Tonight, Canon announced two new RF lenses — the RF800mm f/5.6 L IS USM and the RF1200mm f/8 L IS USM, which is the longest focal length RF lens yet. The company also announced its celebration of 35 years of the EOS System in March 2022.

Both super-telephoto lenses feature a light design with Super Spectra Coating (SSC) and Air Sphere Coating (ASC) to help minimize ghosting and flaring. Both lenses are also compatible with the RF1.4x and RF2x extenders, and have a customizable electronic focusing ring with manual focus capability during Servo AF.

The lenses come in at quite the price tag — $16,999 for the 800mm and $19,999 for the 1200mm. They’re expected to be available in late May 2022; preorders will be available soon through B&H.

Additional shared features include:

  • Two focus presets, with the ability to instantly switch between memorized focus distances
  • Circular 9-bladed aperture, providing photographers with soft blurred backgrounds and bokeh
  • L-series durability and construction with dust and water resistance, plus fluorine coating on the front element for easy cleaning

Canon RF800mm f/5.6 L IS USM

The RF800mm F5.6 L IS USM weighs in at just 6.9 lbs and features a minimum focusing distance of 8.53ft/2.6 meters. The maximum close-up magnification is a superb 0.34x, allowing wildlife image creators to fill the frame with small subjects, such as birds, at its minimum focusing distance.

Optical image stabilization is up to 4.5 stops of shake correction and includes three IS operation modes. When using the RF1.4x or RF2x extenders, users can experience enhanced effective focal lengths of 1,120mm and 1,600mm respectively. 

Canon RF1200mm f/8 L IS USM

The RF1200mm F8 L IS USM is the most powerful super-telephoto lens in the Canon RF lens line. It weighs in at 7.4 lbs — an outstandingly light figure for a super-tele lens of this type — and features a minimum focusing distance of 14.1ft/4.3m. Optical image stabilization is up to 4.0 stops of shake correction and, similar to the RF800mm F5.6 L IS USM lens, and includes three IS operation modes.

When using the RF1.4x or RF2x extenders, users can experience enhanced focal lengths of 1,680mm and 2,400mm, respectively.