The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Zeiss Otus 100mm F1.4 and the Canon EF 600mm F4L IS III 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 EF 600mm F4L IS III USM is the longer of the two lenses at 448mm. The Zeiss Otus 100mm F1.4 with a length of 129mm is 319mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Canon EF 600mm F4L IS III USM also has a larger diameter of 168mm compared to Zeiss Otus 100mm F1.4's 101mm 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. Zeiss Otus 100mm F1.4 weighs 1405g, which means it is 1645g (53%) lighter than the Canon EF 600mm F4L IS III USM which has a weight of 3050g.
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 Zeiss Otus 100mm F1.4 and Canon EF 600mm F4L IS III 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.
Zeiss Otus 100mm F1.4 is also available in Nikon F (FX) mount.
Focal Range
Zeiss Otus 100mm F1.4 is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 100mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.6x crop, it provides an 35mm (FF) equivalent of 160mm.
Canon EF 600mm F4L IS III USM is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 600mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.6x crop, it provides an 35mm (FF) equivalent of 960mm.