Canon described it as "the world’s largest interchangeable SLR AF lens, in terms of both focal length and maximum aperture.

[4] The official website of Canon competitor Nikon implies that these lenses, with the built-in 1.4x teleconverter, were also used by photographers covering baseball games, including the very popular high school tournaments, at Japan's Koshien Stadium.

Nikon developed a 1200–1700mm manual-focus super telephoto zoom, specifically designed for use at that stadium, in order to compete with Canon's offering.

The lens was only available for special "pre orders", and was never built before selling; its annual production volume was approximately two lenses.

[3] The lens also took more than a year to construct, due to the time required to grow its massive fluorite crystals.

[6] Few of these lenses exist; Canon has never released production figures, but it is almost certain that fewer than 100 were made, and it has been rumored that the actual number is closer to 20.

A list of owners has also never been made public, but reported owners include Sports Illustrated magazine (two); Canon Professional Services (two); James Jannard, the billionaire founder of Oakley and RED Digital Cinema (two); and the National Geographic Society (at least one for its magazine).