Canon 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 IS L USM lens?

Hi there, i was just wondering, my friend has just bought a Canon 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 IS L USM lens, now he says that it is the 'greatest lens in the world!'
Now apart from having to put up with him 'lording it over me' every time i see him and his 'new best friend' i was wondering if this really is 'the greatest lens in the world?'
so if anyone has any spare time, could they possibly state whether it is or not, in the same rough price range? Thanks very much.

I don't know about it being the "greatest" lens in the world, but it is arguably the best in its class.

yea, that's exactely what i said to him, i mean, when i told him to compare it to a lens of the price of about a few £thousand... he really is a stubern fool sometimes
what i should have said in the above is whether it's one of the best in its range. sorry about that.

In a zoom, you just can't beat it, I say. I loved mine to death. However...the Bigma comes quite close! Bigger range, too!

I have one and I love it. However, it is far from the best lens in existence. Then again it doesn't cost US$5000 either. It's good for the money though.

sooo, when you say that the bigma comes close, do mean with the image stabilizer and everything. because i was talking to some people on this forum before about the bigma and they said it can be a rather tricky lens to work with sometimes... what do you thing, althought obviously you have to take into account the size difference, portability, and the extra 100mm the bigma has... ?

I was pretty much just talking results. Bigma makes some sharp a** shots.

100-400L is great, don't get me wrong, but the 1st gen IS and the soft images most end up with on the long end are just annoying. If they updated it, I'd easily pay another $500 for one. If it were a constant ap of say f/4 (2.8's asking a bit much at that range), I'd pay even more.

cool, so you'd go for the bigma? interesting... mabye that can be my birthday present... that would show my friends... lol. like half the price and better performance...

because i was just wondering, you know the bigma requires a stand usually, whereas the canon you can just point and shoot? which would be better overall?

so if anyone else out there is viewing; from personal experience, which is better (it's like a final face off, lol) the Canon 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 IS L USM lens, or the sigma 50-500mm lens... baring in mind all the facts... portability not being so major, more the sharpness of images... by the way, this isn't just between me an my friend now, i wouldn't waste your time on something like that, no, now i'm actually seriously thinking on one or the other, but obviously it's such a big 'investment' i wanted to make sure i knew everything about each lens... hope you guys understand... please don't feel obliged to respond, only if you have some spare time. thanks very much.

If you're mostly shooting in lots of light, or if you're mostly using a tripod (or at least a monopod), then the Bigma is a good choice with its excellent IQ and 10x range. But the 100400IS is more "convenient" with its IS.

The 400mm 2.8L blows that thing outa the water.

Yes im shure it does but it is a totaly diferent lens.Its like saying the 85F1.2 will blow a 17-85 out of the water.

Except from 100-399mm

LOL - or on a 10+ mile hike!