Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS (Image Stabilizer) USM Autofocus Lens USA

Comments about Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS (Image Stabilizer) USM Autofocus Lens:

I use this lens for wildlife photos and birds as well as sports activities. It has proven to be exactly what I expected. It is a bit heavy but I knew that when I bought it. The IS allows for hand held shots, but I do use a tripod most of the time because of the size of the lens. Since I just got this lens, I have not used it enough to give a more detailed review. So far I am happy with it.

Comments about Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS (Image Stabilizer) USM Autofocus Lens:

This lens is sharp, the autofocus is fast and the construction is all that I expected from an L lens. Although some complain about it I like the push/pull zoom for following moving subjects. I shoot mainly wildlife with this lens and find it easy to use both handheld and on a tripod.

Comments about Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS (Image Stabilizer) USM Autofocus Lens:

I bought this lens because I wanted a portable 400mm. And I wanted the versatility of a zoom, and IS, which makes it pretty much the only option as of this review (January 2012). When I first picked up the 100-400, I was surprised at how light it felt. It looks like it should be heavier. I tested it indoors against a map, using a heavy tripod and ballhead, remote release, and mirror lock. It is quite sharp and contrasty with good color, even at 400mm f/5.6. It compares favorably with the 70-200 f/2.8. Autofocus is quite accurate when the subject contrast is good enough.

I have gotten used to twist zooms and so I thought the push-pull would bother me, but it does not bother me at all.

I was a little surprised to learn that the zoom lock ring is incorporated into the focusing ring and requires two hands to use.

In field use, I found it is quite sensitive to wind. Extended to 400mm, with the hood attached, it is quite a bit longer than most lenses, while the tripod mount sits very close to the camera. This is something I never noticed with my 70-200 or 300mm. It will require careful technique in use.

Comments about Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS (Image Stabilizer) USM Autofocus Lens:

Fast zoom, accurate crystal clear images. Great auto focus and stabalizer

Comments about Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS (Image Stabilizer) USM Autofocus Lens:

How I use the lens:
-aviation photography mostly, plane spotting and airshows
-some portraiture (only lower focal lengths)

Pros:
-amazingly clear! I had a Sigma 150-500mm, Sigma Bigma, before and the images were always a little blurry (even sent it in to Sigma but they found nothing wrong)
-when I get the 100-400L I immediately noticed the difference in image quality and the pictures from the 100-400L were stunning
-for a telephoto zoom lens at this focal length range there really is no better lens
-L lens superior quality is definitely noticeable especially when compared to other lenses
for its focal length has a pretty good or lowish aperture, f4.5 is pretty low considering price
-worth the money! I have had both Canon, non L lenses, and other third party telephoto zoom lenses and the pictures do not compare to the pictures I get with the 100-400L

Cons:
-lens creep
-sometimes has trouble focusing on correct subject, minor issue
-sometimes slow focus, minor issue
-tightening ring is attached to focusing ring and you can inadvertently change focus by tightening or loosening
-basically nothing though, this lens is GREAT!

Other:
-some people complain about the push/pull zoom configuration but you get use to it very quickly

Comments about Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS (Image Stabilizer) USM Autofocus Lens:

Love it for our Sunday rides,birds,wildlife etc.

Comments about Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS (Image Stabilizer) USM Autofocus Lens:

For more than a year I have fretted over this prized L lense. Questions formed in my mind for reasons Not to spend the money but guess what folks. If you are serious about your photography and are already getting Great shots from your 200 or 300 mm lenses but want that Extra Oh MY GOSH……Then you will want to buy this lense. I live in a cove on a lake that is a natural habitat for thousands of birds. My photographs are great and even stunning but with this lense they are extraordinary and spectacular. Life is not a Dress Rehearsal and I am ashamed that I waited so long. If you want the eye candy shots without Photoshop, if you need more razzle in your dazzle and trust me you do. Then you will thank me a thousand times over when you get this lense. So what do I like about this lense? Everything I love the way the focus is so quick and smooth.
I love the push pull range of 100-400 mm and I love the fact that I have it. Right now there are over 400 American White Pelicans in my cove among other bird species. I don't have to wish for more range or miss shots any more. Life is just too short and your eye on your photography deserves your best shot. So get the shot and get this amazing L lense. I did and Oh My Gosh I am so glad I did.

Comments about Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS (Image Stabilizer) USM Autofocus Lens:

great telephoto range for those long shots

Comments about Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS (Image Stabilizer) USM Autofocus Lens:

I wanted a good long range zoom that didn't cost a lot. This fits my needs. I do a lot of travel photography and would like to get closer shots. I have tested this lens and have gotten some great shots of the moon, handheld.

Comments about Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS (Image Stabilizer) USM Autofocus Lens:

The image quality is exactly what you can expect from an L series Canon lens. It´s fast and sharp, but has issues in lowlight. If you are shooting sports in a bright day you will be amazed with this lens. but if you shoot at night in a stadium you will probably be dissapointed. I wanted to buy the 2.8 L series lens from Canon but the difference in price was too much.

If you don't want to spend several grands on a telephoto lens, this is your choice.

Comments about Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS (Image Stabilizer) USM Autofocus Lens:

I am amateur wild-life photographer.. This lens is good for Wildlife and Long Distance Night Photography. On half frame Canon DSLR 400 mm works as 640 mm.. which makes it easy to capture birds keeping enough distance. Sharpness is quite good and focusing I found quick even on my 500D/T1i. I tried IS ON and OFF in same light conditions and it works quite good, although handheld shots look difficult considering weight of the lens and you should plan to purchase at least Monopod for effectively using this lens..

I started with Sigma 170-500 6-7 years back and wanted something better, sharper and quick. I found this lens good value for money. Kind of middle way between Sigma's and Tamron's and Fast Canon lenses like 400m F4's etc..

Only issue I thought was - It has Metal body so it gets very cold if you are carrying it say in your cars boot space..which is not heated..and then if you take it out and use.. due to warmth it accumulates moisture..so need to be stored always with silica pouches ..just as a precaution..

Comments about Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS (Image Stabilizer) USM Autofocus Lens:

Use this lens for wildlife photograph and very happy with it.

Comments about Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS (Image Stabilizer) USM Autofocus Lens:

Before posting this review I waited until I had the opportunity to really get to know this lens with my camera bodies (all full-frame: 1Ds series and the 5d MkII), and after a month of cranking out hundreds of images collected in controlled test and fieldwork situations I can confidently state that Canon's 100 - 400mm f/4 - f/5.6L is a keeper. Highly deserving of its "L" branding, the lens is solidly built (though not "weatherized"), sports superb optics for a zoom of such focal length range (outstanding contrast and very good sharpness), exhibits relatively rapid and accurate focus response under most shooting circumstances (a bit slower when shooting scenes with significantly decreased contrast), easy to operate, and surprisingly friendly in the hand despite its bulk and weight. A nice padded lens case is also included that works well in a pinch for field use if there's no room left in your camera bag or knapsack. The lens isn't weatherproofed like most other L glass, so I would recommend getting a lens jacket to protect it in dusty and wet environments.

I've read some reviews lamenting the fact that this lens doesn't open out to f/2.8. That would be nice, but I don't even want to contemplate the resulting cost and bulk for that luxury… Some users might at first find the lens somewhat cumbersome: with the lens hood attached and the lens racked out all the way to 400mm, the rig does begin to resemble a small field artillery piece (seriously, though, it's not any longer than the Canon 300mm f/4L with lens hood attached, and shorter than the Canon 400mm f/5.6L with lens hood attached). The push-pull zoom functions smoothly without any sloppy free play and lens barrel creep can be eliminated by completely locking down the adjustable tensioning ring. I found adapting to the shifts in center of gravity during zooming hand-held shots to be quick and painless. The two focusing range selection switches effectively do a good job to optimize AF focus hunt efficiency, and in my experience the IS feature nets an additional 1 to 1-1/2 stops when shooting in more fluid mobile situations (i.e., hand-held, monopod, shoulder pod). The front element doesn't rotate during focusing, so there aren't any plot complications when using graduated or polarizing filters.

A few reviewers have dumped on the resolving power of this lens relative to fixed focal length prime lenses, especially at higher focal lengths, but that's like comparing apples and eggs. A zoom has more glass interfaces to scatter the light, so you don't need to refer to an MTF chart to prove that a good prime lens will always best a zoom lens with respect to image sharpness. However, I strongly disagree with contentions that this lens can't deliver superior image quality suitable for publication or large format printing. I've obtained crisp, highly detailed shots of birds taken with the lens racked out into the 300 - 400mm range that compare quite favorably to images obtained with the Canon 400mm f/5.6L. I'm not saying that this zoom will yield equivalent quality to its corresponding "L" series fixed focal length telephoto brothers, but with careful shooting technique, getting high quality images at any focal length setting with this lens isn't a problem — and with judicious high pass sharpening in post-capture processing, even the most demanding editors won't complain about the results. Would I publish images obtained with Canon's 100 - 400mm zoom? In a heartbeat. I also haven't experienced any significant color fringing issues with my lens copy, even when shooting high contrast scenes.

Bottom line: If you want a reasonably priced long telephoto lens that delivers outstanding image quality, the Canon 300mm f/4L or 400mm f/5.6L would be the way to go, but if you need a more versatile lens that reaches out to 400mm, the Canon 100 - 400mm f/4 - f/5.6 won't disappoint.

Comments about Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS (Image Stabilizer) USM Autofocus Lens:

-I mainly use this for wildlife
-It has a fast auto focus enabling the capture of moving animals at a distance and the 400mm is an excellent zoom
-Excellent resolution up to 350mm, there is a very slight degradation of image quality 350-400mm, only noticable under a zoomed review on the computer

Comments about Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS (Image Stabilizer) USM Autofocus Lens:

I chose the Canon 100-400 to tote around while birding (photography being secondary to why I'm out in the field) and while it's a phenomenally useful lens, especially for birds in flight, it is inconveniently heavy and a tad awkward when zoomed-out to 400.

Some have noted that they were unimpressed with the sharpness of this lens, but I disagree. Images display very fine detail and little if any chromatic aberration or distortion.

Comments about Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS (Image Stabilizer) USM Autofocus Lens:

Great Lens....

Comments about Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS (Image Stabilizer) USM Autofocus Lens:

I have been wanting this lens for some time and was not disappointed when it arrived. It has a really fast, almost silent focus and is sharp as a tack. It is heavy but when extended, it gives me the ability to grip the lens out in front of my body and in that position it is easily handled. The IS does a great job of helping me with my camera shake.

It comes with this fantastic lens case that I will probably never use. The only down side is the fairly cheap lens hood. Shame Canon didn't swap their efforts on the lens hood/lens case.

Comments about Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS (Image Stabilizer) USM Autofocus Lens:

I have not had much time to work with this lens yet, but based on what I have been able to do I feel that it will be very useful and will offer much better resolution than the 70-300 IS Canon lens I currently own. The sales team at B & H were very helpful and I am sure that I will not be sorry that I own this lens. We have a lot of wildlife on the lake that we live on and I cannot wait to get out and try it! The only con that I can see at this time is that it is much larger and heavier than I am used to, but that is to be expected.

Comments about Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS (Image Stabilizer) USM Autofocus Lens:

I had my eye on this lens for quite a while, but hadn't bought it since I couldn't justify it for "work" uses. But now that I have it, I am so glad I got it. I am using it primarily for wildlife and family sporting events. It gives me the reach that my 70-200 just can't provide. It is heavy, but my tripod helps out with that.

Comments about Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS (Image Stabilizer) USM Autofocus Lens:

I held off purchasing this lens for quite some time due to the weight and I've read some reviews about the lens not being that sharp. However, I decided to take the plunge and purchase the lens and I am 100% happy.The lens is used with a Canon 7D. I have a F4 70-200L which is a beautifully sharp lens. The 100-400 is not as sharp, but then again, I am hand holding and it is quite a bit heavier than the 70-200. I still think the IMQ is great and the veratility of the lens is amazing. I've taken some great bird and zoo shots. This lens does not disappoint. I am as happy with this lens as I am with the 70-200L and so glad that I purchased the 100-400. I had also considered the 300mm L and the 400mm L and I am glad that I went with this one due to its versatility.