Canon 600mm f/5.6
Canon · LTM · 1958 · Achromatic doublet, 2e/1g
Also known as: Canon 600mm f/5.6 · Canon 600mm f5.6 · Canon 600/5.6
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canon 600mm f/5.6 (I), Mirror Box | Mirror Box via bellows | 1958 | — | No figure published |
| Canon 600mm f/5.6 (II) | Mirror Box 2 via bellows, or Canonflex | 1960 | — | No figure published |
- The Mirror Box (1957) screws into the body's 39 mm thread and holds a mirror that flips up on a double cable release; its lenses focus by their own helicoid or by a bellows. The Mirror Box 2 (1958 per lens-db and the museum's M-lens dates; 1961 per Leica Copies Japan) clips onto the Canon 7's outer bayonet and takes its own three-lug lenses — the M135 and M200 — and the 400 to 1000 mm heads through an intermediate tube and Bellows R. The two boxes' lens mounts do not interchange (Leica Copies Japan).
How to tell them apart
Canon 600mm f/5.6 (I), Mirror Box:
- Marketed September 1958, ¥150,000 · 2100 g · 36.5 mm filter · stops to f/32
- 2,100 g; 36.5 mm filter; focuses to 5 m; ¥150,000
Canon 600mm f/5.6 (II):
- Marketed January 1960, ¥146,000 · 2100 g · 48 mm filter · stops to f/32
- 2,100 g; 48 mm filter; focuses to 6.4 m
Specifications
- Formula
- Achromatic doublet, 2e/1g
- Construction
- 2 elements / 1 groups
- Aperture range
- f/5.6–f/32
- Min. focus
- 5 m
- Weight
- 2100 g
- Filter
- 36.5 mm
- Years manufactured
- 1958
- Country
- Japan
- Original price
- ¥150,000 (September 1958, Canon Camera Museum) (today ¥943,000)
What reviewers say
No reviews aggregated yet — this family is still in the research queue. Written one? We'd love to index it.
History
A two-glass achromat — one cemented doublet — of September 1958 at ¥150,000, focusing on the Mirror Box’s bellows, and a second version of January 1960 for the Mirror Box 2 and the Canonflex. The 600, 800 and 1000 share the doublet construction; they are long-focus lenses in the old sense, an objective and a tube.
Bought with a box, a bellows and a tripod, or not at all.
This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.
Example photos
Sample photo wanted — shot with a Canon 600mm f/5.6? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
Live listings
- Canon Large Lens Foot For Series II 400mm 2.8 600mm f4 & 800mm f5.6
- Vintage Canon SSC-G0138 Lens for 600mm F/4.5 Lens & 600mm F/5.6 Lens
Listings updated 2026-09-09. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.