Went to the camera store today...

[Spargo]

Got a card reader & UV filter and tried on/test drove 4 L lenses. I didn't get to see their true beauty as I could only take pics inside the poorly lit store. Some general comments though... The 100-400 L was a beast with a push/pull zoom that I found relatively annoying. The IS on some of the lenses was indeed nice and noticeable, but I question if I would pay hundreds more for it. The 70-200 f/4L was suprisingly small and light; the pictures I've seen of it make it look a lot bigger. I can say that for the time being if I get an L lens, it will for sure be the 70-200 f/4L. However if I got this I would have to eventually get the 1.4x t-con as I would need the extra reach. I also like the fact that it internally zooms. I like how there's not something poking in and out of the end of the lens. I also can't see paying the extra hundreds to get the 70-200 f/2.8L; it is also much bigger and heavier.

What's the best deal you've seen on the 70-200 f/4L? I've seen it for $570 at Beach Camera. :)

[JLS Photo]

The IS on some of the lenses was indeed nice and noticeable, but I question if I would pay hundreds more for it. . . . I also can't see paying the extra hundreds to get the 70-200 f/2.8L; it is also much bigger and heavier.

Be careful. If you play with those lens too much, you may have to change your opinion and that will cost you handsomely. :wink:

There's a reason those lens are ~very~ popular despite the price and weight. :)

[Adam Hicks]

I thought about the 70-200 F4 as well, but the 100-400L starts at 4.5 WITH IS which buys you down to f4 maybe better, and it gives you 200 mm on the long side while only sacrificing 30mm on the short end, so it was a no brainer for me.

The push pull zoom is really quite fast once you get used to it, although I'm still getting used to it!

One nice thing about it, with the 100-400 fully extended and the lens hood on, everyone gets out of your way at the zoo and airshows :-)

Although for the money it looks like you just can't beat the 70-200 f4. I might pick one up for a track day walk around lens.

Adam

[Longwatcher]

an opinion on the 100-400 push-pull system....

I have both the 70-200/2.8L IS and the 100-400L and I find that if I have to manually focus and zoom a lot quickly, I actually prefer the push-pull system of the 100-400. It does not require me to move my hand to a different position on the lens so I can zoom and focus quicker. This is especially important when I have one (or both) extenders on the 100-400 and auto-focus is not available.

Since I can still use autofocus with my 70-200 and the extenders this is usually not the case so when I have autofocus, I prefer the twist zoom, but when I lose auto-focus I prefer the push-pull.



semi-unrelated side note: while the picture quality leaves much to be desired in terms of clearness, at 400mm with both extenders you can see really far; really really far with my new Canon XL2; Like people at 5 miles (4.8 if you are picky (width of James River at my location) and actually identifying them is limited to about 1 mile) and read license plates at about 1.5 miles (I didn't measure it, but pretty close). Because of the video I could actually pick up more detail then a still picture from my 10D.

BTW: does my XL2 count as a digital camera? :roll: