EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Review WOW!

bidkev wrote in post #17667038
Another quickly grabbed shot with this lens. I was going to send the image to the bin but I was amazed to see that the lens had picked up what I hadn't seen with my naked eye, both IRL and at first studying this shot............the aphids underneath!

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/xeZQ​Fd Grabbed Shot - amazed! by Kevin Dickinson, on Flickr

Wow, millions of aphids. I often find things in photos with this lens (and the 100mm macro) that I cannot see with the naked eye. In fact, I take a macro photo of my moth eggs every day to see how they are progressing as they are much smaller that a pin-head.

bidkev wrote in post #17666866
Funny stuff going on with extenders? I have seen reports that some older kenko models work with the 7Dmkll and the 100-400mkll but my latest model Kenko 1.4X DGX Pro300 hunted all over the place with that combo. So much so, that I sold it and bought the canon. The kenko never had a problem with the older 7D and the 70-300L

I just received the new Kenko 1.4x from B&H. It is intended application is the wife's 70D+70-200 f/4 IS, but I will test it on my 7DmkII with the 100-400 II over the weekend and will report the results here.

Lbsimon wrote in post #17667444
I just received the new Kenko 1.4x from B&H. It is intended application is the wife's 70D+70-200 f/4 IS, but I will test it on my 7DmkII with the 100-400 II over the weekend and will report the results here.

That would be interesting. I have done informal tests with the Canon 1.4x and they are inconclusive. Would appreciate your findings.

Archibald wrote in post #17667594
That would be interesting. I have done informal tests with the Canon 1.4x and they are inconclusive. Would appreciate your findings.

Mine is on the 7Dmkll and 100-400mkll practically permanently. I've tested with, and without, and can see no difference in IQ. It's only an assumption, and could be user error, but the only difference I see is that with the extender, I have more missed focus. This could be due to my hand being less steady with the extender on though.

bidkev wrote in post #17667917
Mine is on the 7Dmkll and 100-400mkll practically permanently. I've tested with, and without, and can see no difference in IQ. It's only an assumption, and could be user error, but the only difference I see is that with the extender, I have more missed focus. This could be due to my hand being less steady with the extender on though.

I also left the 1.4x on the 100-400mm II all the time at first. But I also noticed less reliable autofocus. So for BIF, it is better not to use the 1.4x.

For more normal AF situations, I don't know enough yet about the comparison. I know the 1.4x gives great results, but cropping also gives great results. TC and crop both work great. Not a bad situation to be in. But maybe one is still better than the other...

But if the two alternatives give essentially equivalent results, and if you don't have a 1.4x, then why would you buy one?

I found BIF focus pretty good with the 1.4 but is still prefer not to use it for that. I lose too many focusing options.

A few from 10 minutes at the storm drain this morning. This chap was pretty hard to pin down so they're big crops

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/wnEe​BR

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/x32w​1Z

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/xjwC​S6

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/wnvy​87

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/x2Vm​3U

Brilliant colors!

Goliath heron on the river yesterday. This is quite heavily cropped and with a 1.4x II convertor mounted on the lens. I am continuing to be very impressed by this lens. Shutter speed was so high as I had been shooting bee-eaters when this monster came flying up the river.

bidkev wrote in post #17668149
A few from 10 minutes at the storm drain this morning. This chap was pretty hard to pin down so they're big crops

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/wnEe​BR Scarlet Honeyeater by Kevin Dickinson, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/x32w​1Z Scarlet Honeyeater (4) by Kevin Dickinson, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/xjwC​S6 Scarlet Honeyeater (3) by Kevin Dickinson, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/wnvy​87 Scarlet Honeyeater (2) by Kevin Dickinson, on Flickr

https://flic.kr/p/x2Vm​3URainbow Lorikeet by Kevin Dickinson, on Flickr

These are amazing, both bird and flowers. Kev, you shouldn't tell us they were taken in a storm drain - looks like your own personal tropical paradise to me. (You know where I come from and there has been almost NO sunshine at all this summer!)

AnnieMacD wrote in post #17668361
These are amazing, both bird and flowers. Kev, you shouldn't tell us they were taken in a storm drain - looks like your own personal tropical paradise to me. (You know where I come from and there has been almost NO sunshine at all this summer!)

Besides that, it's still late winter here in Oz

the scarlet honeyeaters colors make the shots. Perfect exposure even in what looks like tricky sunny/ shadow conditions....well done !

This lens has me discovering names I didn't know existed. How's this - Halloween pennant.

Hi Kev, I've never seen a scarlet honeyeater on my side of town - more's the pity, as they are striking birds. We have mainly blue-faced - pretty, yes, but not quite as pretty as yours. Nice photos.

Archibald wrote in post #17667594
That would be interesting. I have done informal tests with the Canon 1.4x and they are inconclusive. Would appreciate your findings.

I did a very quick test this afternoon (I had only one hour before sunset). The results with the Kenko 1.4x really surprised me.

Used with the 100-400II lens on the 70D and the 6D the Kenko TC allowed very quick and reliable AF. I tested it at F8 and F9. What was surprising was that AF allowed the use not only of the center point, but also the zones! I have not uploaded the photos on the computer yet, just checked them on the back LCD, but they looked sharp at any magnification.

Then another surprise: I mounted in on the brand new 7D Mk II. The message on the back LCD said that it required lens firmware upgrade, and that it did not find the firmware update on the card. I have no idea how to go about that!

I also tried the Kenko TC with the 70-200 f/4 IS, and it did both zone and single point AF even at small apertures (e.g., f9). However, the camera kept writing images on the card forever, so I had to remove the battery to reset the camera.

All in all, I loved the 100-400 with this Kenko, but I would appreciate any suggestion as to how to update the firmware.