Canon EF 400 5.6 L ..Before I order it...

Anyone want to post some pics for me and make me want it even more before I place my order. I will miss out on the rebate but that is ok.

Here is what I debated over:

400 5.6.. Get the tripod rinf for my 70-200 also ...
300 f4 .. Is but shorter length and have to buy the tripod ring seperate...
100-400... ability to zoom and still a 400

Hard decision still ... Because of the price right now the 400 and the 300 are the two i am really looking at...

Opinions and or pics with any of the three would be great !!!!

To answer the question of what I photograph.. I like to photograph animals at Zoo's and in the wild. My short term goal is to photograph a wild Bobcat in 2006.

I have the 300f/4 L IS. Great lens by itself or with the Canon 1.4 TC. The lens comes with a tripod collar.
I bought the 100-400 L IS for my g/f, but I haven't tried it myself as yet. She's gotten some great shots with it.
Jack

I thought about this too and went with the 300 f4 IS
There are certainly times when I'd like the extra reach, but I really wanted IS for hand-held shooting in wildlife parks. I'm not sure what 400mm would be like to use off a tripod without IS.

all o fmy pics that you might have seen over in the animals forum are all taken with the 400 f/5.6. At the zoo ive experienced that if the animal is caged you really have to step back far to get the picture in your frame. the perfect zoo lens is the Sigma "Bigma" 50-500 DG - it's a tad sharper than the 100-400 L at 400mm. Now you obviously cant have all of these lenses unless you are rich so my "best" recommendation is buy the 400 f/5.6 and wait for a new telephoto from canon ( a new 100-400 L IS would be nice! )


troy

Good stuff... keep it coming and thanks...

I have the 100-400 -- it's amazing! I've used it countless (ok, many) times at the zoo and for shooting wildlife. I personally would go for that one instead of the 400 prime. Same f/ at 400mm but you can zoom down to 100 -- it really helps; you'd be surprised how often you step down to like 350, 250, and even 200mm at the zoo. The lens is sharp as a tack, and unless you're really really sure about your distances, locking yourself at 400mm seems like a bad idea.

I'd love to put up some shots but I'm rebuilding my array, so all my shots are currently residing in large RAR files

100-400 is most versatile, but if you find yourself thinking you'll stya on the long end, then the prime is the way to go.

With the 300, its pretty hand holdable with the IS, especially and you can use it for more reasons.

If you are only using 1 lens at the zoo I'd go for the 100-400, however if you are bringing your 70-200 then I'd go for the prime. I can't say enough good things about the 400 5.6L, just an amazing lens. Sharp wide open, crazy fast focusing, light weight, the image quality is still excellent with a 1.4TC wide open. Here is an unprocessed shot with the 400 5.6L wide open.

Since you have the 70-200 I'll vote for the 300 and a tcon.

If you want prime these two as as good as it gets for most of us. The 400mm is a lovely lens but I've never gone that route because it doesn't have IS and is also a 5.6. I had a 300mm IS L which was really nice and very practical but not a zoom at the end of the day. The 100-400 IS L is a safe buy and very nice optically but we all know push pull is a subjective thing when it comes to zoom. The Bigma is smashing. I'll probably get another one for my next big wildlife trip but we'll see what the market does. Optics are close to the 100-400 but 500mm counts with wildlife. Slow of course and no IS. It's really horses for courses but it's hard to dislike the 400mm if you want a prime.

I have the 300 /f4 IS but will some day also buy the 400 f/5.6.

Here is my thread on this question

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=56149

Maybe it can inspire You to a decision. I am sure You will be happy whichever of the 3 leneses You choose they are all great lenses but all have different pro's and con's.

A few of my photos shot with the 300 f/4

http://photo.klein-jensen.dk …=zoo050528justa​bird01.jpg
And this one with 1,4x extender
http://photo.klein-jensen.dk …p?n=zoo050306pe​nguin1.jpg

Nearly everything that I've posted in the nature and animals forum was taken with the 400mm f/5.6L. A forum search should give you quite a few results to look at. Also search out the posts in the same forum by Ed Rotberg for some really special shots with the same lens.

http://www.pbase.com/v​ciinc/image/53741711 With 400/5.6 & 1.4TC

http://www.pbase.com/v​ciinc/image/53741707 Handheld

http://www.pbase.com/v​ciinc/image/53741709 With 1.4TC

I had the 100-400 and found it was not sharp enough. Got the 400/5.6 and was extremely happy that I did.

Jerry