A Classic EF Lens Reaches the End of Production

One of my favourite lenses for the EF mount is the EF 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 L IS USM II, if there was ever a version II of a lens that was better in every single way, this was it. It had wonderful optics, build quality, a new trick lens hood, great balance and a tripod collar that I really liked.

EF 100-400 F4.5-5.6 L IS USM II Discontinued

According to asobinet, retailer Camera Kitamura has listed the lens as discontinued, which means it's no longer in their ordering system and production has ended. There is still a lot of new inventory in Asia, Europe and North America but it hasn't come down in price all that much. There must have been good demand from DSLR shooters to keep it going.

Canon gear doesn't generally get discontinued globally at the same time, it tends to start in Asia and the rest of the planet follows suit over the next few months. Even if Canon USA says it isn't, it's going to be soon. They play inventory accounting games.

It's still expensive

I'm not sure I would call the EF 100-400 F4.5-5.6 L IS USM II good value at a retail price of $2699 USD. I would definitely be looking at the used market if you're looking for one. Hopefully there will be some big discounts soon to clear out the inventory.

I have adapted this lens to RF and it performed extremely well. There are still a lot of DSLR shooters out there and RF shooters that are fine to save money on adapted EF glass, even if the retail price for this one is a bit steep.

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

• Telephoto zoom is compatible with full-frame EF-mount DSLRs, as well as APS-C-format models where it provides a 160-640mm equivalent focal length range.
• One fluorite element and one Super Ultra-Low Dispersion element help to correct chromatic aberrations throughout the zoom range for a high degree of sharpness, clarity, and color accuracy.
• An Air Sphere Coating (ASC) has been applied to lens elements to reduce backlit flaring and ghosting for maintained light transmission and high contrast in strong lighting conditions.
• An Optical Image Stabilizer helps to minimize the appearance of camera shake by up to four shutter speed stops to better enable working in low-light conditions and with slower shutter speeds. Additionally, three dedicated image stabilization modes are available—Standard, Panning, and During Exposure Only—and can be selectively employed to suit a variety of types of shooting.
• A ring-type Ultrasonic Motor (USM), along with optimized focusing algorithms and a high-speed CPU, is employed to deliver fast, precise, and quiet autofocus performance as well as full-time manual focus override.
• The rotation-type zoom ring offers precise adjustment between zoom positions, especially when shooting handheld, and a zoom torque adjustment ring enables easy setting of the zoom tension for personalized control.
• A weather-resistant design protects the lens from dust and moisture to enable its use in inclement conditions. Additionally, fluorine coatings have also been applied to the front and rear lens elements for further protection against fingerprints and smudging.
• Rounded nine-blade diaphragm contributes to a pleasing out of focus quality that benefits the use of shallow depth of field and selective focus techniques.
• A redeveloped tripod collar can be attached or detached from the lens without having to remove the lens from the camera.
• The included ET-83D lens hood incorporates a side window for easier adjustment of rotating filters with the hood in place.

The Best Canon Lens of 2014

There weren't too many reviewers that had anything negative to say about the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM outside of nitpicking things. Bryan from The-Digital-Picture had one of the first in the field reviews and he loved the lens.

I had one of these in my camera bag for 7+ years, even after I got the R5, which was my first RF mount camera.

The RF 100-500 F4.5-7.1L IS L USM is a great lens, but it doesn't have the same feeling in the hand that the EF lens it replaced does. We could dig into the pixel-peeping optical performance, but if I had a choice between the two, I'd rather an RF mount on this EF lens.

We won't be announcing the discontinuation of every EF product, and there are still more to come. I think it's worthwhile pointing out the EF gear that was top-shelf and the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM is among the best EF lenses ever made.

It was fun looking back on the forum at the EF 100-400 F4.5-5.6 L IS USM gallery, it was pretty active for a long time.

Hats off to a great one.

Go to discussion...