Canon 100-400 L Advice Needed

Skyline On Fire

Skyline On Fire

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Looking to get a 100-400 for my 7D.

I'd like to get it second hand, why not? They are pretty common so I shouldn't have too much trouble finding one. But is there any years I should avoid, or years I should go for? Also there are some from 05, are they still the same as 2010? Same optics, USM, IS etc....?

Also what are your general opinions of the lens? Thanks guys.
 
The 100-400 IS hasn't been updated, so early ones should be the same as the later ones - a fairly early version of IS.

Probably looking at £ 800 upwards.

What do you want to use it for?
 
It is a great lens ........ very flexible and good IQ ...... works well with the 1.4ex .... there are a few duff examples floating around thaare a bit soft at the top end and they didn't get the name dust pump for no reason. As you say, there are lots on fleabay, but I would go for a more recent version .........
 
I had one and it's a lot of lens for the money, there are several people have moaned that they had a soft one and sent it back but tbh I think they are mainly user error as they are a lens that take a little getting used to, all in all decent IQ at the price, think I sold mine for £825 iirc.
 
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andrewc said:
The 100-400 IS hasn't been updated, so early ones should be the same as the later ones - a fairly early version of IS.

Probably looking at £ 800 upwards.

What do you want to use it for?
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Just general use really, a bit of birding, assorted things etc... Replacing my 70-200 f4 with it.
 
I would only buy if I could inspect the lens first. Look for slackness in the zoom grip ring, or what looks like thin black paper coming out of the gap between the zoom part of the lens and the body.

Mine is 14 months old and had to have the friction ring replace. canons price £224

Yup you read it right, so buyer beware.

As a lens, it's bloomin fantastic, mine does need backing off just a tiny bit from the 400mm end but I'm talking 5mm.
 
ChrisH said:
I would only buy if I could inspect the lens first. Look for slackness in the zoom grip ring, or what looks like thin black paper coming out of the gap between the zoom part of the lens and the body.

Mine is 14 months old and had to have the friction ring replace. canons price £224

Yup you read it right, so buyer beware.

As a lens, it's bloomin fantastic, mine does need backing off just a tiny bit from the 400mm end but I'm talking 5mm.
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Thanks for the tip Chris, much appreciated.

I don't think Il spend this sort of money without first inspecting it. As it's a push pull zoom, when I hold the camera downwards, will the lens slide out to 400mm on its own or not?
 
Skyline On Fire said:
Thanks for the tip Chris, much appreciated.

I don't think Il spend this sort of money without first inspecting it. As it's a push pull zoom, when I hold the camera downwards, will the lens slide out to 400mm on its own or not?
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depends how tight or loose the friction control is set?
 
ChrisH said:
Thats what the barrel grip is partly for, you need to set it to minimum grip just to stop it zooming out :D
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Oh I see, thanks. As for the IS, how effective is it on this lens? What can you shoot at handheld and still produce a decent crisp shot. I know it'l be different for everyone but a ballpark figure would be great.
 
ChrisH said:
I have shot at 1/40th with IS on.

It's a godsend for me as I have a tiny jitter, the IS gets rid of it completely :D
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Fantastic. I have issues getting slow shutter speeds with my 70-200 non IS sometimes, I don't have the steadiest hands after years of downhill mountain biking, so IS is something I consider a necessity almost now.
 
You might think about investing a decent monopod and ballhead too, as it can be a bit of a handful at 400mm. As it's not the fastest of lens, in low light you might struggle to keep things crisp handheld.
I love mine and coupled with a 7D it's a great combination :thumbs:

Tara
 
turbotoes said:
You might think about investing a decent monopod and ballhead too, as it can be a bit of a handful at 400mm. As it's not the fastest of lens, in low light you might struggle to keep things crisp handheld.
I love mine and coupled with a 7D it's a great combination :thumbs:

Tara
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Cheers Tara, yeah I've been looking at getting a monopod to help out with that.
 
ChrisH said:
I would only buy if I could inspect the lens first. Look for slackness in the zoom grip ring, or what looks like thin black paper coming out of the gap between the zoom part of the lens and the body.

Mine is 14 months old and had to have the friction ring replace. canons price £224

Yup you read it right, so buyer beware.

As a lens, it's bloomin fantastic, mine does need backing off just a tiny bit from the 400mm end but I'm talking 5mm.
Click to expand...

£224 :eek: Jeez, mines about two years old and has the same problem! ....
 
Splog said:
£224 :eek: Jeez, mines about two years old and has the same problem! ....
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Mine's three years old, is my most used lens, and is reaching that point now. The black bits of paper started emerging about a year ago. Only recently the grip has started to become a bit weaker than I'd like, but it's still hanging on in there for now. It's only when I wear the lens at my hip and the action of walking jiggles it mercilessly that it begins to creep down. Worn at my chest/stomach it is still OK.

I would say that as with any long lens, this one rewards careful/skilled handling. Whenever I have my doubts about its performance, and stick it on a tripod, all the problems go away. It also turns in some pretty damn fine results when stuck to my 1D3. It's only when mated to my 7D that little things like camera shake and subject blur begin to spoil an otherwise excellent optical performance, when pixel peeping, but you can't blame the lens for that. That's down to my lack of talent. The IS is good, but it is designed to stabilise the lens, obviously. For shooting lively and somewhat random action, such as BIF, I question its value and will more often that not turn IS off. For assistance with panning sports, or just to hold the thing still, it is great.

BTW, this lens often takes strong exception to filters so do not judge the lens harshly if there is a UV/protection filter fitted to a second hand lens and the results seem sub-par. Take the thing off and then see what she'll do.
 
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I took the old girl out today, slapped on to the front of my 5D2. I took plenty of shots and really have a lot to go through, but here's one example, hand held at 400mm and wide open at 1/160. This needs to sky pulling down a bit, but I deliberately wanted to show it without edits, plus a 100% crop.....

20100807_165320_5314_LR.jpg



100% crop....

20100807_165320_5314_LR-2.jpg


Levels and a WB tweak should have it sorted, but as far as lens IQ and stabilisation is concerned I'm not unhappy. :)
 
I bought a second hand 100-400 about a year ago on ebay, think I paid £700 for it and am loving it. As others have said it is a lens that you have to learn but after a while the push pull zoom becomes second nature, it is however a heavy (ish) lens and took me a while to pan nicely.

Now I am amazed at how often I could use more than 400mm
 
tdodd said:
I took the old girl out today, slapped on to the front of my 5D2. I took plenty of shots and really have a lot to go through, but here's one example, hand held at 400mm and wide open at 1/160. This needs to sky pulling down a bit, but I deliberately wanted to show it without edits, plus a 100% crop.....




100% crop....



Levels and a WB tweak should have it sorted, but as far as lens IQ and stabilisation is concerned I'm not unhappy. :)
Click to expand...

Cant complain with that, especially considering its against a dull white background, and handheld at 1/160! Im guessing you notice a little vignetting occasionally on the full frame with this lens? I use a 7D currently so hopefully it won't affect me. Not that it's a major issue for me.
 
scraggs said:
I had one and it's a lot of lens for the money, there are several people have moaned that they had a soft one and sent it back but tbh I think they are mainly user error as they are a lens that take a little getting used to, all in all decent IQ at the price, think I sold mine for £825 iirc.
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You did indeed and I bought it and have never regretted it for a minute, I love this very versatile lens. :thumbs:
 
Skyline On Fire said:
Cant complain with that, especially considering its against a dull white background, and handheld at 1/160! Im guessing you notice a little vignetting occasionally on the full frame with this lens? I use a 7D currently so hopefully it won't affect me. Not that it's a major issue for me.
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There's some falloff in the corners, but the only time I notice is when I'm pushing ETTR hard and may see a hotspot of clipping in the centre of the lens. I got one or two of those today. I don't mind it one bit.

Here is an example from today with the lens attached to my 7D. This was also hand held at 400mm and f/5.6, but this time at 1/250. I have applied some tweaks because 7D files really do push the lenses and the photographer to the limits, and a little PP is necessary if you want your 100% crops to look good from a long zoom lens.

20100807_153517_0641_LR.jpg



100% crop....

20100807_153517_0641_LR-2.jpg


Consider that following the old rule about minimum hand held shutter speeds, for this shot.....

- at 400mm I should be at 1/400;
- but on a 1.6X crop body I should be at 1/640;
- but viewed at 100% (on my monitor) I should be at 1/2500

so I'm not unhappy with this result at 1/250, but getting good 100% crops of action from my 7D is much harder than getting good 100% crops from my 5D2, unsurprisingly. :)
 
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