One of the questions asked about the RF 100-500mm is whether it’s worth upgrading to it from an EF 100-400mm II plus adapter. The consensus so far is that if you are starting from scratch, then it makes sense to buy into the RF system but if you already have the excellent EF lens then there is not that much to be gained by discarding the excellent 100-400mm II. Although the RF is back-ordered everywhere in the UK, some copies appeared on the European Canon site and I couldn’t resist one. The 100-500mm arrived Thursday afternoon and I managed to get some preliminary analysis when it hasn’t been raining from the point of view of someone who likes a lightweight lens for hiking and taking photos of birds, perched and in flight, close up and distant, and dragonflies and butterflies close up.
I have compared it on the R5 with the EF 100-400mm II f/5.6 and 400mm DO II f/4 with and without a 1.4xTCIII, in particular. In general, all three are spectacular for AF, both for latching on to fast flying birds and the eyes of closer ones. As for IS, I don’t see much of an R improvement in my hands when looking for pixel level sharpness and I needed to get down to 1/160s for 50% absolutely tack sharp at the pixel level at 20m.
The websites that report on lens sharpness usually do so at just one undefined distance. I want to know how sharp a lens is close up, mid distances and further away. So, I have done some tests using a UK £10 note at 3 and 6m, and black and white resolution charts at 12 and 20m. The RF 1.4xTC is arriving next week and I’ll report on the lens at 700mm then.
I have compared it on the R5 with the EF 100-400mm II f/5.6 and 400mm DO II f/4 with and without a 1.4xTCIII, in particular. In general, all three are spectacular for AF, both for latching on to fast flying birds and the eyes of closer ones. As for IS, I don’t see much of an R improvement in my hands when looking for pixel level sharpness and I needed to get down to 1/160s for 50% absolutely tack sharp at the pixel level at 20m.
The websites that report on lens sharpness usually do so at just one undefined distance. I want to know how sharp a lens is close up, mid distances and further away. So, I have done some tests using a UK £10 note at 3 and 6m, and black and white resolution charts at 12 and 20m. The RF 1.4xTC is arriving next week and I’ll report on the lens at 700mm then.
Last edited: