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

Matthewk,,,it has been my experience I get much better results using my 7dmkii -100-400-canon mkiii 1.4X when I shoot at F9 or F10 and 1000-1600 SS. and of course good light helps.

I shot using the shutter for years. Although I have no issues using the shutter button to get initial AF and track during bursts I decided to force myself to use the BBF and it is much easier.

Yep you have to trust the process and trust AI Servo to do it's thing. You have to see it focus in before you start shooting unless you don't care if the first few are out. I wait till to comes in.

As for the more than once part I have seen the word "pumping" the focus used for that. If it does not focus at first then keep lifting and pressing until it does. Make sure you have the Focusing Distance Range is set appropriately for the conditions.

keeperseeker wrote in post #18544367
Matthewk,,,it has been my experience I get much better results using my 7dmkii -100-400-canon mkiii 1.4X when I shoot at F9 or F10 and 1000-1600 SS. and of course good light helps.

You can get AF at F9 and 10?

digital paradise wrote in post #18544388
You can get AF at F9 and 10?

AF is always wide open regardless of the aperture selected.

No . when I use extender often use a mono-pod ,,,or tripod. and yes manual focus is used for f9

Thanks for the help, gents. I'm going to get to do a lot of testing this weekend, if the weather holds. It was actually this same combo a year or two back where I learned about the importance of good technique when shooting longer focal length, namely keeping shutter speeds 1/1000 or higher, center AF point, ensure target has good contrast for the AF to grip. The first things I'm going to examine are AF accuracy (One Shot vs. Servo), shutter speed and IS modes.

Good technique and appropriate shutter speeds will take you much further than all the menus the camera has to offer. They just enhance for specific situations. You can easily hit a non erratic BIF with factory settings. Canon even says this in their videos.

markesc wrote in post #18544362
...I say keep focused on the Art of it, and have fun, and don't get caught up in the technical stuff too much, keep it as a fun hobby.

That right there is a mouthful of truth. The tech side has advanced so much and everyone knows every shot can be so spectacular that the art dimension of this hobby suffers greatly now. But humans are creatures of satisfaction. Take birders as an example. They may find a pond or meadow filled with birds and will have to work their way around it all to find the one perfect composition to shoot. They get 1 photo from it all. Instead the human side kicks in and they shoot dozens of head shots of individual birds. No composition required and today's tech can produce superb resolution, clarity, color, etc. Coming home with 50 of those seems like a more successful day for them. Ansel Adams may not see it that way.

markesc wrote in post #18544362
Yeah caution on the AI Servo.

What I've found is that you really must push the button halfway down, sometimes more than once, and depending on your vision/diopter setting/bird scale, you'll see when it's truly in sharp focus. Then fully hit the button to take the picture.

Maybe you should try BBF (back button focus). It separates focus from metering and actuating the shutter entirely. It also makes recomposing much easier and puts you in full control.

I am doing this for a very long time, because having all those functions on the single shutter button makes absolutely no sense to me.

Cheers.

RAW-Shooter wrote in post #18544494
Maybe you should try BBF (back button focus). It separates focus from metering and actuating the shutter entirely. It also makes recomposing much easier and puts you in full control.

I am doing this for a very long time, because having all those functions on the single shutter button makes absolutely no sense to me.

Cheers.

Absolutely agree on this one.. !! I cant even shoot with just the shutter button now.. Ive tried. I shoot servo and back button.. on everything
I always watch where the focus is on the feather or fur and shoot when its where I want it to be. I'm also a right handed person shooting left eye so I'm not distracted by my other eye. down side is I cant see around or whats coming without lifting my head. There are times I dont look up for very long periods of time. I find for wildlife anything but servo is impossible for me to use. but servo loves "back button" thats for sure.

I have mine set so I choose my set up when using the AF-ON. Typically in Case 2 and single or expansion AF mode. I have the * set up so Case 6 and 65/61 point AF kick in. I toggle back and forth between the two.

You shoot a lot of wildlife. That is my favorite subject. I find myself useing one shot for let's say a grizzly eat grass where he isn't moving much. I have always wondered about servo on a situation like that. So would you use servo in that situation when the bear is hardly moving? Maybe like a fox laying down just looking around.

Nascar Nut wrote in post #18544567
You shoot a lot of wildlife. That is my favorite subject. I find myself useing one shot for let's say a grizzly eat grass where he isn't moving much. I have always wondered about servo on a situation like that. So would you use servo in that situation when the bear is hardly moving? Maybe like a fox laying down just looking around.

It is a good question. But nowadays, I always use servo (on back button). Works for me.

Pondrader wrote in post #18544127
We have the same attitude about working on ourselves so we can do what we do. I don't want to slid into old age not working on me. I'm going kicking and screaming lol

Question about the fall ?? you had it on a strap and landed on it ??

No it was nothing like that it was even more stupid. We were leaving the lodge we were staying at in Costa Rica after a morning on their patio shooting some of the birds that came to the feeders. I picked up my big camera backpack to take it to the car. Except that I forgot to zip it up all the way so the lens slipped out the side of the backpack and hit hard tile floor. How stupid is that?

That sucks. I was in Costa Rica during tropical storm Nate, which later became hurricane Nate, and was wanting to wade across this small stream to take a picture of a very swollen, fast moving waterfall, the water in the stream was moving a lot faster than it looked and I tripped on an underwater root and fell, dunking my 80D and 55-250 lens for about 5 seconds. Stopped at a store on the way back to town and bought a LARGE bag of rice and put the camera and lens in the rice and left it until we got back to the states. Sent to Canon and they said the camera is not economically repairable and they won't repair the kit lens (55-250) just give me a discount to buy a new one. So I feel your pain.