly-by-wire for follow focus work.
- Control ring can be de-clicked for a small fee at a Canon service center for aperture transitions.
- The lens has 5 stops of Image Stabilization, and you can pair it with the stabilization in a Canon R camera (R5, R6, etc.) that has IBIS.
- Great for dual pixel autofocus for video.
- It exhibits breathing.
Can be great for the following types of filmmaking:
- Sports Event Coverage
- Wildlife filmmaking
- Documentary filmmaking
- Wedding filmmaking
EF vs RF: What’s the difference?
Difference between the RF and EF mount
Both are lens mounts specific to Canon. Let’s take a look at some important distinctions.
Flange focal distance
The RF is a new lens mount, with a smaller flange focal distance.
Here’s how the flange focal distance compares:
| Mount | Flange Focal Distance |
|---|---|
| RF | 20mm |
| EF | 44mm |
EF lenses were designed for DSLRs. Now with the mirror gone, that’s space and weight savings. However, that’s not the only advantage.
Canon (and every one else) maintains the smaller flange focal distance allows for larger apertures (for some focal lengths), better corner to corner sharpness and reduced light fall off.
Ergonomics
RF lenses are supposed to be lighter, making them easier to handle for photography, but slightly problematic for video. Weight gives better stability and smoother movement for most use cases. For gimbal, drone and steadicam use, the lower weight is an advantage because a lighter lens puts less strain on motors, and the human arms that have to hold it up.
The RF mount is equipped with 12 communicator pins compared to 8 pin connection of the EF mount. Canon claims this contributes towards quicker autofocus, better AF tracking and improved image stabilization.
Canon has redesigned the focus actuators for a hassle-free filming. They claim the new Nano USM and Dual Nano USM have been designed for video. Canon claims that the introduction of these actuators in RF lenses will result in a quieter and quicker autofocus.
The last major change is in the optics. Canon have redesigned the optics from the ground up to account for the smaller flange focal distance. This one simple change considerably changes the optical characteristics and challenges.
Naturally the prices of RF lenses match the high quality Canon have put into these series! The assurance is, the quality isn’t compromised, and with proper care Canon RF lenses should last for years. Let’s compare the EF version of the 800mm with its newer RF counterpart.
Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM vs Canon RF 800mm f/11L IS STM
| Lens | RF 600mm f/11 IS STM | EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM |
| Filter Thread | 95 mm | 52mm Drop in |
| Size | When Retracted: 101.6 mm x 281.8 mm When Shooting: 101.6 mm x 351.8 mm | 163 mm x 461 mm |
| Weight | 1260g | 4500g |
| Lens Control | Ring control | None |
| Closest focusing distance | 6m | 6m |
| Max. Aperture | f/11 | f/5.6 |
| Min. Aperture | f/11 | f/32 |
| Aperture Blades | N/A | 8 |
| Angle of View (Diagonal) | 03°05′ | 03°05′ |
| Price | $899 | $12,999 |
This isn’t an apples to apples comparison considering the EF version is an L-series lens and costs about $12,000 more. It’s just to put things into perspective.
The Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM (Amazon, B&H) is heavier and bigger than the Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM (Amazon, B&H).
The EF 800mm f/4 has a wider aperture and has 8 rounded aperture blades. The RF 800mm f/11 does not have aperture blades.
Canon claims the RF version has smoother and quieter autofocus with the STM autofocus actuator. It also has image stabilization.
The RF version comes with a special customizable control ring this can be customized to change exposure on the go (not the aperture). This is only available on cameras that natively have an RF mount.
To be honest the RF 800mm f/11 seems to a speciality lens, either to be used outdoors at f/11 or for macro/close-up work with a slightly deeper depth of field. I’m not sure it’s useful that much for video, unless you’re tracking fast-moving birds or sports personalities at f/11.
Features
Coverage
The Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM (Amazon, B&H) is a full frame lens. It is designed to completely cover a sensor the size of 36mm x 24mm.
If you are considering this lens for an APS-C sensor or other cinema camera, the effective focal length with a 1.6x crop will be 1280mm. Check out this article for more information on the 35mm equivalent:
Focal Range
The focal length is 800mm. This is considered a super telephoto lens on a full frame 35mm sensor.
This focal length is useful for sports event coverage and wildlife filmmaking. You might also want to use it to film the moon at night.
Aperture
The only aperture is f/11. Pairing this with high shutter speed, which is what majority of users will do, will leave a small room for light to come through. So make sure you have a good camera with a high dynamic range and ability to give you clear images at a high ISO. Otherwise this lens is for good daylight or bright objects only.
Resolution
From Canon’s official MTF charts:
The Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM (Amazon, B&H) is sharp in the center and stays that way throughout. However, the sharpness is not as good as it should be. To be honest, it’s underwhelming.
With the variance in the Sagittal and Tangential lines, you can infer (somewhat) that the bokeh won’t be buttery smooth.
If you are curious and want to read the MTF chart for yourself. Here’s a guide on how to read them easily.
Close Focus
The closest focusing distance is 6 meters or 14.9 feet. The lens comes with a three-position distance limiter switch with two settings:
- Telephoto (20m – infinity) and
- Full (6m – infinity)
The smaller the distance, the faster the autofocus will be. I think for normal work the “Telephoto” setting should be good enough.
Image Stabilization
Canon claims the RF 800mm f/11 IS STM (Amazon, B&H) has up to 4 stops of Image stabilization (IS).
5 stops? 8 stops? What are these stops?
How do you calculate Image Stabilization? Check this out:
Pairing the 5-axis IBIS-equipped Canon EOS R5 or Canon EOS R6 with an IS-equipped lens can deliver 7-stops of combined IS. This can be toggled on and off if you choose so.
It’s obvious the best stabilization is realized when an RF lens with IS is combined with an R-body camera with IBIS. E.g. the 800mm f/11 will be more stabilized on a Canon EOS R5 over a Red Komodo (which also has an RF mount).
Control
Manual focus system
By default the Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM (Amazon, B&H) is set to ‘fly by wire’.
Even though the Canon RF focus ring is technically a ‘focus by wire’ system, the RF lenses are the first line of lenses in the world which have enabled turning focus by wire off.
What is the meaning of focus by wire and fly by wire?
Focus by wire: Let’s say you turn the focus ring to change focus from point A to B. You’d expect the focus to shift accordingly. When you stop point B will be in focus. Now bring the focus point back to A and try again, but at a different speed. Slower or faster, doesn’t matter. Now, even if you precisely rotate to the exact same degree, the focus will not be on point B! The speed of rotation determines which point it is focused on. That’s just completely useless for follow focus work. If an actor or person moves at a different speed, evens lightly, you’ll never get the same focus. Avoid focus by wire lenses like the plague (for video work).
Fly by wire: The distance of focus shifted is directly proportional to the speed at which the ring is turned. This is how a manual focus ring is supposed to operate for video and cinematography.
How to change to fly by wire on RF lenses
You can switch to ‘link to rotational degree’ where the focusing distance will be directly proportional to the rotational degree regardless of the rotational speed.
It is a quick two-step affair that requires you going into the Canon menu and switching the RF manual focus ring sensitivity to ‘linked to rotational degree’ instead of ‘varies with rotational speed’.
This feature will be exceptionally useful for anyone who wants absolute control over the focus ring.
This feature makes an RF lens a game changer for many videographers, filmmakers and cinematographers.
Autofocus system
Dual Pixel Autofocus is, without a doubt, one of the most revered video autofocus systems in the world. Canon claims the new AF actuators will help focusing to be smooth and phantom-quiet.
Canon claims that the RF 800mm f/11 IS STM has silent STM motors for natural focus transitions but we can only know what it translates to once we test this in the field.
Canon’s official website mentions this in fine print:
When using this lens with or without the extenders, the camera’s AF area is reduced to approximately 40% horizontal and 60% vertical coverage of the image area
Canon Europe
The dual pixel AF system works better (in theory) than original EF lenses on native EF bodies. I don’t think anyone will be disappointed with its performance.
Control System
Canon RF lenses come with an extra customizable ring. See the photo below. The ring is a second ring, in addition to the focus ring.
The control ring cannot change the aperture, because this is a fixed aperture lens. It’s fixed at f/11 permanently.
This ring is only customizable with cameras that have a native RF mount, such as the Canon EOS R5/6 and Canon EOS C70.
To toggle the Control Ring on and customize it to control one of the exposure determinants, follow these steps:
- Go into Settings
- Go to the Customize dials option
- Select Control Ring and switch it to Enabled.
- Now you can customize it to control aperture, shutter speed, ISO and exposure compensation.
Some videographers will find it helpful in riding the aperture due to its favorable placement right on the lens close to the focus and zoom ring.
Although the turn of the ring appears to be smooth, there is a soft clicking sound. Some might find it inconvenient. If you want to remove the sound you can.
The clicking of the control ring on every RF lens is removable through a chargeable service fee of about $79.99 (depending on your country) at your nearest Canon service center.
Basics
Filter Thread
The Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM (Amazon, B&H) has a filter thread diameter of 95mm. This is not a common filter size and for most people will mean an added expense. The larger a filter, the more expensive it gets. More about lens filters here.
Build Quality
The majority of the lens exterior is plastic, though the lens doesn’t feel cheap.
The optical design consists of 11 elements in 8 groups, including one DO Lens (Gapless double-layer diffractive optics) element. This reduces chromatic abberations.
Size and Weight
The Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM (Amazon, B&H) has a diameter of 101.6 mm and a length of 351.8 mm when it is in retracted mode which you can unlock and extend when you are shooting which then makes the length about 281.8 mm.
The ability to reduce the size for transport (like a tripod) is great for those who will use it for wildlife and astrophotography work.
It has an unlock ring that you can use to extend your lens whenever you want to shoot.
Weather resistance
While Canon claims that all RF lenses are weather sealed, however they have omitted info on dust and moisture resistance. But again this only holds true if the camera body you will be using is also weather sealed. No camera is truly and officially weather sealed, so the best you can hope for is reliable weather resistance.
What’s in the box
This is what you get in the box (other than the lens):
- Lens cap (E-95)
- Dust Cap RF
That’s all.
What about Teleconverters and Extenders?
Canon sells two RF extenders:
You get an effective focal length of:
| Extender | Effective Focal Length | Loss of light |
|---|---|---|
| With the RF 1.4x | 1120mm | 1 stop |
| With the RF 2x | 1600mm | 2 stops |
Canon claims both autofocus and image stabilization work well with the extenders.
Alternatives to the Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM Lens
There really is no alternative to the Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM (Amazon, B&H) because of its super telephoto function.
The only lens that you might consider for its versatility is the Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM (Amazon, B&H). It’s heavier, a lot more expensive and has better optical quality. You’ll also need to add an EF to RF adapter.
I hope you found this overview of the Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM (Amazon, B&H) useful. If we have missed out on something, please let us know in the comments below.
