The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Venus 105mm F2 and the Canon 500mm f4.0L IS USM for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison
Size of a lens is an important deciding factor when comparing two lenses.Canon 500mm f4.0L IS USM is the longer of the two lenses at 387mm. The Venus 105mm F2 with a length of 99mm is 288mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Canon 500mm f4.0L IS USM also has a larger diameter of 146mm compared to Venus 105mm F2's 76mm diameter.
Weight of a lens is as important as its external dimensions, especially if you are planning to hand hold your camera and lens combination for longer periods. Venus 105mm F2 weighs 745g, which means it is 3125g (80%) lighter than the Canon 500mm f4.0L IS USM which has a weight of 3870g.
Below you can find the dimension and weight table of the 'Telephoto Prime Lenses in Canon EF Mount for size comparison purposes.
Telephoto Prime Lenses in Canon EF Mount for Size Comparison
Lens Mounts
Both Venus 105mm F2 and Canon 500mm f4.0L IS USM has the same Canon EF lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Canon EF lenses are Canon 1D X III, Canon 6D MII and Canon 5D MIV.
Venus 105mm F2 is also available in Sony E , Nikon F (FX), Pentax KAF2 and Sony Alpha mounts.
Focal Range
Venus 105mm F2 is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 105mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.6x crop, it provides an 35mm (FF) equivalent of 168mm.
Canon 500mm f4.0L IS USM is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 500mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.6x crop, it provides an 35mm (FF) equivalent of 800mm.