About to pull the trigger on Canon 100-400. Thoughts?

David Arbogast wrote in post #16045598
...Second, the rumors of a new 100-400mm have been going on for years and years and years and years. I do hope we'll see a 100-400mm II soon and I agree that it's quite likely. And I'll be as giddy as anyone if/when they announce. But, until they announce, it's bad advice to say "wait until the new one comes out" (on account of the track-record fact that a new one has been rumored for years prior to now). Even if they announce it soon, it will still likely be well into 2014 before it would ever make it to market. Anyone taking the advice to wait could still be waiting (and not shooting) for years to come.

I agree. I believe it was Christopher Columbus who first discovered the rumor that the 100-400 replacement was immanent and we are still waiting.

stevensondrive wrote in post #16045515
I bought a grey market NEW lens from Adorama for $1380 and love it. It does come with a 1 year warranty and no shipping charges.

http://www.adorama.com …er&utm_source=r​flaid62259

plus you get a 2% back in future credit. Seemed like a no brainer to me. I LOVE the lens!!

I thought grey market was risky? As in it would be hard to get it serviced after Adorama's warranty ran out? If not, I wished I had read your post before I bought new, regular market. The difference in price would have taken care of the filter...sigh. Glad you love it. Looking forward to mine coming.

repete7 wrote in post #16045710
I thought grey market was risky? As in it would be hard to get it serviced after Adorama's warranty ran out? If not, I wished I had read your post before I bought new, regular market. The difference in price would have taken care of the filter...sigh. Glad you love it. Looking forward to mine coming.

Filter? For the 100-400? THis lens does not tolerate filters well. With some lenses the difference is astounding.

gjl711 wrote in post #16045769
Filter? For the 100-400? THis lens does not tolerate filters well. With some lenses the difference is astounding.

Even UV filters?

repete7 wrote in post #16046686
Even UV filters?

Yep - especially if it's a cheap one.

repete7 wrote in post #16045505
Thanks everyone. I went ahead and bought the new 100-400mm. I seriously reconsidered the 400mm prime because it is cheaper, slightly lighter, and apparently the AF is faster. My concerns about it being hard to use were wrong, but I think I will be happier with the versatility of the 100-400.

You did good. You could have waited for a better deal or did what you did. Now you have a known-good lens with a warranty. I like my 100-400. Especially good on a crop..great reach and nice IQ. Have fun with it!

It is true that the 100-400 doesn't do well with filters. Try it without it and use the hood. I bought mine used from a guy I know locally and it has been perfect. I shot with it with the filter the first few times out and took it off and never put it back on.

If you are going to buy new get the full warranty. For me there isn't enough difference for Grey Market.

Happy Shopping!

repete7 wrote in post #16046686
Even UV filters?

What Phil said. The longer the lens, the more a filter will affect IQ and the 100-400 seems particularly prone to is.

repete7 wrote in post #16045710
I thought grey market was risky? As in it would be hard to get it serviced after Adorama's warranty ran out? If not, I wished I had read your post before I bought new, regular market. The difference in price would have taken care of the filter...sigh. Glad you love it. Looking forward to mine coming.

I hadn't heard that. I hope I don't have to have any of my lenses or camera serviced. This lens isn't my walk around lens so it won't see the abuse the 24-105L will see. so I'm hoping I don't have a problem. either way gray or not the warranty is only 1 year.

Thanks for the warning about the filters. I did buy B+W, but will probably just return it anyway.

repete7 wrote in post #16045710
I thought grey market was risky? As in it would be hard to get it serviced after Adorama's warranty ran out? If not, I wished I had read your post before I bought new, regular market.

I don't know about in the US, but here in UK, Canon gives 1 year warranty, if u purchase from their approved dealer, and some shops will give additional 1 year retailer warranty after Canon's warranty expires. Under no circumstances, Canon's warranty covers direct grey market imports. I have no experience with Adorama but they state that ALL equipment is covered by manufacturer's quarantee. Including grey import, but in this case, although the warranty service will be provided through Adorama, it will still be undertaken by manufacturer on their discretion. At least this is how it works here in the UK and if it does like this in the US, then no loss if u bought greys from Adorama, you r still fully covered.

Mag-1981 wrote in post #16047898
... Under no circumstances, Canon's warranty covers direct grey market imports. I have no experience with Adorama but they state that ALL equipment is covered by manufacturer's quarantee. ....

I haven't looked lately, but it use to be that this only applied to camera bodies. The warranty card that was supplied with camera bodies was country specific. Lenses however had an international warranty card thus could be serviced by Canon from anywhere. Maybe it's changed recently, but all my lens warranty cards show "international" at the top of them.

Maybe someone who just bought a lens can report back to see what the current cards say.

gjl711 wrote in post #16047904
Maybe someone who just bought a lens can report back to see what the current cards say.

On my recently bought lens's warranty card it says "European Warranty", it was purchased in the UK from an approved dealer. I was considering buying grey market lens once and I've done my research. So basically, warranty will only be honoured by Canon UK, if you can produce Canon UK approved retailer's proof of purchase for your lens. Otherwise, it's considered as 'grey import'. In practice, anything purchased outside of the UK is not covered by Canon UK warranty and since Canon do not sell here items with International Warranty, this type of warranty would not be valid...I don't know if it works similar in the US. I would not risk buying 'grey market' lens in the UK, simply because if for any reason I would have to exchange it, I would have to post it to Hong Kong or Taiwan, pay a lot for PP and then wait for it for ages to come back. Also, no UK warranty=no free calibration if needed. But I would and I did buy 'grey market' camera and that's different story. I would do this again.

Apologies to the OP for drifting away from original topic.

Mag-1981 wrote in post #16047928
... I would not risk buying 'grey market' lens in the UK, simply because if for any reason I would have to exchange it, I would have to post it to Hong Kong or Taiwan, pay a lot for PP and then wait for it for ages to come back. Also, no UK warranty=no free calibration if needed. But I would and I did buy 'grey market' camera and that's different story. I would do this again.

Apologies to the OP for drifting away from original topic.

I agree, buying gray is generally not worth the hassle and I am not sure how things are in the states these days. I haven't bought a lens from Canon for a couple years but all I have bough does have an international warranty.

However, why the change for bodies? In the states bodies have always had country specific warranties. Is it different there?

gjl711 wrote in post #16047965
However, why the change for bodies? In the states bodies have always had country specific warranties. Is it different there?

The same warranty rules that for lenses, apply to bodies here. The reasons why I would buy 'grey market' camera while never lenses are: There is potentially more reasons why we might not be entirely happy with a brand new lens than there is with new camera. And some of these might be just cosmetic things and little nuances that vary from one copy to another, and while not having impact on IQ, might be very annoying and/or affect resale value. These are not considered as a fault and normally the manufacturer or the retailer is not obliged to exchange the item on this basis, but shops usually do as we all know. Not to mention other possible issues that we often see even with new lenses. So sending the lens there and back 2 or 3 times to Hong Kong (that is not unusual), will soon sum up as the PP cost that could have been a price difference between 'grey' and local shop tag. So not worth it.

On the other hand, when camera comes faulty, those are mostly manufacturers fault or damage suffered in postage, and in both cases, all retailers (grey market or not) have to cover for shipping the item back to them and replace the item.