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

Me and this American Kestral are good friends now. Posed for a good long time while I snapped away.

Plenty of Butterflies around this year! Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and what I am told is a White Admiral!

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/VGrs​91

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/VX9F​LZ

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/VX9J​sk

Some of you may remember me and my question concerning the sharpness at the MFD...

Well, I bought the lens - and I'm amazed by its versatility. Most of the time I use it mainly as a "long macro", which works perfectly! There are a lot of smaller animals - butterflies, dragonflies, mices and so on - who are rather shy and will flee if you approach them further. Sharpness at MFD is still excellent! The only downside - well, f5.6 at 400mm isn't exactly a "light-catcher". On the other side, it's very well handholdable... I guess it's all about trading

SwissPhotographer wrote in post #18382689
Some of you may remember me and my question concerning the sharpness at the MFD...

Well, I bought the lens - and I'm amazed by its versatility. Most of the time I use it mainly as a "long macro", which works perfectly! There are a lot of smaller animals - butterflies, dragonflies, mices and so on - who are rather shy and will flee if you approach them further. Sharpness at MFD is still excellent! The only downside - well, f5.6 at 400mm isn't exactly a "light-catcher". On the other side, it's very well handholdable... I guess it's all about trading

marbled white

Nicely done.

SJC from VT wrote in post #18382108
Plenty of Butterflies around this year! Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and what I am told is a White Admiral!

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/VGrs​91 Butterfly_EasternTiger​SwallowtailOnFlowering​Hedge_WM-8050 by sjc from vt, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/VX9F​LZ Butterfly_EasternTiger​Swallowtail_Right_WM-8030 by sjc from vt, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/VX9J​sk ButterflyInRoad_WM-7802 by sjc from vt, on Flickr

Very nice Sandy.. My yard was filled with the swallowtails on the Lilac until the monsoon's came through on the weekend. I haven't seen one since. and its still raining today

SwissPhotographer wrote in post #18382689
Some of you may remember me and my question concerning the sharpness at the MFD...

Well, I bought the lens - and I'm amazed by its versatility. Most of the time I use it mainly as a "long macro", which works perfectly! There are a lot of smaller animals - butterflies, dragonflies, mices and so on - who are rather shy and will flee if you approach them further. Sharpness at MFD is still excellent! The only downside - well, f5.6 at 400mm isn't exactly a "light-catcher". On the other side, it's very well handholdable... I guess it's all about trading

marbled white

Amen! I use it like that a bunch. Apologies if I've posted these before, but there are a few pics I'm proud of.

FINALLY an Osprey catch at a reasonable distance!

Someone buy me a 500 F4 II!! These were with the 1.4xiii / ISO 800 / 1/1600th using the center cluster of 9 points... could be sharper....

Pondrader wrote in post #18382730
Very nice Sandy.. My yard was filled with the swallowtails on the Lilac until the monsoon's came through on the weekend. I haven't seen one since. and its still raining today

Thanks Jeff! We are getting the rain too! Try putting up 1000's of round bales of hay during a year like this one! Here's another shot of the White Admiral Butterfly. They look like two different butterflies with brown on the underside, and black on the upper side of the wings!

markesc wrote in post #18383300
FINALLY an Osprey catch at a reasonable distance!

Someone buy me a 500 F4 II!! These were with the 1.4xiii / ISO 800 / 1/1600th using the center cluster of 9 points... could be sharper....

Hosted photo: posted by markesc in
./showthread.php?p=183​83300&i=i243952549
forum: Canon Lenses

Hosted photo: posted by markesc in
./showthread.php?p=183​83300&i=i263602058
forum: Canon Lenses

Congrats on getting the shots at last! These are some crispy, detailed photos!

SJC from VT wrote in post #18383331
Thanks Jeff! We are getting the rain too! Try putting up 1000's of round bales of hay during a year like this one! Here's another shot of the White Admiral Butterfly. They look like two different butterflies with brown on the underside, and black on the upper side of the wings!

Hosted photo: posted by SJC from VT in
./showthread.php?p=183​83331&i=i209173963
forum: Canon Lenses

I'll bet it's not easy.... All the rain has changed the wildlife around here. their kind of scattered, feeding differently. not nearly as many birds around the yard it seems.

Female Powerful owl. She's looking quite dishevelled, a result of spending several weeks inside a hollow. (They nest in large hollows typically 5-6 feet deep). I can only imagine how disgusting it would be inside, 1 or 2 chicks bodily waste (from both ends) and the remains of around 20 Possums, several Flying foxs and probably a few smaller birds.

My share

Ok so I've been following this thread for quite some time now...trying to convince myself that I don't "need" another lens. But I broke down and bought one last week. Now I can understand why so many of you seem to love this lens!

A quick couple test shots. As for BIF's, it is definitely a LOT easier than using the 500mm prime. Not sure if the near-instantaneous focus acquisition is due to the 7DII and/or this lens (previously used the 50D for such images). Looking forward to trying it out on the 5DIV.

Canon 100-400mm Mk II comparison; native 400mm fl vs 560mm with Canon Extender EF 1.4 II

Red kite following the hay-mowing tractor around, hoping to pick up a snack.