Canon FL 1200mm lens

The Canon FL 1200mm f/11 was a super-telephoto lens marketed by Japanese optical manufacturer Canon in June 1972.^[1] It was the longest super-telephoto lens in the Canon FL system.^[2]

The lens was part of a group of four convertible lenses: 400mm f/8, 600mm f/8, 800mm f/8, and the 1200mm. The lenses were in two parts: a focusing and aperture control section which mounted directly to the camera using the Canon FL breech-lock bayonet mounting ring; and the head end, which determined the focal length of the lens. The control section was common to each of the four head-end sections. The 1200mm head end was a preset aperture type, so the lens had to be stopped down manually for exposure.

The original FL 1200mm is now a rare and very valuable collector's item. The only known existence of the entire set of the four lenses in this series is in a private collection located in Indiana, USA.

Technical data

• Lens construction: 7 elements in 5 groups
• Focus adjustment: Manual focus
• Aperture range: f/11-64
• Closest focusing distance: 40m / 131ft
• Filter size: 48mm (may be rear drop-in)

References