B&H Sold its $180,000 Canon EF 1200mm Lens

[ebiggs1]

The massive Canon EF 1200mm f/5.6L USM lens that’s been for sale at B&H Photo since 2008 finally went home yesterday to a lucky photographer, who also has a much lighter wallet. 

The EF 1200mm f/5.6L USM lens is the longest fixed telephoto lens ever built by Canon. It contains 13 elements (2 Fluorite) in 10 groups and focuses down to 49.5-feet. It has an angle-of-view of about 2° when used on a full frame camera. About 20 of these lenses were ever made by Canon. The product page at B&H for this lens confirms that it has no more in stock.

Did you miss out? 

[ScottyP]

Probably to a hiker. Pair it with a nice light mirror less M body (via adaptor) and maybe tale a super light carbon fiber tripod to keep weight down and you could scamper up hills and mountains.  Just you and your camera. And your pack mule or Sherpa. 

[Waddizzle]

That's must be an old photo.  I wish I could buy one of those high hats that it's mounted on. 

Seems to me a good telescope would have been cheaper. 

[ebiggs1]

"That's must be an old photo."

Does not matter.  The lens sit there for 8 years!

[TTMartin]

Just to give you an idea of how far lens design and manufacturing has come in the last 30 years.

What is purported to be the EF 1200mm f/5.6L's MTF.

Compared to the MTF for the EF 600mm f/4L IS II with a 2X teleconverter.

Yes, I know the EF 1200mm f/5.6L has a one stop advantage.

[RobertTheFat]

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@TTMartin wrote:

Just to give you an idea of how far lens design and manufacturing has come in the last 30 years.

What is purported to be the EF 1200mm f/5.6L's MTF.

Compared to the MTF for the EF 600mm f/4L IS II with a 2X teleconverter.

Yes, I know the EF 1200mm f/5.6L has a one stop advantage.

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I don't think the lens's performance makes a particle of difference. With an item like that, the price is the product. No one will live long enough to get $180,000 worth of use out of it as a piece of photographic equipment. It's something to show off and/or brag about.

Let's put it this way: If I thought that Donald Trump would know what it was, I might suspect that he bought it.

[ebiggs1]

Bob from Boston,

It is , yet again, another reason to not use MTF's as a judge on how useful a lens performance will be.

On the recovery of the coin dropped on this thing, there must be a reasonaeble expectation.  Because SI and NatGeo are supposed to each have two of them!

[TTMartin]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

Bob from Boston,

It is , yet again, another reason to not use MTF's as a judge on how useful a lens performance will be.

On the recovery of the coin dropped on this thing, there must be a reasonaeble expectation.  Because SI and NatGeo are supposed to each have two of them!

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When SI and NatGeo bought their lenses the EF 600mm f/4 IS II was not available. So when SI and NatGeo bought their lenses yes they could probably justify the expense. Today I doubt that they could. 

And Bob from Boston is right the person who just bought the lens, did so as a status symbol or as a collectors item.

What is wonderful is now we have STM lenses for a few hundred dollars that match the IQ of thousand dollar plus L lenses from just 15-20 years ago, and we have lenses like the EF 600mm f/4L IS II that while still a hefty $12,000 gives better performance than a 20 year old design costing more than 10 times as much. 

And you're right ebiggs1 the MTFs doen't take into account the EF 600mm f/4L IS II has image stabilization so it doesn't tell the whole story. 

[ebiggs1]

"What is wonderful is now we have STM lenses for a few hundred dollars that match the IQ of thousand dollar plus L lenses from just 15-20 years ago ..."

Amen to that and so very true.  After wasting my money and a lot of time trying to convert a couple of my old great white (pride and joys) lenses, I slowly came to the fact, it just isn't worth it. 

Maybe since Canon, and not me, did the conversion from FD to EOS on this guy, it turned out better.   I assume they kept the optics intact but little else.  Even ridding it of manual focus.  MF is accomplished by the EF motor now.

My understanding is neither SI nor NatGeo bought the lenses at the same time.  If that is true they must have seen some real benefit to owning them.

Not many private working pros can justify that purchase.  Though, what do I know? I never touched one or even seen a real one!