400mm blurry without IS

Okay...I am going to rent a 400mm F5.6, thinking I can replace my Sigma 150-500mm...

But the 400mm 5.6 has no image stabilization and I use my lenses to shoot wildlife and bird photos. In the past I had a 300mm with IS and had a 1.4 TC to make it 420. I have a 40D body.

So I tested a non- IS on my sigma by turning it off. Not good...perhaps one in 5 shots will be workable and not blurred. Is that normal when working without image stabilzation? If so, it is certainly not worth the investment in any long range lens without IS. I experimented on a mono-pod. With IS, all pictures turned out fair clear, or at least not blurred. Without it, terrible results. now, this was taken from inside looking out the window with ISO at either 800 or 100... exposure + 1 stop or more, shutter speed was 1/15 ....real slow I must admit but a cloudy NW day.

Taking shots of a quail so it has lots of detail and easy to pick out. Even when just sitting, no movement...1/5...with movement, I am lucky to get even that 1? What am I doing wrong> jim

the problem is your shutter speed is too low. to get blur free picture your shutter speed has to be 1/(focal length). so at 400 mm your shutter speed has to be 1/400. increase iso speed and use fast lense with low F value to get a higher shutter speed.

Yup, your shutter speed needs to be about 100 times faster. Was the lens wide open?

Isn't it obvious what image stabilization is for?

Thanks...I understand all of that...have taken enough shots.. But I was using my Sigma which essentially shoots at F8.... I will experiment with using the lower F6.3 which is what it can go, just not its sweet spot. Using higher ISO too...

I was just trying to figure out if low speeds work, obviously not. Not sure if this lens is for me in low light, cloudy conditions. So experimenting with the Sigma to see what it takes. jim

lmans wrote in post #11457008
Thanks...I understand all of that...have taken enough shots.. But I was using my Sigma which essentially shoots at F8.... I will experiment with using the lower F6.3 which is what it can go, just not its sweet spot. Using higher ISO too...

I was just trying to figure out if low speeds work, obviously not. Not sure if this lens is for me in low light, cloudy conditions. So experimenting with the Sigma to see what it takes. jim

If you can't get higher shutter speeds in the lighting conditions you shoot in I would definitely avoid the lens. Also, OS/IS isn't going to help much if your subjects are moving...not sure what kind of wildlife shots your shooting...

I shoot birds.... so I know I need to have a quick shutter when using zoom. ..... I think I will have to wait to actually borrow the 400mm 5.6 lens before I make any determination as I am just playing with my Sigma down to 6.3 and ISO of 1600... If in the trees, no problem, if down low....still an issue.

I will be leaving for Ecuador for my Christmas season and spend some time as I always do taking shots. In the past I have used my 300mm with Tc to give me reach of 420 and with IS. But I sold it a few months ago to pick up a bit more range, hence the Sigma 150-500. But the L is missing from the Sigma, hence I am trying out the 400mm. But I can see that without IS and with clouds and rain as Ecuador/ Mindo valley area will have now during the rainy season, that this lens won't cut it. But will see over the next few days.

I frequently bird Ecuador and should have realized the 300 plus 1.4 might be the best thing for that environment but it lacks reach and I always wish I have more in other environments. ... That is one reason why I also went to digiscoping; for range.

The Sigma 150-500 OS has a nice stabilizer in it.

you can't expect to get good results consistently on wildlife with those shutter speeds...regardless of having IS or not...yeah you may get lucky, and pull one off...but not 100% of the time...the subject is likely to move causing a blurred image...all this has nothing to do with IS/OS...

i'm pretty sure the 400mm is also going to be lighter than the 150-500mm so that'll make it easier to handhold..

also your pic didn't load

lmans wrote in post #11457181
I shoot birds.... so I know I need to have a quick shutter when using zoom. ..... I think I will have to wait to actually borrow the 400mm 5.6 lens before I make any determination as I am just playing with my Sigma down to 6.3 and ISO of 1600... If in the trees, no problem, if down low....still an issue.

I will be leaving for Ecuador for my Christmas season and spend some time as I always do taking shots. In the past I have used my 300mm with Tc to give me reach of 420 and with IS. But I sold it a few months ago to pick up a bit more range, hence the Sigma 150-500. But the L is missing from the Sigma, hence I am trying out the 400mm. But I can see that without IS and with clouds and rain as Ecuador/ Mindo valley area will have now during the rainy season, that this lens won't cut it. But will see over the next few days.

I frequently bird Ecuador and should have realized the 300 plus 1.4 might be the best thing for that environment but it lacks reach and I always wish I have more in other environments. ... That is one reason why I also went to digiscoping; for range.

1. Start shooting 1/640-1/800 since you are on APS-C, even 1/400 isn't gonna cut it.

2. What does the bolded section mean?

You must have bolded it!..Actually I feel that any L lens from what I have seen is excellent image quality. From what I have seen, at 100%, some Sigma shots are not there, more along the lines of my old 80-400 Tokina. I like the Sigma...just thought it might be time to revert back to a L lens. But with no OS, the 400 5.6 might make it harder to capture a shot in low light conditions. With the sigma, and with the OS on, I can still get a keeper (not one to sell) shot..at low light levels.

I am in photography for birding....not selling photos. But I have learned to appreciate nice sharp images so am always looking for ways to improve on my shots, my knowledge etc of the camera world to compliment my birding skills.

If I had the cash...I would keep both lens...use them where appropriate. Use the 400mm in good light conditions and for BIF, use the Sigma with OS for lower light conditions and traveling to Ecuador. Just don't know if I want to keep both.

I just want to throw this out there, the 400 f5.6L does have better IQ than the Sigma 150-500, however you lose IS. Sometimes the best lens is the lens that works for you, not the theoretical best lens on paper. Anyways, hope it works out for you.

1/15 second shutter on a 560mm FL with no IS... I couldn't hold that steady even if you pay me.
Maybe over my dead body.

I can't hold a 50mm steady at 1/15, let alone something 400+!

I use the 400mm 5.6 for my birding lens. If Canon ever decided to release a version with IS I would buy it. But even with out IS I find the IQ hard to beat. Also I can hand hold it all day. Just have to remember to keep that ISO and shutter speed up when shooting in the NW in the winter (I'm from Bellingham, so we get our share of cloud days as well.) When summer comes around and it all clears up, the 400mm is unbeatable. I don't sell my photos, I just print them for my wall. I find that after blowing up the image I get a lot more keepers with my 400mm than I ever did with any of my Sigma lenses.