The EF 500mm lenses are a group of super-telephoto

prime A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...

lenses A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements''), ...

made by

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

that share the same focal length. These lenses have an EF type mount, and fit the

Canon EOS Canon EOS (Electro-Optical System) is an autofocus single-lens reflex camera (SLR) and mirrorless camera series produced by Canon Inc. Introduced in 1987 with the Canon EOS 650, all EOS cameras used 135 film, 35 mm photographic film, film unti ...

line of

digital single lens reflex A digital single-lens reflex camera (digital SLR or DSLR) is a digital camera that combines the optics and mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a solid-state image sensor and digitally records the images from the sensor. The reflex des ...

cameras. When used on a camera with a

field of view The field of view (FOV) is the angle, angular extent of the observable world that is visual perception, seen at any given moment. In the case of optical instruments or sensors, it is a solid angle through which a detector is sensitive to elec ...

compensation factor of 1.6x, such as the

Canon EOS 400D The EOS 400D, called Digital Rebel XTi in North America and EOS Kiss Digital X in Japan, is an entry-level digital single-lens reflex camera introduced by Canon on 24 August 2006. Details It is the successor of the Canon EOS 350D, and upgrad ...

, they provide a narrower field of view,

equivalent Equivalence or Equivalent may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Album-equivalent unit, a measurement unit in the music industry *Equivalence class (music) *'' Equivalent VIII'', or ''The Bricks'', a minimalist sculpture by Carl Andre *'' Equiva ...

to an 800 mm lens mounted on a

35mm 35 mm may refer to: Film * 135 film, a type of still photography format commonly referred to as 35 mm film * 35 mm movie film, a type of motion picture film stock * 35MM, a "musical exhibition" by Ryan Scott Oliver that features music ...

frame body. With a 1.3x body such as the

Canon EOS-1D Mark III The EOS 1D Mark III is a professional 10.1 megapixel digital single lens reflex camera (DSLR) camera body produced by Canon. The EOS 1D Mark III was announced on February 21, 2007 and is the successor of the Canon EOS-1D Mark II N and was first ...

, they provide a less narrow field of view, equivalent to a 650mm lens mounted on a 35mm frame body. These lenses are most commonly used by

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

and wildlife photographers. Three EF 500mm lenses have been available, and all are L series lenses. The most recent, the 4L IS II, released in 2012 and is the only model in production. * 4.5L USM * 4L IS USM * 4L IS II USM

EF 500mm 4.5L USM

The EF 500mm 4.5L USM is a professional L series lens that is now discontinued. This lens is constructed with a metal body and mount, and with plastic extremities and switches. Features of this lens include a wide rubber focus ring that is

damped In physical systems, damping is the loss of energy of an oscillating system by dissipation. Damping is an influence within or upon an oscillatory system that has the effect of reducing or preventing its oscillation. Examples of damping include ...

, a distance window with

infrared Infrared (IR; sometimes called infrared light) is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than that of visible light but shorter than microwaves. The infrared spectral band begins with the waves that are just longer than those ...

index, the ability to limit the focus range, a focus-preset mechanism, and the ability to set the AF speed. A 9 bladed maximum

aperture In optics, the aperture of an optical system (including a system consisting of a single lens) is the hole or opening that primarily limits light propagated through the system. More specifically, the entrance pupil as the front side image o ...

of 4.5, gives this lens the ability to create

depth of field The depth of field (DOF) is the distance between the nearest and the farthest objects that are in acceptably sharp focus (optics), focus in an image captured with a camera. See also the closely related depth of focus. Factors affecting depth ...

effects. The optical construction of this lens contains 8 lens elements, including one

fluorite Fluorite (also called fluorspar) is the mineral form of calcium fluoride, CaF2. It belongs to the halide minerals. It crystallizes in isometric cubic habit, although octahedral and more complex isometric forms are not uncommon. The Mohs scal ...

lens element, and one UD (Ultra low

Dispersion Dispersion may refer to: Economics and finance *Dispersion (finance), a measure for the statistical distribution of portfolio returns * Price dispersion, a variation in prices across sellers of the same item *Wage dispersion, the amount of variat ...

) lens element. This lens uses an inner focusing system, powered by a ring type USM motor. The front of the lens does not rotate nor extend when focusing. This lens is compatible with the

Canon Extender EF The Canon Extender EF lenses are a group of teleconverter photographic lens, lenses made by Canon Inc., Canon. These lenses are used between any compatible Canon EF lens mount, EF type lens and any of the Canon Canon EOS, EOS line of cameras. Whe ...

teleconverters.

EF 500mm 4L IS USM

The EF 500mm 4L IS USM is a professional L series lens that was designed to replace the EF 500mm 4.5L USM. This lens is constructed with a metal body and mount, and with plastic extremities and switches. Features of this lens are: a wide rubber focus ring that is damped, a distance window with infrared index, the ability to limit the focus range from: 4.5m to infinity, 4.5m to 10m, and 10m to infinity, it also has a focus-preset mechanism, an

image stabilizer An image or picture is a visual representation. An image can be two-dimensional, such as a drawing, painting, or photograph, or three-dimensional, such as a carving or sculpture. Images may be displayed through other media, including a project ...

that is effective up to two stops and is tripod sensing, an AF stop switch, and weather sealing. An 8 bladed maximum aperture of 4 gives this lens the ability to create depth of field effects. The optical construction of this lens contains 17 lens elements, including one fluorite lens element, and two UD Lens elements. This lens uses an inner focusing system, powered by a ring type USM motor. The front of the lens does not rotate nor extend when focusing. This lens is compatible with the Canon Extender EF teleconverters.

EF 500mm 4L IS II USM

The EF 500mm 4L IS II USM is the replacement to the EF 500mm 4L IS USM. Its specifications are roughly similar to those of the 4 Mark I, but have a number of significant differences. The Mark II version contains one fewer lens element than its predecessor (16 as opposed to 17), and is lighter. It also has a 9-blade aperture instead of the 8 blades of the Mark I.

Specifications

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:500mm lens Canon L-Series lenses Canon EF lenses