Canon EF 1200mm lens

EF 1200mm f/5.6L USM
Technical data
Canon EF 1200mm ƒ-5.6 L USM in a display case
Maker	Canon
Type	Prime
Focus drive	Ultrasonic motor
Focal length	1200mm
Aperture (max/min)	f/5.6 - f/32
Close focus distance	45.9'/14m
Max. magnification	1:11.1
Diaphragm blades	9
Construction	13 elements / 11 groups
Features
Lens-based stabilization	No
Application	Super Telephoto
Physical
Max. length	32.9"/83.6cm
Diameter	8.9"/22.8cm
Weight	36.37lbs/16.5kg
Filter diameter	48mm (drop-in)
Accessories
Lens hood	Built-In
Case	Exclusive
Angle of view
Horizontal	1°45'
Vertical	1°10'
Diagonal	2°05'
History
Introduction	July 1993
Retail info
MSRP	$89,579 USD

The EF 1200mm f/5.6L USM is a super-telephoto prime lens that was made by Canon Inc. It uses an EF mount, and is compatible with the Canon EOS camera range. It has a focal length of 1200 mm and so on a digital body with a sensor size of 22.5 mm × 15 mm (called 1.6× crop), such as a Canon EOS 40D or 450D, it provides a 35 mm field of view equivalent to that of a 1920 mm lens. With a body with a sensor size of 28.8 mm × 19.2 mm (called 1.3× crop), such as a Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, the field of view is equivalent to that of a 1560 mm lens.

The lens was aimed at sports and wildlife photographers, and is both extremely expensive and extremely rare. Canon described it as "the world’s largest interchangeable SLR AF lens, in terms of both focal length and maximum aperture."^[1]

Technical information

The EF 1200mm f/5.6L USM is a professional L-series lens, that is now discontinued.^[2] The lens was first developed for the Canon FD mount, although never marketed until after Canon had transitioned to the EF mount. According to a Canon USA representative interviewed in 2009, the lens made its first public appearance at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles; Canon had shipped five copies of the lens for media use at the Games. All of the FD 1200mm f/5.6L lenses were eventually shipped back to Canon in Japan. Later in the 1980s, these lenses were converted to the EF mount.^[3] When used at the Los Angeles Olympics the lenses were fitted with built in 1.4x teleconverters.^[4] The official website of Canon competitor Nikon implies that these lenses, with the built-in 1.4x teleconverter, were also used by photographers covering baseball games, including the very popular high school tournaments, at Japan's Koshien Stadium. Nikon developed a 1200–1700mm manual-focus super telephoto zoom, specifically designed for use at that stadium, in order to compete with Canon's offering.^[5]

This lens is constructed with a metal body and mount, and with plastic extremities and switches. The features of the lens are: a wide rubber focus ring that is damped, a distance window with infrared index, the ability to limit the focus range, a focus-preset mechanism, and the ability to set the AF speed. The maximum aperture of f/5.6 gives this lens the ability to create depth of field effects. The optical construction of the lens contains 13 lens elements, including two large fluorite lens elements. The lens uses an inner focusing system, powered by a ring type USM motor. Manual focusing is rendered by wire: the lens does not have a direct mechanical connection to the focusing ring, instead detecting rotation of the focusing ring and using the lens motor to drive the lens elements. The manual focus speed is adjustable: 1 = 1/2 standard (for precision), 2 = standard and 3 = 2x standard (for fast-moving subjects). The front of the lens does not rotate nor extend when focusing. It does not have a typical rotating tripod mount like other telephoto lenses. However, the lens mount can be rotated and locked, allowing the lens to be used in horizontal and vertical shot formats. It is compatible with the Canon Extender EF teleconverters. The lens uses a small slot to insert filters near the base of the lens, similar to other super-tele lenses, rather than the conventional attachment at the end of the barrel.

The lens came with its own heavy-duty tripod and case. The lens was only available for special "pre orders", and was never built before selling; its annual production volume was approximately two lenses.^[3] The lens also took more than a year to construct, due to the time required to grow its massive fluorite crystals.^[6]

Few of these lenses exist; Canon has never released production figures, but it is almost certain that fewer than 100 were made, and it has been rumored that the actual number is closer to 20. A list of owners has also never been made public, but reported owners include Sports Illustrated magazine (two); Canon Professional Services (two); James Jannard, the billionaire founder of Oakley and RED Digital Cinema (two); and the National Geographic Society (at least one for its magazine). It is also widely believed that several intelligence and law enforcement agencies own this lens.^[3]

This lens has been offered for public sale three times in the 21st century:

In 2009, the New York-based B&H Photo Video retailer sold this lens for US$120,000.^[3]
In August 2014 a British dealer, MPB Photographic, offered this lens for £99,000 (slightly over $165,000 at the time)^[7] with VAT included.
B&H offered this lens again in April 2015, this time for $180,000.^[8]

References

↑ Canon Europe product page
↑ "Canon Hongkong Co. Ltd - discontinued Super-telephoto lens page". Canon Hongkong. 2006. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
1 2 3 4 Carnathan, Bryan. "Up Close with the Canon EF 1200mm f/5.6 L USM Lens". BHPhotoVideo.com. B&H Photo Video. Retrieved July 3, 2011.
↑ Steve simon (Feb 9, 1985). "Heavy lens". The Montreal Gazette. p. B-13. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
↑ "Zoom-Nikkor 1200-1700mm f/5.6-8P IF-ED". Recollections. Nikon Corporation. Retrieved June 17, 2012. In [the] 1980s, a rival company was making a 1200mm f/5.6 super telephoto lens. The newspapers were beginning to switch over to cameras made by this company in order to use the lens in their coverage of baseball at Koshien Stadium. In May 1989, Nikon rushed to begin development of its own super telephoto lens for Koshien Stadium.
↑ Nikitas, Theano (July 8, 2010). "9 Unbelievable Camera Lenses That Actually Exist". Popular Photography. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
↑ Carnathan, Bryan (August 15, 2014). "Desperately Need a 1200mm Canon Lens? You're in Luck!". The-Digital-Picture.com. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
↑ Zhang, Michael (April 28, 2015). "B&H is Selling a Used Canon 1200mm f/5.6L Lens for Just $180,000". PetaPixel. Retrieved May 12, 2015.

External links

Canon Europe - EF 1200mm f/5.6L USM
Canon Museum - EF 1200mm f/5.6L USM Block diagram
The lens in action (still photo)
The lens in action (video)
Lens in real action
Canon HK - discontinued info page
The 1984 FD mount prototype
Review of a second-hand Canon EF 1200mm lens — published by the reviewer and republished by B&H Photo Video

Canon EF/EF-S/EF-M lenses

EF-S zoom	EF-S 10–18mm EF-S 10–22mm EF-S 15–85mm EF-S 17–55mm EF-S 17–85mm EF-S 18–55mm EF-S 18–135mm EF-S 18–200mm EF-S 55–250mm

Ultra-wide zoom	EF 11–24mm EF 16–35mm EF 17–40mm

Standard zoom	EF 24–70mm EF 24–105mm EF 28–135mm EF 28–300mm

Telephoto zoom	EF 70–200mm EF 70–300mm EF 75–300mm EF 100–400mm EF 200–400mm

Wide-angle prime	EF 14mm EF 20mm EF 24mm EF-S 24mm EF 28mm EF 35mm

Standard prime	EF 40mm EF 50mm

Telephoto prime	EF 85mm EF 100mm EF 135mm EF 200mm

Super telephoto prime	EF 300mm EF 400mm EF 500mm EF 600mm EF 800mm

Distorting lenses	EF 8–15mm Fisheye EF 135mm with Softfocus

Tilt-shift	TS-E 17mm TS-E 24mm TS-E 45mm TS-E 90mm

Macro	EF 50mm Compact Macro EF-S 60mm Macro MP-E 65mm 1–5x Macro EF 100mm Macro EF 180mm Macro

EF-M zoom	EF-M 11–22mm EF-M 15–45mm EF-M 18–55mm EF-M 55-200mm

EF-M prime	EF-M 22mm

Lens accessories	Extender EF

Discontinued zoom	EF 17–35mm EF 20–35mm EF 22–55mm EF 24–85mm EF 28–70mm EF 28–80mm EF 28–90mm EF 28–105mm EF 28–200mm EF 35–80mm EF 35–105mm EF 35–350mm EF 55–200mm EF 70–210mm EF 80–200mm EF 90–300mm EF 100–200mm EF 100–300mm

Discontinued prime	EF 15mm Fisheye EF 1200mm

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