Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras by Canon
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Digital camera reviews of Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras
Digital camera Review: Another Superb Canon Product
Summary: 5 Stars
Outstanding performance. Much, much much better than low end lens of the same strength. Still new to me but the only drawback I have found is the weight. That is a small price for such good performance.Digital camera Review: Attack of the monster lens grrrrrrr
Summary: 5 Stars
First, I just want to say... I waited most of my life to get to the point where I could take professional quality pictures. Now that I am there, it is indeed everything I wanted it to be. I'm loving this. :-)
This lens came to me because I accidentally dropped my 75mm-300mm non-IS non USM lens in the Gulf of Mexico while shooting the sunset at Lover's Key State Park, Florida. Some would argue that I probably did this on purpose just because I was sick of the poor quality of that lens, and although I do share your sentiments, I assure I did NOT do that on purpose. It *was* funny in its own way, but after realizing just how much damage was done to the internals and realizing I'd have to replace it, I was in fact quite horrified. I will quickly say this for that lens - it CAN yield good pictures, IF you know how to work it. Keep your aperture around F13 and stick to bright light, and it will produce...
BUT
It is NOT a pro lens, and it will NEVER be a pro lens. I took over a week to convince myself to put down the huge money for this "L" telephoto lens, and it took me about that long again before I was sure I'd done the right thing. I am sure now, more or less, but the painful expense still haunts me. That's one thing you have to get over if you want to take exceptional pictures - good images do in fact require good optics, and good optics COST. That's how it is currently, and you have to deal with it or do without. The plus side is the resale value on an L lens is HIGH if you treat it right, so if one day you need your money back out of it, you can get most of it back just fine.
When I finally got my new lens, I was immediately shocked by the size and weight. Unless you've seen or held one before, you're going to be intimidated. Honestly though, on my first long outing, I came to find that it is NOT that bad, honestly. Make sure that your shoulder strap is wide, and you won't be bothered by it that much. I keep my camera crossed over to my other shoulder like an ammo belt, and the camera and lens lay nicely against my hip, even when I am walking fast. I can very quickly grab the camera, slide it up to my eye, hit the power slider, and shoot within seconds. The birdies never see it coming, pow.
Now, I should add here that my combo is a Canon Digital Rebel XT and of course my new 100mm - 400mm L F5.6 IS USM.
The first time I shot at all with this, I was disappointed and worried that I made a big mistake. Yes, I was making a mistake, but not in the purchase, just with what to expect from the lens' behavior compared to the 75-300mm that predeceased it. This is NOT that lens by any stretch, and the major differences combined with a mild concussion from a whoops at my workplace led me to bad assumptions and generally poor thinking on how to use it for a given scene.
1) Aperture on this lens does not behave like aperture on that 75-300. With that cheaper lens, aperture has a dramatic effect on sharpness. Not nearly as much with this lens.
2) The extra focal length means that any motion in the image can create blur if your shutter isn't fast enough. Make sure you've got lots of light if you are shooting moving objects.
3) IS only corrects for camera shake, NOT for subject motion. Don't go into a dimly lit scene expecting IS to save you with moving things in the frame, it won't work. Open the aperture as far as you dare, keep your ISO fairly high, kick the IS on to reduce your own movements, and then just take a LOT of shots. Not understanding or appreciating this simple fact of photography cost me a lot of good shots that first time out, and today when I go back I will definitely be better prepared.
4) Learn to treat the lens as if it is the main component of the camera. Don't go trying to attach/remove/adjust the lens as if the camera is your anchor... Believe me, this thing makes my Rebel XT feel like a toy, and if you misjudge the weight of this lens, it could slip out of your hand and really embarrass you. Respect the lens, definitely. No, I have NOT dropped my lens yet... are you kidding??? $1400!!
Now that that is all out of the way, let me tell you why I will die before I ever let my new lens go:
The images, omg... I never knew I could take such amazing pictures with my Rebel XT and honestly now I know I won't replace the camera body with anything better until the shutter dies in it. After I got my head better around shutter speed and lighting, the good images were simply incredibly good. Even with a Bower 2x Teleconverter, the better images are way better than even the 75mm-300mm could do. It's the contrast, color depth, and sharpness... this is a professional level lens and my God does it show, and I don't have to stop down to F13 to get good sharpness. :-)
The IS is a wonderful tool, believe me. If you can get your subject to hold still, and you have reasonably stable hands, you can pull off great pictures at 1/30th of a second shutter time. I'm serious. It's more in what is moving in your scene than how steady you are, so long as you don't try for senselessly long exposure times. I love the IS and I am SO glad I held out for a lens that has it.
The USM autofocus is just... wow... After so long of shooting with a lens with no USM, this is like having my cake with a double shot of apricot brandy with a little umbrella in it. When I go shooting at the beach, I am there primarily to shoot the wildlife (sea birds). When I'd shoot a bird in flight, I would take many exposures in hopes that one would turn out and be a good shot. This time out, I did that same thing with the new lens and I was amazed to find that I was getting intact sets of images of each bird I did this with. One or two of the first shots would be a touch out, maybe, but several would be in sharp focus. The AF keeps up fine with moving targets, and this is something totally new to me. The focus motor is fast, silent, and tack accurate, MILES beyond the old cheapie I sank in the ocean. Detect a bit of sarcasm there? :-)
The zoom range leaves a hole for me between my kit 18mm-55mm lens (yes I know, I have a crap lens for wide angle... you can help me fund another L-glass lens any time you like), but honestly I haven't missed it yet. I adore the long focal length of this lens and if there's a softness to the 400mm end then I haven't really seen it yet. In fact, I'm looking at a test shot I took today using the 2x extender and the new lens for a combined FL of 800mm... scary huh... and I am seeing great sharpness, surprisingly enough. Had the target been out of the shadows and in the sun, I'd say I could have pulled off a really good picture from it. Not bad for a 300' distant shot of a cute girl in a strongly shadowed stairwell at combined 800mm, 1/800th of a second (F8.0!) exposure time FREE HANDED. It's amazing what you can do with this lens when you really try.
So... I've babbled enough, although I could go on all day. Here's the pros and cons.
Pros:
Very solidly built, feels like a tank shell.
Amazing image quality
Fast USM focus
IS is GREAT when thought out beforehand
Manual focus ring is right there when you need it
Sliding focus rather than rotating is actually quite nice
Tension ring for focus is a great touch
Very nice very solid tripod ring with bearings! How cool is that?
VERY nice carry case... they really did do a nice thing with that.
Cons:
Heavy... wow heavy. Weighs like a tank shell too... But, it's a PRO lens, what do you want?
Ok so it IS white... actually beige white, mine is. Believe me, if you still care about the color a week after using it heavily, you are spoiled and should shoot with an old Digital Rebel 300D plus 18-55mm kit lens ONLY until you regain your sense of perspective. It took me ONE DAY to forgive it for being white. ;-)
It's BIG. Its so big that you will likely have to reconsider your entire outfit and how you carry everything around in the field. I find personally that the size of the thing is actually a bigger deal to me than the weight, surprisingly enough. If you have a Rebel XT or similar, the camera does look a little silly stuck to it, but here again WHO CARES... the images omg!!
Sometimes you can forget that you are balancing the lens with a hand under the focuser, and accidentally knock your shot out of focus. Also, since the focus and zoom tension rings move as one, it's easy enough to de-tense the zoom while focusing. It's a learning process, and not all that terrible really.
Canon, honestly... almost $1400US for a lens and no UV filter for the front. Maybe this is me being nitpicky but really... what would it cost them to provide you this very basic protection for your very expensive lens? Just be sure not to forget to get one... and make sure you remember this is 77MM threading, not 58 or anything else!
One last comment:
If you are like I was, and struggling to make a tough decision... perhaps this will help. This is a Black Oystercatcher on the beach at Lover's Key, shot at full 400mm from about 40+ feet or so away in terrible light and free handed - no tripod. Note the tiny water droplets on the feathers. Before I got this lens, I would have told you I wish I could do pictures like this one. Now I not only can, I AM. :-)
ISO 200, F5.6, 400mm FL, 1/640 sec.
http://www.projectradiantlight.com/NR417/Lovers_Key_Black_Oystercatcher.jpg
Make like N**e and just do it! :-)
NR417
Digital camera Review: Awesome Mighty Lens
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been using the 40D for a couple of weeks now. I still have a 30D that I use as a back up. I was hesitant about upgrading like a lot of people but I bit the bullet and did it. WOW what a diffrence, this camera is everything I could have hoped for. There are so many techi reports out there so I won't bore you with engineering statistics.
The 3 inch screen is awesome I can really see it in the sun so it is just what Canon said it would be. The shutter button is so much sweeter than the 30D it is precise and I know when it will go off a real bonus well I think so. Color is fantastic much better than the 30D is. AF is so much faster and more precise it is hard to compare them. The feel of the camera is bigger and heavier it feels like a pro's camera should. The live view which I was totally yawning over turns out to be a real advantage at times and when connected to a laptop you can set timed shots for time release shooting. You can control the camera from your pc which I think is cool. I could go on and I will later I am still figuring out all the features. Oh yeah don't forget the weather sealing around the battery lid, CF lid and along the hot shoe. I think there may be more but I am not sure. The auto sensor cleaning is a God send and works very well. I use long glass that sucks a lot of dust on the sensor so I randomly run the cleaner and I don't have those nast dust bunnies.
On the down side unless you use CS3 or like me Lightroom you will have to use Canon's version or a 3rd party software for Raw format. Bummer but I my work flow includes Light Room anyways.
Digital camera Review: Awesome at Airshows
Summary: 5 Stars
I agree with all the others comments about this lens. It works great but it is big, heavy and attracts attention. When I say it attracts attention, I am not kidding. I was at an airshow taking pictures along with a lot of other amature photographers. My 100-400mm lens, however, attracted the attention of a local newpaper reporter who interviewed me. However, I bought it to use with my 20D at airshows and I can honestly say I am not disapointed. It was well worth the money.
I also bought a cheap Kenko 1.5x teleconverter for kicks. While the converter isn't "L" grade, I am pleased with the results and the autofocus still works which I understand is not the case with the Canon TCs.
For those looking for a big zoom lens and you want IS, you are ulitimately going to wind up buying this lens.
Digital camera Review: Awesome lens!
Summary: 5 Stars
I recently purchased this lens after wishing for it for quite a while. The price kept me from buying it sooner (I am not a professional photographer....yet!)...but I have found it is money well spent.The image stabilizing feature is a huge plus and the lens puts a whole new spin on what I can photograph. I was a bit concerned about the weight of it but it is not an issue at all, (my handbag weighs more!)
This lens is worth the money and Amazon's price was the most competetive that I found....plus, Amazon is just a great company to purchase anything from, in my opinion! If you are debating whether or not to purchase this lens...just do it!!! You'll be glad you did :)