I Don’t Typically Do This

by Martin Gordon

Hands-on with the Canon EF 1200 f/5.6L lens

The Canon EF 1200mm f/5.6L is a 36 lbs, $120,000 lens.

More from The Digital Picture:

The new EF 1200 was then marketed by Canon in July, 1993 with an annual production volume of around 2 (that’s right - “two”) lenses. The EF 1200 L was available by special order with lead times running about 18 months.

Why such a long lead time? For one reason, it takes nearly a year to grow fluorite crystals large enough to be ground and polished for use in this lens. In addition, the lens is “virtually hand-made”.

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