Canon 100-400mm f/5.6 L Lens, opinions?

StewartR said:
Forgetting to loosen it off is only an "easy" mistake if you're stupid or careless, I would suggest.
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I think calling people stupid or careless is a bit strong. The wording on the lens is not "Locked" and "Unlocked" but "Tight" and "Smooth" and with a range of resistance levels in between. The inference I would take from that is that it is up to personal preference how snug to make the mechanism. There is no implication that making the resistance firm should cause damage to the lens if you zoom it in that state. If it was supposed to be a two state mechanism then perhaps a switch would be the better design solution than a ring which allows fine tuning between the two extremes.

Of course, if you lock the thing off fairly hard and then try to force the lens to zoom then that might be regarded as stupid/careless, but that is not how I used my lens. I am far from stupid or careless. I treat my gear well. Yet still I suffered the problem.
 
Sigma 120-400mm f/4.5-5.6 DG OS HSM APO Lens

Good price

£544 HERE




sigma_120-400.jpg
 
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Apparently Nikon have got the patent for a 100-500mm lens, could be rather interesting although I suspect somewhat dearer than the lens mentioned here.

Do have the occasional hankering for their 200-400mm, but apart from the expense it would mean a complete change of equipment. Happy enough for now with my 400mm f5.6 which suited my purposes better than the zoom seeing as 99% of the time i'm at 400mm anyway
 
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The 120-400 is a good cheaper alternative.

Can't keep up with the 100-400 for sharpness though.
 
when I said that IQ and AF was poor with the sigma 120-400mm beyond 350mm, I meant IQ and AF was poor with the sigma 120-400mm beyond 350mm (up to 300mm I found it to be quite satisfactory, I have used other tele lens (zooms and prime) including a medium term borrowed Canon 300 f2.8L (which I couldnt afford when it went up for sale) and was more than happy with these lens performance.

I was not happy with the performace of the sigma 120-400 at the long end, I do need a longer telephoto for occasional motorsport duties hence my interest in this thread
 
100-400 is a great lens, had mine since 2005, never had a single problem with it.
Motorsport is my thing and it can get very dusty at times, it IS a dust pump but that should never put you off, mine is crammed with dust (going to Canon for a clean soon).

One of the last pics I took with it, cropped but no sharpening done.

 
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StewartR said:
That's it exactly. I'm not sure exactly what the material is - the bits that I've seen shed off look more like carbon fibre, though obviously they aren't. But in all our experience I don't think we've ever seen any of this stuff come out of the lens - it just collects on one of the internal elements. It's unsightly, but harmless and not detrimental to image quality.
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Hmm thats interesting, maybe what I found wasn't from my lens then, there is nothing inside it at all, as I said it was under the tripod ring - simply because its where dust/debris could accumulate without easily being wiped away.

Either way the lens performs just fine, so I'm happy :)
 
Having recently bought one of these I was happy with push/pull action, it was the bloomin' manuel focus ring I've had bother with, after seeing these pics I'm going to persevere and can't wait for the btcc season to start. I'm using a 1dmk1 so will a t/c work on autofocus with this lens, i got the impression that they needed a "fix" to do so. Ta.
Sorry for off topic.
 
mj4456 said:
I'm using a 1dmk1 so will a t/c work on autofocus with this lens, i got the impression that they needed a "fix" to do so. Ta.
Sorry for off topic.
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No fix needed on 1D Cameras
 
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I don't know about the original 1D, but on my 1D3 you can use a 1.4X TC without any trickery but you will be limited to AF on the centre AF point only and I don't think you can get any help from peripheral AF points either in that scenario.

I have not tried the pin taping trick with my 1D3. I used to use it on my old xxD bodies but actually gave up once Live View came onto the scene. It was no use for action photography on the xxD bodies and with that huge focal length I found it best suited to tripod work and Live View, for which you don't need to tape the pins in order for Live AF to work.

Here's a shot from my 1D3 and 100-400, hand held at 560mm, 1/200, f/8, 200 ISO shot through fencing at Brands Hatch....

20100402_101444_5631_LR.jpg


One more, this time at 1/250, but otherwise as above....

20100402_095639_5479_LR.jpg
 
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Awesome pictures Tim. Really want this lens now! :)

Would be perfect for when I go to oulton park in may (hopefully)

I was looking for a decent second hand copy, the problem is there's hardly any for sale. There was one on eBay the other day, I offered the person £790, cash on collection as they were only 10 miles from me and they accepted, not sure if that was a decent price though?

I pulled out of the deal as I saw the potential problem with the friction ring which put me off at that point. I'm sure there will be others that pop up though. :-)
 
Under £800 is a decent price!

But ye, I would want to see pictures of the glass and taken with the lens to confirm it's not a duff copy.
If you see another that close to you, might be worth asking if you can go take a look at it to confirm it's condition yourself before buying?
 
Tim

Your pics are 1st class and your comments appreciated, I might explore this further

Best Regards
 
Well I got my 100-400 in the post today. Well what can I say, absolutely spectacular lens, it was well worth the money. I can safely put all my fears aside that I had for this lens; it gets my full recommendation.

It’s quite a substantial set of glass with a fair bit of weight but I like that! The push/pull mechanism works very smoothly and the locking ring looks in good shape with no issues holding the lens in telephoto faced upwards or vice versa.

Looking at it, I think the key with the locking ring is to not tighten it too much, and to completely slacken it off when adjusting zoom, or avoid tightening it at all if at all possible, this way I’m sure it will last a long time (touch wood.)

As you can guess, this is a second hand one but in very good condition and well looked after by the seller, it was made in 2005 but got it a good £400 cheaper than most online stores, so I’m very happy!

It was calibrated by Canon in 2008 according to the seller and going by some of the pictures taken at 400mm it seems pretty sharp wide open at f/5.6

Now I just need to get outside and start using it to its full potential!
 
Congrats, Mark. I hope you enjoy the lens. :thumbs:
 
Congrats indeed, a very nice lens. I love mine...:)

Has anyone sent one off for cleaning and calibrating? Interested toknow how much this would cost as I bought mine second hand last year and wouldnt mind it being given a once over.
 
I don't know how helpful this will be, as it is not quite the same service, but I took mine in to Canon at Elstree for repair of the worn friction ring and for AF calibration with two of my cameras. The cameras were within warranty, the lens not. It was all done within the fixed price repair cost of £127 including VAT and courier delivery back to me. The repair carried a six/three (can't remember which) month warranty on the whole lens, so if the IS or AF, or anything else, went kaput that would be covered, not just the repaired part.
 
I played about with the lens today in jessops and i was disapointed with it.
I am however,going to organise a few days out on a trip or something and hire it out,i cant justify an opinion of this lens with a 2 minute play about 1 and a half foot outside the door on a busy street with very little to shoot. But the distance it gives is what i want :)
 
Hello guys,
Haven't had chance to get out and use my lens yet, however found a bit of spare time this morning to check how sharp the optics are on this particular copy when shot wide open. I've noticed some mentions about these lenses varying drastically in sharpness, more so with lenses made prior to 2006. This is a 2005 lens and was supposedly calibrated in 2008.

I took a photo of a test chart, 400mm @ f/5.6 @ ISO 100 on a tripod with IS off, 10 sec timed release using mirror lockup and also using contrast focus (eliminates any possible phase AF irregularities.) I also used the central focal point only. The text is a bit grainy on the paper as my printer is a bit pants. :)

Pic here

The image taken was converted straight from RAW with no modifications.

What do you think?

I thought I'd test it this way to see how well the lens resolves in a controlled environment, rather than out in the open, as to eliminate user error as another factor. I know the DOF on these lenses are immense at 400mm so mistakes can be easily made and is very easy to assume it’s the equipment at fault, when in fact it may be the user.
 
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Looks as sharp as I'd expect!

You'll probably see a slight improvement stopping down a bit as well.
 
I like my 100-400L it was the first lens I bought, like most wanting more length. Unless you are willing to splash out for a prime (400/2.8f) this is the lens to have. As mentioned build quality is second to none and the lens is very capable. I think these lenses may be extinct soon so if you have one keep it. The new 70-300 might well be the replacement for this lens meaning to get any more reach you'd have to go prime in the future. When you can stop down, to say 8ish the lens wakes up.
 
squishy said:
my, this is a popular lens at the moment. There's been several 100-400 threads over the past few days.
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good to know - as i want to sell my lens. just waiting for the right time so i get the maximum return back.
 
I have had my 100-400 for best part of 18 months now and loved it. I have now bought a 300mm L f2.8 so about to sell, but can't recommend it enough. way better that the 150-500mm
 
Cant believe how many threads there have been on this as of late. I brought mine in mid August I believe, and what a lens. Beautiful IQ all the way through, fantastic build quality, overall just brilliant.
 
yep - i love mine too! it's my only white lens (the other is a black L) so hesitating on selling it but i only get to use it a couple of times a year if that.
 
7Dpete said:
I have had my 100-400 for best part of 18 months now and loved it. I have now bought a 300mm L f2.8 so about to sell, but can't recommend it enough. way better that the 150-500mm
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I'm seriously considering adding a 300mm f/2.8 to my kit, think I will keep the 100-400 as well for the flexibility it offers.

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I had my 100-400 for about 5 or 6 years now. Still hanging in there. IQ is pretty decent but the main thing for me too is flexability - being able to react to the shot you want. I also have a 24-105 and on a second body it's a setup that works well for me :)
 
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