It Pays to Buy Good Quality Gear

[AlanLichty]

The link is to an article in Digital Camera World about a guy who had a Canon RF200-800mm lens in a backpack while riding on a snowmobile on a photo trip in Norway. The lens was not built to the same standards Canon uses for their "L" series lenses so it was a bit short on being rugged enough for the conditions the photographers were experiencing on this particular trip.

I strongly considered that lens when I was first looking to replace my EF100-400 for my mirrorless R5m2 but in the end decided to stick with the better quality lens with the RF100-500mm L lens instead. Glad I did. I think @Jeffrey had this lens briefly but bailed for a Sony system instead.

 

[Jameel Hyder]

Ouch. I hope he had insurance on it. The worse part is to not have this while on the trip.

 

[AlanLichty]

Yeah - even if you have insurance that doesn't help you fill the gap until you get home from your trip.

 

[JimFox]

An interesting write up. It looks like it could be a combination of things, the cold for one makes most everything brittle. But saying it was in a backpack, what kind of backpack? And how was it cushioned in that backpack? They said the backpack was strapped to the seat of the snowmobile, I wonder if they tightened the strap too tight that's what snapped it?

An interesting article, but I sure would like more information reported on it.

 

[AlanLichty]

I have to agree more details would have been nice. Jeffrey bought a Canon R5 Mark II with this lens before he was getting ready for a trip to shoot snowy owls but ran into some info on this combo not working well in cold environments. He ditched the Canon rig and bought a Sony setup to take on the trip instead. I never heard what the cold weather issue was but I don't it was something like this.

 

[Jeffrey]

Alan, I did have the R5 II for a very short time to use with my existing EF 200-400 f4 (w/1.4x). And yes, I did bail on it for the Sony A1 II and their 200-600mm. I still have the 200-400 if anyone is interested.

 

[AlanLichty]

You mentioned heading over to the Sony but I wasn't sure if you popped for the RF 200-800 or not. I sold off my EF100-400 and am headed for mostly RF series lenses right now.