12 lenses of Christmas: November 2023 was Canon’s BIG month, launching a world-first super-telephoto zoom
Big news doesn’t get much bigger than this. The Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM is a real whopper with unprecedented super-telephoto reach. Despite its monster zoom range, it’s relatively ‘affordable’ for one of Canon’s big white lenses, and makes handheld shooting viable with a weight of 2kg. At the other end of the scale in every way, there was also news of the forthcoming Canon RF-S 10-18mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM, an ultra-compact, ultra-cheap wide-angle zoom for APS-C format EOS R cameras.
In other telephoto news, further details were announced for the much anticipated Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 DG DN OS Sports for Sony E and Leica L mount cameras, revealing a tempting spec sheet and an even more tempting price tag. In the own-brand Sony camp, the Sony FE 300mm F2.8 GM OSS was officially launched, along with unofficial first glimpse of the relatively lightweight new Sony FE 24-50mm F2.8 G. And sticking with ‘unofficial’ rumors surfaced of a Nikon Z 28-400mm f/3.5-6.3 superzoom lens, and that a Panasonic 100mm L-mount Macro lens might be with us in January 2024. Back on the official side of the fence, there was the launch of a new AstrHori 28mm F13 2X Macro Periprobe lens that can see round corners.
We weren’t short of prime-time news in November. There was the launch of a new Viltrox 20mm F2.8 AF lens for full-frame Sony cameras, and with a bargain basement price tag. A similarly bargain buy was the new TTArtisan 35mm F1.8 AF, available in a variety of mount options, as was the forthcoming Brightin Star 50mm F1.4 AF for crop-sensor cameras. And if more is merrier, there was a trio of APS-C format Sirui 23mm, 33mm and 56mm f/1.2 primes.
Following directly on from our news story, we got our hands on the Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM for November’s first review, and found it had ‘mostly’ super performance. Next up was the Nikon Z 600mm f/6.3 VR S, which really wowed us for handheld super-telephoto shooting. Other telephoto highlights in the testing schedule included the Sony FE 300mm F2.8 GM OSS and Leica 100-400mm Vario-Elmar-SL f/5-6.3.
The early verdict on the ‘hybrid’ Canon RF 24-105mm F2.8L IS USM Z was that it worked really well for shooting both stills and video, as advertised. A full test of the Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena revealed that it was everything we could have hoped for, combining scintillating sharpness with wonderfully soft and creamy bokeh.
Finally, proving that great things sometimes come in small packages, the Canon RF-S 10-18mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM impressed us in being a super-compact zoom with a really expansive field of view.
