100-400 or the 400mm 5.6L?

I've got a Amazon Gold Box Deal on the 100-400 for $1350.
Go for it or get the 400mm 5.6L?

Thanks.

deserttarheel wrote in post #7269037
I've got a Amazon Gold Box Deal on the 100-400 for $1350.
Go for it or get the 400mm 5.6L?

Thanks.

Only you can answer that. One question you should ask yourself is 'Do I need the flexibility that the zoom offers?'

For me - the zoom is the only way to go.

I got to play with the 400 prime..

Its very tempting to me, but I'm afraid I'd be in that ONE situation wherein id NEED 300 or something shorter and I'd be SOL...

Go with the prime. You have the 70-200 to cover the mid-range.

Do you shoot birds? If so the 100-400 is going to have a hard time keeping up with them.
If it were me I would get the 400 and a 1.4X tc with the savings.
That way you would have 70-280 covered and one of Canons fastest focusing lenses.

It's impossible for anybody else to tell you which you need, only you know what you want to use it for.

Personally, I went for the 100-400L and have never regretted it. It is a lovely sharp lens and gives me great results. I use it for many subjects, but two types of shoots I do frequently are zoos and airshows. In both cases, the 400 prime wouldn't be versatile enough. Although it spends a lot of time at 400mm, there are many occasions when that is too long and I have to pull back, often all the way to 100mm, or miss the shot.

When light levels are low, I tend to switch to the 300 f/2.8 in order to keep up shutter speeds. Another great lens, but I have way too many shots where I have had to cut off a foot, or a tail, or some important bit of scene because it is a little too long and I can't zoom back.

If you feel that you are going to use the lens you buy at 400mm pretty much all the time, then buy the prime. It will focus a little faster, be a touch sharper, all the usual prime attributes. But, of course, you trade a huge amount of versatility to get that.

I would go with the prime, but like others have said, only you can decide

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I already have the 100-400 and love it. The 400 would not work for my needs as I only shoot my sons' soccer games and I need the zoom. But if I was shooting birds, I'd love the 400.

I don't understand all the negative comments about shooting birds with a 100-400. I shoot them a lot with mine. I had the 100-400 and the 400 at the same time and kept the 100-400. Mine is just as sharp as the 400.

I also find the zoom to be a good way of acquiring the birds in the first place. 400mm on a crop is a very narrow angle. With the zoom you can pick it up at 100mm, then zoom in.

I love my 400. There are times when I wish I had 1-4 but most of the time, I'm happy with the 400. I shoot alot of football so I need the focusing speed more. Good luck on what ever you decide.


Ron

if you are worried about the focus speed i just took these today with my 100-400L i love the flexibility

Can't do this without a zoom without lot of walking. Just a thought. lol

Newer copies of the 1-4 are sharper than older copies, has IS and flexibility...love mine.
Images

100-400 is more general, you can use it for lot of things. 400mm prime is more special, very good at say shooting birds etc. Choose base on what you shoot often. I have had both and they each had their pluses and minuses.