Canon Unveils World’s Lightest 400mm f/2.8 and 600mm f/4 Lenses
Canon has today revealed the Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS III and Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS III lenses – and they are both the world’s lightest lenses in their respective focal length classes. The lenses are reported to work on Canon’s new EOS R full-frame mirrorless camera, as well as with the 1D and 5D series of DSLR cameras.
The 400mm lens has been reduced by 2.2 lbs / 1kg (that’s more than 25%), and the 600mm lens by 1.9 lbs / 860g (over 20%). The final weights of the lenses are 2840g and 3050g respectively.
“Both lenses possess a dramatic weight reduction and high-image quality, making it ideal for shooters to easily transport and capture images during action-driven scenarios, such as sports and wildlife,” says Canon.
The lenses feature Air Sphere Coating (ASC) and Super Spectra Coating (SSC) which help reduce flare and ghosting, whilst also suppressing reflection of light. This leads to more vivid images.
Optical Image Stabilisation has been upgraded to offer 3.5-stops to 5-stops of correction compared to the previous f/2.8 lens. There is also an improved flexible focus control, with a customisable electronic-focus ring.
The lenses have circular 9-blade apertures, with 17 elements across 13 groups.
There is also a heat-shielding paint, helping to prevent lens temperature from rising during excessive sun exposure, whilst a fluorine coating helps to reduce smears and fingerprints on the optical elements.
The 400mm f/2.8L IS III lens is scheduled to begin shipping in December 2018, at a retail price of $12,000. The 600mm f/4L IS III will also ship in December 2018, at a retail price of $13,000. For those in the UK, pre-orders are currently available and the retail price is £12,000 for the 400mm, and £13,000 for the 600mm.
