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

[Millie]

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

You will not find a better 100-400 zoom lens (made by Canon), and that’s a fact.

Could someone post some low-light shots, maybe 'wee birdies' taken at 400mm, I think we’ve only seen shots taken in ample light so far.

Millie

[colin C]

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

It's a lens that you have to get to know and then work within those limitations to get the very best out of it.

• It doesn't like low light.
  
• It will work reasonably with a 1.4x extender, but very good light and high shutter speeds are the order. With this combination, will only auto focus on a 1 series body.
  
• Forget 2x converters!
  
• If you have the facility to mico-adjust with your body, do so and at the 400mm end.

Hope that helps.

Colin

[DianaS]

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

Have had one for a year on a 20D - very happy with it - agree about lowlight - here are some examples shot in bad (ish) light. Hav e now got a 7d and low light is much easier! Just trying to spend your money for you!


400 focal length, 800 iso, 1/160sec, f14


Taken while it was snowing - 400 iso, 1/160, f.14



400 iso, 1/80secs, f.11

[colin C]

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

I hope you don't mind Diana, but I have had a little "tweek" of the last shot:



Colin

[DianaS]

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

No prob - I just posted them as they came out of the camera to try and show the results of the 100-400 lens on a 20D in low light!! I think the fox was handheld as I was just organising my tripod for some birdie shots when he appeared!

[scarletti]

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

Hi Scarletti,

I can't believe you can't tell the difference between the 70-300mm & the 100-400mm L lens....
I'm just wondering what sort of pictures you're taking. You do know that you can set up the lens within you're camera to get its focusing where you want it. Something I've not had to do, so I don't know how easy it is to do.

TTFN,
Neil

Hi Neil

Sorry, bit of a late reply from me, but...

Most of my shots with the 100-400mm are of birds.
A lot of the shots are of small birds that are probably too far away, but I would expect the 100-400 to be able to resolve more detail than the 70-300.

I went out with a friend who uses the 300mm F4 IS with a 1.4 converter and we swapped lenses for a while. He also agreed that the 100-400 was not noticeably better than the 70-300 IS, but we could both see that the 300mm/1.4 combination was definitely better.

Regarding your point about focus adjustment with the 50D... I spent most of an afternoon trying out the custom function adjustment, (using the techniques recommended by Canon - Tripod, IS Off, target 20x focal length away etc), taking shots of a test card, and managed a definite improvement in the number of lines on the card that the 100-400 managed to resolve.

I'm beginning to think I've just got an excellent copy of the 70-300 or I'm expecting too much from the 100-400.

Ian