100-400 L Owners Talk To Me!

Hi All,

I have a dilemma, its quite a nice dilemma through!

I love wildlife photography but at the moment my longest lens is my 70-200 f4 L IS on my crop sensor 60D. Its a fantastic lens but I need more reach for wildlife and air shows.

Option 1 was to buy a Canon 300mm f4 L and a 1.4x converter. Im sure the 300 L is super sharp but restrictive being a prime especially at air shows.

Option 2 is the 100-400 L. I am used to very sharp results from my 70-200 and im worried the 100-400 L will be a bit soft in comparison?

I may be totally wrong on this. Putting the 100-400 on my 60D will give me a massive reach.

Thanks in advance.

Dave

I think the 100-400mm zoom would be a good lens for your uses. If you are really fussy about IQ, the 400mm 5.6 will be your best option without getting into huge expense.

Thanks for your reply, the only thing that has put me off about the 400 5.6 is that lack of IS.

I tried a 400 f/5.6 with an eye toward replacing my 100-400, and although I believe the 400 may have slightly better image quality than my 100-400, it was a very close thing, not nearly enough to persuade me to give up the flexibility of the zoom as well as the IS.

Merovius wrote in post #14108079
I tried a 400 f/5.6 with an eye toward replacing my 100-400, and although I believe the 400 may have slightly better image quality than my 100-400, it was a very close thing, not nearly enough to persuade me to give up the flexibility of the zoom.

Interesting, The 100-400 L does have an amazing range which is why I am so keen on it.

Another thing I love about the 100-400 is that it allows me to go out on a hike and carry only one lens, without worrying I'll get a close-up opportunity and be stuck at 400.

I've rented one, and so far really like it. I like the ability to zoom. And I like the IQ of it so far. Only got to use it one day so far..

Canon 100-400L.

I've also used the 400 5.6L in the past. While the AF is blazing fast on that, the 100-400L is slower, but still good. And if/when I'm ready for a telelphoto, I will prob go after the 100-400L.

Merovius wrote in post #14108102
Another thing I love about the 100-400 is that it allows me to go out on a hike and carry only one lens, without worrying I'll get a close-up opportunity and be stuck at 400.

Fair point never thought about it like that.

I used a 300/4L with a 1.4X TC for a few years and then switched to the 100-400L. THe zoom gives up nothing really. My 100-400L is very sharp across the whole range, and the range of this zoom is just very handy for many things.

One other point, for airshows I think IS in a lens should be a self-imposed requirement. You need to be getting down to 1/125 to 1/160 for propellor planes, and this makes panning with a non-IS 400mm lens pretty tough.

Sure, I prefer the IQ my 70-200 f/2.8 produces over my 100-400, but I'll take the versatility of the latter at that reach...

I've had a 100-400 for a few years now. I used it first on my 40d and was never bowled over by its sharpness. After getting my 5dii though, it's become a different animal entirely - sharp and with good contrast. I can't rationalise in my mind why this should be, unless it's just the lower magnification required for prints from FF - but I can see the difference when pixel peeping, so this can't be the whole story. Micro adjust on the AF isn't a factor either since I've not adjusted it on the 5dii.

Sharpness on the 40d aside, it's an excellent air show lens. I took the following sequence at the 60th anniversary airs how for the Battle of Britain at Duxford (on the 5dii).

http://www.flickr.com …e/sets/72157626​984638034/

TheMightyDaff wrote in post #14108000
Option 2 is the 100-400 L. I am used to very sharp results from my 70-200 and im worried the 100-400 L will be a bit soft in comparison?

100-400mm soft? check out the pics in this thread on the 100-400mm: https://photography-on-the.net …73778&highlight​=100-400mm

Love mine!

I own both the 70-200mm f/4 L IS and 100-400L. While the 70-200 is the better lens, the 100-400 is no slouch. I am very happy with its image quality and AF performance. It's a very versatile lens for wildlife. I went with the zoom over the 400mm f/5.6 prime because of the versatility of the zoom, which allows me to carry just one telephoto when we travel. If the trip is going to be focused on wildlife, I'll pack the 100-400. Otherwise, the 70-200 comes along instead.

May I suggest you also consider 150-500mm Sigma. It has HSM and OS. A bit bulkier but will give you far more reach and more flexibility on the zoom.

I am looking at the same two options (100-400 and 300 f/4). At the moment I'm leaning towards the 100-400 for the versatility and extra reach.