Features

Overview: The Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS III USM lens is a high-performance super telephoto lens for Canon EOS full-frame or APS-C cameras. It has a standard Canon EF-mount, and comes with front and rear lens caps, a lens hood, tripod mount, lens strap, and a padded storage case.

Lens Coatings: The EF 600mm lens features to special coatings to minimize unwanted ghosting and flare. Canon's Super Spectra Coating (SSC), made up of a number of thin films, helps reject extraneous light wavelengths to help maintain overall image quality and color fidelity. Canon's Air Sphere Coating (ASC) suppresses reflections, minimizes ghosting and flare, and helps eliminate aberrations, no matter the angle of light. Your photos come out clearer without distracting reflective elements in the image.

Fluorine Coating: The front and rear elements have a specially designed fluorine coating to help keep your lens clean. Fluorine coatings help reject dust, or water and oil spots. Fingerprints don't stick to the lens, allowing you to quickly and easily wipe off any smudges on the lens without using solvents. In addition, the lens is constructed with seals around the mount, switches, and rings to resist dust and water.

Heat Shielding: The lens has a new paint formulation that reflects more heat than before to deliver consistant and reliable performance. The two-layer barrel structure helps protect the inner elements from heat to give you excellent image quality and reliability, even when used outdoors in the heat for extended periods of time.

Electronic Focusing Ring: The lens has a customizable electronic manual focusing ring with three sensitivity levels (1, 2, 3) to choose from. The Manual Focus Speed switch is located on the lens barrel, and lets you select a slow manual speed for more precision, or a fast manual focus to capture a moment. In addition, you can still adjust the focus manually, even when autofocus is engaged.

Focus Presets: You can set one or two focusing distances as a preset that you can recall at any time. Focus presets can be useful when shooting sports when action takes place at fixed positions. After setting the focus distances you desire, you can switch between them by turning the lens' playback ring. Audible beep sounds (defeatable) can indicate when the lens preset is set, and when the focus preset is recalled. Focus presets can be used in all focus modes, but cannot be used with Live View or Movie Shooting in some models.

Power Focus: The lens offers a Power Focus (PF) feature that can change the focus smoothly, which can be useful when shooting movies. With PF engaged, you can turn the Playback Ring to change the focus.

Ultrasonic Motor (USM): The EF 600mm lens has a nearly silent Auto Focusing system, due to the fast inner focusing ring and the Ultrasonic Motor (USM). This system works with the EOS camera's high-speed CPU and optimized AF algorithms to give you fast, accurate focusing. In addition to lightning quick Auto Focusing, the lens also offers full-time manual focusing.

Image Stabilizer: The EF 600mm zoom lens has an optical image stabilization system that provides up to 5 stops of shake correction. Switches on the lens barrel let you turn the Stabilizer on or off, and select one of the following Stabilizer Modes:

• Mode 1: Corrects vibrations in all directions; mainly for shooting still subjects.
• Mode 2: While you are panning the camera horizontally or vertically, this mode corrects camera vibrations at right angles to the panning direction. It is suited to shooting moving subjects.
• Mode 3: During exposure, it corrects vibrations in the same way as Mode 2. It is suited to shooting irregularly moving subjects.

AF/MF Switch: A switch on the lens barrel lets you select Auto Focus (AF) or Manual Focus (MF). Full-time manual focus allows you to manually focus with the focus ring, even while the lens is in AF mode. The focusing ring on the lens always works, regardless of the focus mode selected.

Focusing Range Switch: The Focusing Range Switch lets you select a focusing range that helps to shorten the autofocusing time. There are three ranges to choose from: Full Range (4.2 m to infinity), 4.2 m to 16 m (13.78' to 52.5'), or 16 m (52.5') to infinity.

Aperture: The EF 600mm f/4L IS III USM features a 9-blade, circular aperture which creates beautiful out-of-focus areas and soft backgrounds.

Security Slot: The lens features a security slot to prevent theft. The slot is located under a protective cover, and allows you to attach a commercially-available wire-type security lock.

Tripod Mount: Because of its size and weight, the lens comes with a Canon Tripod Mount Ring. The tripod mount ring allows you to mount the camera onto a tripod by the lens instead of the camera body. The orientation locking knob can be loosened to allow you to quickly change between vertical and horizontal positions. The mount features "clicks" at four positions, every 90°.

Lens Hood: The included ET-160 lens hood helps keep unwanted light out of the lens, and protects the front element. When not in use, the hood can be reverse-mounted on the lens for storage.

Drop-in Filter Compatible: The EF 600mm lens is compatible with any 52(WIII)-series Canon drop-in filter. A drop-in screw-type filter holder is included with the lens, and will accept a single, 52mm filter. A PROTECT filter is included with the lens, and must be used if no other filter is being used.

Optional Lens Extenders: You can attach an optional Canon Extender for magnified shots. With the EF1.4X III Extender, the focal length becomes 840mm with an aperture of f/5.6-45. With the EF2X III Extender attached, the focal length changes to 1200mm with an f/8-64 aperture.

Specifications:

• Focal Length: 600mm (full-range cameras); 960mm (APS-C cameras)
• Lens Construction: 17 elements in 13 groups (including 2 fluorite elements and one super UD element)
• Maximum Aperture: f/4
• Minimum Aperture: f/32
• Aperture Type: 9-blade circular aperture
• Maximum Magnification: 0.15x
• Minimum Focus Distance: 13.78' (4.2m)
• Angle of View:
  • Diagonal: 4° 10'
  • Vertical: 2° 20'
  • Horizontal: 3° 30'
• Filter Size: Any 52(WIII)-series drop-in filter
• Dimensions:
  • Diameter: 6.61"
  • Length: 17.64"
  • Weight: 107.6 ounces