Wow!

[c.cloudwalker]

Well, with that minimum opening bid of $4799, they're kind of treading above the level of many eBay buyers. The economy is tough right now, and 800mm lenses are not very popular, so there are not that many buyers for them.

The opening bid means nothing when you have a buy it now price. I would bet there would not have been an acceptable bid under $7,999.99 The old Reserve Not Met deal.

Yeah, right...
Winning bid: US $2,276.99

As far as I am concerned, somebody practically stole that at under $2,300!

Ok, I was wondering what Derrel was talking about...

 

[Derrel]

800mm at f/5.6 is the fastest aperture available in an 800mm lens. This lens is fairly new, design-wise, having been premiered in 1986. The internal focusing system is the feather-touch type system that Nikon invented in 1976, with the 400mm f/3.5 ED-IF...this type of manual focusing lens is NOT the same type of "manual focus" nor the same type of "internal focusing" used on autofocusing lenses...these older-design MF supertelphotos from Nikon were designed to be focused by hand and eye, and are much easier to use in manul focusing mode than the newer AF Nikkor big glass lenses. The same goes for the 600/4 and 600/5.6 and the 400/3.5 and 400/2.8 AiS series lenses, and the 500mm f/4 P-series Nikkor lenses: with these particular lenses, the internal focusing system is geared toward a long, smooth focusing turn, with a lot more "throw" than in AF lenses, and there is a variable tension adjustment thumbscrew, and a mechanical, rotating pre-set distance stop, which can be clicked-to, or run past going in both directions, as well as a tension adjustment that allows you to use literally one-finger or finger-roll focusing, or tighter focusing, or very tight focusing, depending on the type of action you need to cover. The 300/4.5 ED-IF has the same internal focusing system, but without the pre-set or tensioning screw. These older big-glass lenses being manual focusing only is not as big a problem as peop,e might think...the focusing hit rate on these is not as bad as you might think if all you have seen or used are modern autofocus long telephoto lenses--these old ED~IF Nikkors have superb focusing systems that are very versatile, and the pre-set detent can be used to bring the lens to a perfect focus point in less that a quarter second...

Nikkor 800mm Super telephoto lenses

 

[Dallmeyer]

Interesting link. All things being equal, do you think 8 in 6 will give a better picture than 9 in 7 (800mm f/8 IF-ED)?

 

[Derrel]

Interesting link. All things being equal, do you think 8 in 6 will give a better picture than 9 in 7 (800mm f/8 IF-ED)?

Looks like one of the world's foremost Nikkor lens experts feels that the heavier 800mm f/5.6 is a better performer than the lighter-weight 800mm f/8.
I find it almost incredible that an 800/5.6 ED-IF sold for less than $2,300, but then the economy is sucky these days, and spending on non-essential items has really dropped off over the last few years.

Telephoto Lenses For Nikon 'F' Mount

 

[icassell]

It has 18 bids now:

Nikon 800mm ED f/5.6 AIS Lens - Manual Focus - eBay (item 360260013653 end time May-13-10 11:26:12 PDT)

No minimum opening bid anymore. And this time, it's only open to bids within the continental United States.

Of course is nikon shooters want a nice 800mm lens with AF they could always do the proper thing and come to canon

The 800 L is not tack sharp according to SLRgear.com:

That said, there aren't exciting results concerning the sharpness profile of the 800mm ƒ/5.6L, but neither will it disappoint. It's a sharp lens, but not tack-sharp: approximately 2 blur units between ƒ/5.6 and ƒ/11, and between 2-3 blur units at ƒ/16 or ƒ/22. At ƒ/32 it becomes a bit soft and slightly uneven, at around 5 blur units.

Compare that to their review of the (much sharper) Nikkor 70-200 VR II, for example. That's right... a zoom lens that is much sharper across the frame than a Canon prime (again... according to SLRgear.com)

But tack sharp or not, I'm not sure I like how the 800 L "draws" based on the hundreds of images I saw. That includes images by professionals, of course. In short, I'm not convinced it's one of Canon's best lenses, at least not optically.

Still... there aren't really any alternatives: it doesn't weigh a whole lot (as opposed to a 600mm f/4), the build quality is superb and it has AF... so I'm still considering it. Bokeh is very good, too.

Tell that to Art Morris of birdphotographers.net and birdsasart.com
Art uses the Canon 800 and his images are mind-blowing.

 

[MrLogic]

Tell that to Art Morris of birdphotographers.net and birdsasart.com
Art uses the Canon 800 and his images are mind-blowing.

Well... great technique + great light often ----> mind-blowing images.

But, to me, this isn't mind-blowing IQ:

The Cozad Ranch, Linn, Texas Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
One Piece at a Time Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Carmen's Tale & Handholding the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS Lens Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Fun in the Cold and Snow at Morton NWR, Noyac, NY Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

more from Art Morris: 800mm-f/5.6 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART


I'm sure every pro and accomplished amateur disagrees with me here, but, *to me*, these aren't mind-blowing images (in terms of IQ). Just my opinion.

 

[Dao]

The Canon 800mm looks pretty sharp to me according to this review with samples

Juza Nature Photography

 

[Overread]

Art Morris has a poor resizer working on his site - click on the pictures to show them larger (they are not actually that much larger) and you can see the quality jump - a lot!

 

[icassell]

Art Morris has a poor resizer working on his site - click on the pictures to show them larger (they are not actually that much larger) and you can see the quality jump - a lot!

Agreed. I think these images are tack-sharp.

 

[MrLogic]

@ Dao -- Juza's test is in line with SLRgear's findings, IMO. Sharp, but not tack-sharp wide open, and no improvement (in the center) when stopped down to f/8 or f/11. It gets softer at f/16... again... perfectly in line with SLRgear's findings, IMO.

TCs degrade IQ a lot -- no matter what some people might say -- and the 2x TC moreso than the 1.7 obviously. Etc. But yeah... I agree with all the reviews that say that the 800 L beats the 600 L + 1.4 TC combo handily. No argument there.

But is the 800 anywhere near as sharp as the 600 L at f/8... or the 400 f/5.6 L at f/8? I doubt it.

Art Morris has a poor resizer working on his site - click on the pictures to show them larger (they are not actually that much larger) and you can see the quality jump - a lot!

Thanks... much better. I'm still not "in love" ... but much better. :mrgreen:

 

[icassell]

Thanks... much better. I'm still not "in love" ... but much better. :mrgreen:

Hey, what do you want for only $11K?

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Canon-800mm-Telephoto-Digital-Cameras/dp/B00132FXOW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1273856359&sr=8-1[/ame]

 

[Overread]

2K more than the 600mm but being nativly longer and lighter makes it avery attractive thing to the pro sport/wildlife shooter (probably going to be more widlife than sport). As I said I suspect canon made some cuts along the line to possibly allow for a lower price point and lens that (whilst limited to pros and rich/obsessed amateurs) would be a more serious seller than their 1000mm option (which is what somewhere around $100000)

 

[icassell]

What's really depressing me is the exquisite quality of Art's handheld shots with the 800mm! I can't even get that with my 300.

 

[Overread]

1/125 in this shot is really pushing things I agree
Carmen's Tale & Handholding the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS Lens Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

He must have perfected his panning methods for following moving targets (or had a rare chance at the bird sitting very still) as even minor slow motions at that speed can and will blur - his arm resting on his knee whilst shooting he sort of had a makeshift monopod - not idea, but certainy better than freeholding - being seated helps a heck of a lot too (I know when I do macro I always perfer to be seated or leaning on something if at all possible).

 

[Dallmeyer]

Telephoto Lenses For Nikon 'F' Mount

Good webpage as well!