exquisitor said:
Why not update the 400/5.6? Looking at the 100-400/4.0-5.6 II Canon could definitely make something great with a prime 400 mm, like less weight and smaller than the current version + IS.
I am also looking forward to the rumoured 150-600 mm from Canon. Somehow there is not much to hear about it anymore.
There’s still no competition for the existing lens.
There’s a ton of lenses on the market that perform “similarly” now, but in practical terms, for the BIF crowd at least, the 400f5.6 still has the best AF, lowest weight and is priced very reasonably. You can’t do “better” by getting a competing lens.
All the superzooms are heavy, have worse AF, are practically no sharper at 400mm and IQ at the 600mm zoom range drops too much to be a significant benefit.
If Sigma or Tamron would make a modern 400f5.6 prime with top level sharpness and IS, the situation might change, and if anyone makes a 400f4.0 for under $2K that would be a game changer, but as of yet all we have is a whole lot of “decent” zoom lenses that perfrom about the same for about the same price.