Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM

[Goincarcrazy]

You bring up a really interesting point.  I've noticed a few people that get this lens and says its rubbish don't take into account how much air they're trying to cut through.  I remember one time I was at a historics race in Daytona, FL at the speedway and found that so many pics were coming out like crap, but then when I took my eye away from the camera and looked toward what I was taking pics of, I realized that the intense brightness from the sun, mixed with the very dry, crisp late fall air, all mixing with the black track was throwing up massive amounts of heat waves from the asphalt.  Ever since then, I've noticed some people just trying to ask too much from this lens and instantly kicking it to the curb.  Super-Telephotos (or borderline in this case) are a very different ballgame compared to even 200's or 300's. 

Very cool results scales!  And thanks for bringing my mind back around to that point.  BTW, I'm jealous of you, simply because you have mountains.  Here in Florida, the tallest hill is actually a trash mound...fun fact.

[CR Backup Admin]

I'm hoping that winter is winding up, that pile of snow in my back yard is a small fraction of what was there.  Unfortunately, more snow if in the forecast.

It is nice to have a few days break and see a blue sky though. 

I usually use the 100-400L at short range, but I did not see anything better to photograph from my porch, and it was too cold to setup and wait for birds.  There was a flock of magpies around, but they are very shy, and do not sit still for more than 5 seconds.  They watch us in the house and leave if we head toward the door.

[neuroanatomist]

I'm hoping that winter is winding up, that pile of snow in my back yard is a small fraction of what was there. 

It is nice to have a few days break and see a blue sky though. 

We've got the blue skies...but it's a 'balmy' 21 °F out there (which is a lot better than the -3° when I left the house this morning).  Our huge piles of snow aren't going anywhere soon...   

[neuroanatomist]

A recent shot with my 7D and 100-400mm:


EOS 7D, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM @ 400mm, 1/640 s, f/5.6, ISO 125

[CR Backup Admin]

A 100% crop of a Killdeer who has a nest alongside our driveway.  No AF Microadjust needed, depth of field is sufficient to hide AF errors, if any.




Cropped, but not 1:1

[CR Backup Admin]

We now have a second pair of kildeer nesting in a field next to our driveway, its only 2 ft from our fence.  I snapped a couple of photos with my 100-400mm l and 1D MK III combination, both at 400mm, ISO 200, 1/800 sec. 

As soon as I approached the nest, one began the broken wing act.  I didn't really want to disturb them, and my neighbors horses were heading over wanting a handout, so I quickly took a couple of shots and left them alone.

There are only two eggs so far, but they almost always lay 4 eggs, so I'll check every few days to see if more eggs are laid.  I'm glad to see them coming back every year and multiplying, i'm sure there are lots more nests, but this is the first time we've found two nests along our driveway.

[neuroanatomist]

People sometimes complain that the AF on the 100-400mm is somewhat slow.  Perhaps it is, compared to the 400mm f/5.6L.  But when coupled with the excellent AI Servo AF of the 7D, it was quite capable of locking onto and tracking a bird in flight coming straight towards me.  The camera+lens tracked this red-winged blackbird from takeoff to landing, flying toward me as he covered a distance of about 20 feet, and only one or two of the photos in the ~14-frame burst were slightly OOF.  Here's the penultimate shot from the burst, just before he landed:


EOS 7D, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM @ 400mm, 1/1600 s, f/6.3, ISO 1600

Thanks for looking!

[anttukos]

It's also a nice lens for video shooting. I'm able to have the image stabilization and it doesn't create too much disturbing noise as with for example EF-S 17-55/2.8. The focusing is still tricky if the objects move because of the depth of field.

Some sample videos here (most of them shot with 7D and 100-400 lens)
http://www.youtube.com/anttukos

Some photos from my blog:
http://hulttio-orava.blogspot.com/

[aldvan]

As I stated many times previously, the 100-400 is my favorite lens. Paradoxically, for my photographical field, it has a wide range of applications. It couldn't be the most updated lens, it couldn't perform the most outstanding lab test, but it allows you shooting from beautiful macro images (due to a wonderful bokeh and allowing you to stay relatively far from the subject) to portrait and, obviously, nature and sport. Great also for architectural details. And f/ values are ok for me since I guess that the main use for such a focal wouldn't be indoor shooting...
I use it with  a 5D2 and with a 7D. As I stated in other posts, I'm not enthusiastic about 7D performance, giving me nothing more than 5D2 cropped image quality...
And it is really sturdy. I was close to the Bejing Olympic Stadium, very excited  by H&deM architecture, not realizing that my backpack flap was open. Two kilos of alloy and glass were launched three meters away... No lens was broken and Canon service had to change just the helicoid and cosmetical parts (i'm very anal about that).

P.S.: my sincere congratulations for all the images published above!

[Heidrun]

Is it possible to build a new version of this lens with a fixed 5.6 aperture and inner focus so the lens does not change length during operation. Will this lens could be made more compact than it is today. For then Canon dont have to think about aperture 4 and rather concentrate on a fixed aperture 5.6

[neuroanatomist]

Is it possible to build a new version of this lens with a fixed 5.6 aperture and inner focus so the lens does not change length during operation. Will this lens could be made more compact than it is today.

Could it be designed as in internally zooming lens?  Sure.  Would that make it more compact?  Probably not.  The 100-400mm is 7.75" long when retracted, and 10.9" long when extended to 400mm.  The 400mm f/5.6L prime is 10.44" long, only 0.5" shorter than the extended zoom lens. 

Look at it from the other side - the retracted zoom lens is over 3" shorter than the 400mm prime.  For me, that's nice because a gripped body + 100-400mm will fit in a toploading case (e.g. Lowepro Toploader Pro 75AW), whereas a gripped body with the 400mm prime is way too long.

[Goincarcrazy]

This lens has always been my go to for versatility.  I always use it for races and air shows as well just for the versatility it gives me.  Its able to be taken in public without too much attention where as my 600, forget about it! 

A recent one:

[AprilForever]

This lens has always been my go to for versatility.  I always use it for races and air shows as well just for the versatility it gives me.  Its able to be taken in public without too much attention where as my 600, forget about it! 

A recent one:

I love egrets! Lots of them down here. Am going shooting in the everglades later today... hopefully I'll see a few...

[Caps18]

It was a tough decision for me to get the 300mm with 1.4x tc instead of the 100-400.  I can use 300mm at f/4 with my prime.  But, the atmospheric distortion plays more of a role than any sharpness differences between the two.

It would be easier to find subjects if I were able to zoom out and the zoom in quickly.

I do need a lot more practice with wildlife/bird photography.  I just don't get close to those kind of shots.

[airbus11]

I wantend to show you some photos I've taken with my 100-400 L lens.
For me -as a planespotter- this is the perfect lens..