Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM

[seattlesteve]

Pros: Good range, typical "L" quality build, contrast and color like other "L" lenses, quick focus, IS mode 2 for panning

Cons: Max aperture f/4.5 at 100mm and f/5.6 at 400mm, old IS system

Notes: First thing that comes to mind for many that consider this lens is the push-pull zoom feature. I got used to it after a day of shooting.



200mm, 1/800th, f/5.6


115mm, 1/800th, f/5.6


400mm, 1/100th, f/8


400mm, 1/400th, f/9


100mm, 1/1250th, f/7.1

*edit - corrected subject line

[grahamnp]

Nice shots Steve. I think the monkey was envious of your lens!

[Gordon Laing]

Great shots Steve, and nice to see some examples og the 100-400mm.

I found it an invaluable ally on Safari in Kenya, both at 400mm for distant animals, but also at 100mm for closer or bigger subjects. That said, all of the following were taken at 400mm, using a Canon EOS 350D. So effectively operating at 640mm. All images below are uncropped and unretouched JPEGs from the camera.



Above: Canon EOS 350D / XT with EF 100-400mm L at 400mm (640mm effective), 1/160, f5.6, 200 ISO



Above: Canon EOS 350D / XT with EF 100-400mm L at 400mm (640mm effective), 1/1000, f5.6, 400 ISO



Above: Canon EOS 350D / XT with EF 100-400mm L at 400mm (640mm effective), 1/40, f5.6, 800 ISO

I was impressed by the IS on this lens - remember traditional photographic advice would say for an effective focal length of 640mm, you'd need a shutter of 1/640, but there I was shooting as slow as 1/40 out the top of a jeep for that monkey in the tree (who thankfully sat still). That corresponds to 4 stops of compensation...

I still didn't get on with the push pull design though...

Gordon

[Khol]

Nice pictures from both of you.
I kind of envy you Gordon for that safari trip. Would like to some day....

What would you guess the distance is to the birds on the buffalos back?

And, i really like Steves monkeypicture. You can almost see that he most certainly has something on his mind: "Just wonder if i can run to that photographer and steal his lunchbox"

[Gordon Laing]

Hi Khol, it was a while back, so I can't remember the distances that well, but I'd say about 20-30m away. I really liked those birds on the back!

[seattlesteve]

Hi Khol,

Just to be clear, I love this lens. It gets me into scenes that I would normally not be able to get. Would I recommend it to a friend.......yes. If you decide to get one, test it at the shop at 100mm @ f/4.5 and 400mm @ f/5.6 with IS on.


Canon 5D, 1/1000th, 400mm @ f/8, ISO400


Canon 5D, 1/2000th, 400mm @ f/8, ISO400


Canon 5D, 1/200th, 220mm @ f5.6, ISO160


This is a rather bland photo, but illustrates a couple other import parts about the 100-400. (see below)


Canon 5D, 1/250th, 400mm @ f/5.6, ISO160 (wide open and handheld)

Obviously it's not as sharp as the 135L wide open, but it's good for a big zoom being shot handheld at it's max focal length and aperture.

[Defiance]

Here are a couple of shots that I took on Thursday 8th May on the GWML at Lower Basildon with the EF 100-400 it shows "GBRf" 66724 "Drax Power Station"
leading a convoy of preserved diesel loco's on their way to the "Diesel Gala Weekend at Swanage having been brought down from the "Severn Valley Railway"
the preserved loco's are 50044 "Exeter", 37906, 37275 and on the rear 20096.


and a bit closer


Data
Canon 40D, EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM
Focal Length 150mm
Shutter Priority 1/800
Apeture f/6.3
ISO 200

[x_WYSIWYG_x]

The monkey is mad at you for zooming at it haha

[popo]

Today was my first shoot with the lens in direct sunlight.


50D, 400mm, f/6.3, 1/1000s, ISO400. Click pic to get full download on dA. (4.4MB)

[popo]

Have another, this one in flight.


50D, 160mm, f/5, 1/800s, ISO320. Click pic to get full download on dA. (4.1MB)

[DP-PARIS]

I am thinking of purchasing this lens, but have read on few sites that it is a bit soft at 400. Looking on here it seems to be pretty good, though definitely not as sharp as the 400 prime, which I am also considering (though I think I would rather the 100-400 zoom, as more versatile + IS).

Has anyone used it with the 2x canon extender? If so, what is the quality like? I have a serious lack of zoom in my collection, which is ok as I do not generally take sports, wildlife photography etc, but have missed some potentially nice shots in the past due to this lack, so I want a good option to have just in case...

I will use it on a 5d2, hence I want the extender to give me either 1.4x or 2x (likely to go for the 1.4 as I think the 2x will ruin the quality of the picture).

I have also been thinking of buying a 50D* for the 1.6 crop factor (plus great to have a spare, I had a 20D, but sold it).. However, considering the higher resolution of the 5D2, I would actually only gain around 80mm (I did some very basic calculations to work this out, i.e. divided the pixel count of the 5d2 by the pixel count on the 50D and multiplied the 400 max zoom by the result for the 5D2 and by 1.6 for the 50D), so not sure if it is really worth it, especially if the 1.4 extender is any good.

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

D

*If canon released a 21 mp 1D mkIV with a cropped sensor I would seriously consider buying one to give all my lenses the extra reach.

[janern]

I got this lens in November and this weekend was the first time really got to test it on the ducks in great lighting condition. When the focus is dead on this lens is super sharp, even wide open. Superb!


50D
400mm
1/640th
f/5.6
ISO 125


100 % crop: