Canon EF 100-400mm L IS Lens ?

jsstevo

jsstevo

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Jonathan
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Hi there,
I've got a T1i with the 18-55 and 50-250 kit lenses and enjoy taking wildlife and motor-racing pics with the 50-250 but have found I'm always at full zoom and wanting a bit more! I'm now thinking of looking around for a new lens and spotted the Canon 100-400 L lens and have a couple of questions...

1) Is the lens any good at 400?
2) Is the lens any good at 100?
3) Is the lens good inbetween 100 and 400?
4) I've read about some issues with dust getting into the lens. Is this a common problem?

What other lenses would you recommend?
 
The Canon 100-400 is a good lens, yes it does have the nickname dust pump, but I wouldn't worry about it unless you spend all your time in the Namibian desert. A good alternative is the Sigma 150-500, gives a bit more reach and has a better IS system than the Canon, IQ is comparable. It's also a bit cheaper :)

http://SPAM/c3whur/Birds/Img_5951c.jpg

A 100% crop from the Sigma
http://SPAM/c3whur/nov/IMG_3167-100.jpg
 
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I've had my 100-400 just short for a year and get on well with it. At both 100 and 400 mm I am very happy with the quality of photographs I get with the lens. To be honest, I rarely use it between these two extremes.

Regarding your concerns about it's dust collecting abilities, I'm with Artyman and after a year of use in all conditions, I haven't noticed anything of concern with this or any of my other lenses used in comparable conditions.

I was in two minds whether to buy the Canon or the Sigma and in the end I am pleased I chose the more expensive Canon (which I bought from Kerso!)

Hope this helps.

Gary
 
A colleague of mine has a 450D, 18-55 IS, 55-250IS and Sigma 150-500.

He wants to trade the sigma for something else.

I think the "right" lens depends very much on what you do. He's going on a trip to an indian jungle national park to photograph tigers - the lighting is not great under the trees and he needs something faster than the zooms, so he's looking at the 300 F4L IS.

I have the 300 F4L IS and the 70-200 F4L IS. These are a great combo as they get you all the way up to 300mm at F4, one stop (or more, in the case of the sigma) faster than the zooms. You can then add the 1.4X TC for 420mm F5.6 and this is a very usable combo - there are many arguments as to whether this or the 100-400 is better, but I'm certainly happy with mine and the on-camera handling is much nicer than the 100-400 (which at 400mm is very long and front-heavy).

It would seem to fit nicely with the 55-250 you already have (ie add the 300 instead of another zoom), and then get the 1.4X later on. The the 70-200Ls are a natural upgrade for the 55-250.
 
Great lens ......... will ditto above comments ..... my most used lens now as it is so versatile.:thumbs:
 
I love my 100-400, never had a problem with dust. Really quick to focus. Mine's spot on and crisp at all ranges, especially at 400mm.

Since we're doing robin shots:
108016257.jpg

114827021.jpg
 
Byker28i said:
I love my 100-400, never had a problem with dust. Really quick to focus. Mine's spot on and crisp at all ranges, especially at 400mm.
Click to expand...

Likewise, never had a dust issue, my most used lens TBH:love:
 
No dust in mine either - very handy for the money.
 
Here's a few random images at different focal lengths using a 40D and 1D MkII

Most folk use it at 400mm but at the end of the day it's a great all round flexible versitile zoom lens. It will do a job for wildlife, trips to the zoo, family snaps, dogs in the garden and handy for landscapes too.


220mm
4927838216_7240c2b718_z.jpg


400mm
4783977719_534ea29b4c_z.jpg


375mm
4744127278_451b9e62ae_z.jpg


100mm indoors handheld at just 1/60 sec - The IS does a good job.
4392441927_6c2130ce79_z.jpg


375mm
4895530834_64358210ae_z.jpg


400
4457754525_9da42948d5_z.jpg
 
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It's a good lens, I really like mine.

It's worth trying one out to see if you like the pump design: some people hate it
personally, I like it.

Here is a good comparison:
http://www.juzaphoto.com/eng/articles/canon_100-400_sigma_120-400_150-500_50-500.htm

The 100-400 is clearly sharper than the sigmas (although obviously test conditions will exaggerate the difference), though the closest performer is the 50-500mm, which comes closest at 150mm and 400mm. The old 50-500 lacks OS, and the OS version is actually more expensive than the 100-400, so I would go for the 100-400 unless I really needed the 50-500 range (and the slightly more effective OS the sigma offers).

The 150-500 is a great alternative if your budget is more limited, but the 100-400 is lighter, faster, sharper (though as noted in the test, the difference isn't as large at 400mm) so if the extra cash is available, I would choose the 100-400.

If you want to use the whole range, I would pick the 100-400 above a 70-200 or 55-250 and 300 f/4 plus 1.4x combo, yes that would be sharper at lower focal lengths, but it's two lenses (plus a TC), more expensive, and at 420mm, the IQ is pretty much the same as the 100-400 at 400mm. However, if you wouldn't use the 100-400 across it's entire range, a 70-200 and/or 300/4 is worth considering.

You'll have to carefully weigh up whether the sharper images from the 100-400 (and it being smaller and lighter) are worth the extra cash.

Whatever you choose, you'll get an excellent lens.
 
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Thanks for all the replies. I think I'll go for the 100-400. I see they are going for about £950 at Amazon in the US, which is close to what the 2nd hand ones are going for on this site. Just need to justify another business trip out to the US and order on to site so it's there when I arrived. I saved loads on my T1i doing it this way and also got around local State tax (although still don't get how Amazon get around that bit!!!).
 
I had a 100-400 and moved it on. It was a very versatile lens, butI found I rarely used it below 400mm. The images were fine at 400, but I couldn't help thinking that a prime would be sharper. So I got a 300/4 IS and coupled with a 1.4x I get 420mm with what I consider to be sharper results. I wouldn't go back to the 100-400 now.
 
swag72 said:
I had a 100-400 and moved it on. It was a very versatile lens, butI found I rarely used it below 400mm. The images were fine at 400, but I couldn't help thinking that a prime would be sharper. So I got a 300/4 IS and coupled with a 1.4x I get 420mm with what I consider to be sharper results. I wouldn't go back to the 100-400 now.
Click to expand...

Indeed, I've seen comparisons that show the 300x1.4 being sharper, and comparisons showing the 100-400 to be sharper. And some that show them equal.
In the end I decided that probably makes them about equal, so I should go with the one that suited me best.

Some 100-400's are softer than others (not as many as there used to be), so if you're not satisfied with your 100-400, it's worth trying another one before swapping out to a different lens, if you like the range of the 100-400.
 
jsstevo said:
Thanks for all the replies. I think I'll go for the 100-400. I see they are going for about £950 at Amazon in the US, which is close to what the 2nd hand ones are going for on this site. Just need to justify another business trip out to the US and order on to site so it's there when I arrived. I saved loads on my T1i doing it this way and also got around local State tax (although still don't get how Amazon get around that bit!!!).
Click to expand...

Might be worth speaking to Ian (Kerso) - last price list I had from him (Monday) had it as £1049
 
danbroad said:
Yes - if the new 70-300L really is a replacement of sorts, however unlikely, then my advice would be to get this now before folks realise what a great lens it is and it heads back up in price...
Click to expand...

There's no indication that this is the case. I think most likely the 70-300L is intended to replace the 70-300 DO.

What probably is likely is that any replacement for the 100-400 will have a similar physical design to the new 70-300L (which is the first white extending twist zoom).
 
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