EF 100-400 "Once you learn how to use it"....

re: EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM

Santa left me one of these lenses attached to a 70D under the tree. I want to be able to make the most out of the combo.

More than once I have read the comment that this is a great lens ...."once you learn how to use it".

You guys care to school me on the ins and outs ?

Also interested in the possibilities, attempts and your experiences using a 1.4 TC with this lens.

My use will primarily be birding, but I'd still like to hear your other uses and alternatives.

Thanx

Ted

Focusing is critical with any long lens as the DOF is very thin. Also, learning to keep the lens steady and keeping your shutter speed high enough. You will lose AF with the teleconverter. There are some who claim success with AF using a TC by taping the pins or using a non reporting TC but I have never had and luck doing this. What I have had is AF hunting and occasionally locking. More often then not when it locked the subject would still be out of focus.

I wouldn't recommend using the TC until you are proficient with the 100-400 itself. When you are proficient with the 100-400 you will be better equipped to deal with manual focus and the reduced light and depth of field inherent with the TC.

It's a great lens. I use it for wildlife, outdoor activities and airshows. Mine does not play well with my Kenko TC. My TC works very well with my 200f2.8L but with the 100-400 IQ is not that great.

You must have been a very good boy--as Santa left you a one of the best lenses for wildlife and birding.

This lens likes lots of light and I usually stop down to f8 or f11 for maximum sharpness and shutter speed ideally 1/1000 sec or faster and don't be afraid to bump up the ISO if necessary. I have both a Tamron 1.4 SP and Canon 2x ii TC and they give good results. I only use the Canon 2x ii on a tripod in very good light (check out my Flickr page for a couple of examples). I think you'll like the push/pull focus for birding--start at 100mm and zoom to 400mm then refocus (I don't use AI--but use spot metering). Also, you might find it useful to set the focus to the back button if that is possible on your 70d.

Best advice is practice, practice and more practice. The more you play with this lens the better you'll get. You'll find out what works and what doesn't.

Do a search on this form for birding there is lots of excellent advice related to your question.

Also, about auto focus--definitely not with the 2x but with 1.4x you should be able to auto focus depending on camera settings and available light.

Have Fun with the new set-up.

Cheers/Rich

This may help. https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=908351

I simply LOVE this lens...

IMAGE LINK: http://www.retrofokus.​de/

next year I'm coming to your house to get my present from santa...

...since nobody has said it yet, the 100-400L particularly does not like "protective" or UV filters.

If you ever move to a 5D3 with firmware 1.2.3, the 100-400L does pretty well with the 1.4x TC III. If in the meantime you want to use a TC with your 70D and the 100-400L, you can mount it on a tripod and use LiveView for focusing. Works fine for more static subjects, or if you have a bird feeder or other place where wildlife or other moving subject may emerge, you can pre-focus on that spot.

Use the lock ring judiciously and unlock it for zooming. Forcing it will eventually cause damage.

Take your time focusing and let the IS settle down before releasing the shutter. Consider the IS as being more for having a steady image for composition than for eliminating shake.

If you get slightly blurred or seemingly a little out of focus shots, first consider whether your shutter speed was high enough and whether you were supporting the lens steadily. IS will compensate for shake up to a point, beyond which you may get motion blur.

Remember that the more distant your subject, the more likely atmospheric conditions such as heat and haze will distort and blur your image. Sometimes you will notice such blurring or distortion in layers when shooting over water, hot pavement, sand, etc. Only at higher altitudes or the rare crystal clear days will you get clear images of distant subjects.

Steady hands and IS or no, you will generally get better images when shooting off a tripod or monopod. At shorter focal lengths motion blur is less obvious, however the longer the focal length, the more obvious any shake will become.

Take your time learning long lens techniques before you think there is anything wrong with your gear.

Use the limiter when shooting beyond 6.5 meters. It will make focusing much easier and more reliable.

You can turn IS off when shooting from a tripod if it is rock solid with no vibrations and you are using a remote or timed release, but if there is any wind or vibrations at less than ideal shutter speeds, leave IS on.

These are just some tips out of experience, YMMV.

Agree with everything John T said ... take your time with it. It's my favorite lens .. a real workhorse if you take the time to understand it's limits - It's very happy with a tripod, but can do fine with steady hands too. It likes a lot of light ...

The 5DM3 will allow AF with 1.4x -

Managed to shoot this one handheld in Sports mode preset and in JPG only to boot - on my 60D. Dixie was doing around 60kph at the time...

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/tdierikx/105315​10525/

like others have said, the key to getting sharp photos is, keep the shutter speed up there and have a steady hand.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …s/sunnyjhooty/8​438494153/

Yep, and sometimes you get lucky.

Camera Model: Canon EOS 7D
Lens: EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
Image Date: 2013-07-06
Focal Length: 400mm
Aperture: f/6.3
Exposure Time: 0.0010 s (1/1000)
ISO equiv: 250
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: Manual
Exposure Mode: Manual
Software: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.3 (Windows)

Something else to note, particularly at longer focal lengths: Feathers, hair, grass and other fine things may be vibrating from the wind or other vibration sources and will move at speeds higher than your shutter speed can capture. They will therefore appear blurred or "soft" in your image, even though the larger elements in the image are be sharp. Your can't really avoid this.

As you can see, most of the comments are really just good advice for any long zoom lens. There is nothing really to note specifically on the 100-400L except that it is a push/pull zoom with a tension ring. Beyond that, there is nothing else that really makes that lens any different than any other, I am sure those comments are specific to the push/pull zoom of the 100-400L.