Canon RF 800mm F11 IS STM Review - Wildlife and Bird Photography

There is no single ideal lens covering all of bird/wildlife photography - but this lens is a decent and affordable access gate to this genres of nature photography. Kudos to Canon for this USP!

Very useful, thanks for the review.

You can buy the RF 800/11 here (affiliate link): amzn.to/3bcPBja

great review!

Good review. Subbed.

Fair review. Cheers. I purchased its little brother the 600 for the R7 and it’s cool. So light and easier to frame. It for sure should have come with the lens hood.

Nice Fabian👍…it would still be nice if you can get your hands on another 800f11 combined with the r7 and do a review…cheers Ron😀

Something in between. Yes, I agree!

Another option is to adapt the Sigma 60-600. I use it on my R5 and it works very well (the Sigma 150-600 Contemporary and the Tamron 150-600 G2 do not work well; lots of pulsing and hunting AF). It's not super cheap, and pretty heavy, but it gives you more range than the 100-500, it's longer, and it's brighter at the long end.

I am considering the rf 800 f/11. Right now I have the rf 100-400 and I use the 1.4 extender when I am shooting smaller birds, so I can get 140-560mm with the extender. I can't afford the rf 100-500. Cheers, Ted

Hi Fabian, I always like watching your vids. Clear and honest. Thanks for that. I do have a question though. I have a R6 with a RF24-105L and the RF100-400 5.6-8. Sometimes I miss some extra reach on the 400 end. I'm in doubt what to do. Go for an extender or opt for the 600 or 800 but in that case I'll probably miss the flexibility of the zoom. Could the Sigma or Tamron 150-600 be a good alternative you think? It's not just for birding but all kind of nature. I'm aware of that f11 is slower. Looking forward to your suggestion. Greetz Ab

Thanks!

Fabian when you tested that 811 did you have a chance to use it with an extension tube to try to get a little bit closer to photograph in the birds .

Good review. I think Nikon are doing a better job at new lenses but it might be a bit of a wait for the Z9 tech to come in an D850 sized body for me to to get excited about Nikon. It should also be better than any R5/6/7 hopefully with same sensor as Z9 stacked sensor and BSI. Meanwhile I'm still waiting well over two months for an R7 to update my old 7DmkII.

If you can work within the limitations of this lens i.e. the reduced AF area and the aperture then it's outstandingly good value and sharp enough. I used mine on an R5 and it was only good for BIF shots on a bright day. Static birds no problem at all. However, I'd think twice before using this lens on a crop body due to that aperture. OK if you live in Florida but in N.W. Europe it's a summer lens.

it could be very intresting to see thei lens on R7 that for sure need more ligh. In the othere way about your last consideration about to have someting in the midle, I think about the sony 200-600. I thougn to go to Sony only for this reason. A 200-600 with those quality and price range it could be greate for sure

I use the 800F11 here in the south eastern US and it is strictly a sunny day lens on my use. It stays at home on cloudy days. It can work well in and under heavy tree cover if there is dappled light peaking through. I don’t think it is intended as a one and only lens, as canon has made variable aperture lenses for such use. This is strictly a when you need/want reach in light weight easy-to-carry all day in good light lens. If you don’t want/need that, just buy either the 100-400 or the 100-500 options, or a third party option. But having owned third party 150-600 lenses, I’d rather have this and some other lens, like a 500 f4 or the 100-500.

sharp and usable, my f4 does not leave the house

Best lens I've ever owned. Would I like a lens to be a "little faster" Sure, like maybe an F8. But it doesn't need to be an F4. Would it be okay to be a bit more expensive, and a little "heavier" ? Sure, maybe 4 to 4 1/2 lbs, and $3K.... But NOT 7 lbs, and $17,000 like the RF 800 F5.6 ! Bottom line > Until Canon (if ever) makes a slightly pumped up version of this lens, I'll never own another birding lens. This lens has just about completely cured my big lens lust.

another option is using a r7