Sooooo, f/11 you say? What’s Canon up to with these upcoming supertelephoto lenses?

AlanF

Desperately seeking birds
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Aug 16, 2012
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There’s a huge amount of focus breathing with the 100-400mm II as you get down to its mfd of 1m. From what I remember, the focal length nearly halves.
The geek came out and I measured the focus breathing. The minimum focus distance of mine on a 5DSR set at 400mm is 970mm, close to the specs of 975 with a magnification of 0.312x, the same really as the specs of 0.31. The calculated focal length is 178mm, instead of 400mm, at the mfd. Putting the camera (sensor) at 1.6m from target, the focal length is 228mm. (magnification 0.16x)
 
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Last year I was lucky enough to take a trip to the Galapagos Islands and I have to say I would have KILLED to have one of these lenses for that trip. Generally when our group would go out to see animals it was in the late morning and early afternoon and the sun was just insanely bright and you really can't be carrying a massive lens around since you're hiking all over the place and jumping on and off boats.

The fantastic range of 600mm or 800mm would let you get amazing shots of the animals and the sunlight there at the equator is so bright that f/11 would still easily let you get amazing shots at low ISO
 
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AlanF

Desperately seeking birds
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Aug 16, 2012
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Last year I was lucky enough to take a trip to the Galapagos Islands and I have to say I would have KILLED to have one of these lenses for that trip. Generally when our group would go out to see animals it was in the late morning and early afternoon and the sun was just insanely bright and you really can't be carrying a massive lens around since you're hiking all over the place and jumping on and off boats.

The fantastic range of 600mm or 800mm would let you get amazing shots of the animals and the sunlight there at the equator is so bright that f/11 would still easily let you get amazing shots at low ISO
We went to the Galapagos last year and found the 100-400mm II on a 5DSR more than sufficient for reach, everything was just so close. So close in fact, I often had to switch to the wider end of 24-600mm camera as the wildlife have no fear of humans. Even the birds in flight generally came close enough. I researched it first and decided to leave the 400mm DO II + 2xTC at home, fortunately. We had a very good guide and chose a boat that generally was one of the first to dock in the morning and another trip later in the afternoon. We must have visited different places as I don't think I would have used a 600/800 f/11 once.
 
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f. 16 rule – full sun from 1,5 hr after sunrise to 1,5 hr before sunset – no veil from light clouds – light behind photographer shoulder –

parallel of Rome and Hollywood, CA

(assuming camera will have intermediate speeds)



Camera set at 100 Iso – EV 15

1/100 - f. 16

1/200 – f. 11

Tripod needed

Will IS be of any help?






Camera set at 200 Iso – EV 16

1/200 – f. 16

1/400 – f. 11

Tripod needed

Will IS be of any help ?




Camera set at 400 Iso – EV 17

1/400 – f. 16

1/800 – f. 11

Tripod needed

Will IS be of any help ?




Camera set at 800 Iso – EV 18

1/800 – f.16

1/1500 – f. 11

Tripod needed for 1/800 speed

Will IS be of any help at 1/800 ?




Camera set at 1600 Iso – EV 19

1/1500 – f. 16

1/3000 – f.11

Tripod not needed for young photographer

IS will help




What subjects are plausibles ?

Mountains in long distance,

Skyline of a city,

Tennis court between 10.00 am and 4.00 pm,

Marina with boats,

Architectural details from down below the building,

Natural landscapes

City Landscapes allowed there is enough space head of lens

Some Aerial Photography

My opinion:
It seems a solution as the very inexpensive fish-eye adapter of early and middle of '70ies to Mount on lenses filter ring
 
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Dragon

EF 800L f/5.6, RF 800 f/11
May 29, 2019
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Landscapes allowed there is enough space head of lens
f. 16 rule – full sun from 1,5 hr after sunrise to 1,5 hr before sunset – no veil from light clouds – light behind photographer shoulder –

parallel of Rome and Hollywood, CA

(assuming camera will have intermediate speeds)



Camera set at 100 Iso – EV 15

1/100 - f. 16

1/200 – f. 11

Tripod needed

Will IS be of any help?






Camera set at 200 Iso – EV 16

1/200 – f. 16

1/400 – f. 11

Tripod needed

Will IS be of any help ?




Camera set at 400 Iso – EV 17

1/400 – f. 16

1/800 – f. 11

Tripod needed

Will IS be of any help ?




Camera set at 800 Iso – EV 18

1/800 – f.16

1/1500 – f. 11

Tripod needed for 1/800 speed

Will IS be of any help at 1/800 ?




Camera set at 1600 Iso – EV 19

1/1500 – f. 16

1/3000 – f.11

Tripod not needed for young photographer

IS will help




What subjects are plausibles ?

Mountains in long distance,

Skyline of a city,

Tennis court between 10.00 am and 4.00 pm,

Marina with boats,

Architectural details from down below the building,

Natural landscapes

City Landscapes allowed there is enough space head of lens

Some Aerial Photography

My opinion:
It seems a solution as the very inexpensive fish-eye adapter of early and middle of '70ies to Mount on lenses filter ring

This whole presentation is irrelevant in light of 7-8 stops of IS, so why offer it?
 
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Jan 29, 2011
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This whole presentation is irrelevant in light of 7-8 stops of IS, so why offer it?
Well the obvious counterpoint feels IS being no help for subject movement would be one. But over and above that the previous poster is simply illuminating the situations in which you are not going to get useful shutter speeds, which is many. So let’s all hope high iso improvements are on the way...
 
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I know many posters here aren’t interested in video but the highest shutter speed you’re going to be using for video with any of the existing R cams is probably going to be 1/250th so f11 will be comfortably in range for a variety of lighting conditions. IS and STM AF will also be helpful. Just saying. At ISO 100 on a sunny day you’ll still be using NDs.
 
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You could just put a 2x tele on the 400 f4.6L and then you’d have a 800 f11 but good luck trying to focus that on a moving target with a 5D mark IV. I thought about trying that a couple days ago. Stoping down an f5.6 isn’t really the same thing but I think what he did still had some merit.
I guess we have to assume Canon believes the f11 lenses will focus on the new R’s. That’s as big a concern as the ISO noise IMO. I’ve focused f11 rigs in live view on my SLRs and it’s really slow but I’m sure the Rs will be faster. The question is will they be fast enough. We don’t all bait our subjects with meal worms although I’m thinking about giving that a try based on his results.
I’d expect, as I think most reasonable people would, these lenses will work great is some circumstances, they’ll be challenging to use in others but with acceptable results and there will be times when they won’t work at all. Just like pretty much every other piece of gear I’ve ever owned.
 
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koenkooi

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Feb 25, 2015
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I didn't go to the YouTube page to see comments. Maybe I will later. Did he set the aperture to f/8 to get f/11 with the 1.4x, or did he set it to f/11, as it looks, and wind up at an effective f/16?

Canon extenders communicate with the body and take care of adding the extra stop(s) to the aperture value displayed. Unless you tape the pin :)
 
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Jan 29, 2011
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Canon extenders communicate with the body and take care of adding the extra stop(s) to the aperture value displayed. Unless you tape the pin :)
That's not true for all EF lens and body combinations. The newest lens and body I have, the 1DX II and the TS-E 50 don't tell each other anything when I use a TC. With a 1.4 it still reports and indicates 50mm @ f2.8, however my 300 f2.8 IS from 2005 does report f4 as the fastest aperture when used with the same TC on the camera LCD in real time and in EXIF.

I'd expect the testers EF 500 f4 and EF 400 f5.6 to be correctly reporting the adjusted and therefore correct aperture both in EXIF and on the camera controls.
 
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koenkooi

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Feb 25, 2015
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Sorry PFD, I don't like spending 13 minutes watching a TouTube. If you summarise in one sentence it will be a mission of mercy for me.

If you know what you are doing, f/11 isn't impossible to use for good looking pictures.

or:

If you scatter mealworms, birds will flock to there.
 
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AlanF

Desperately seeking birds
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Aug 16, 2012
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I really don't understand all this fuss. I , like others here, have been using 800mm f/8 for years (400mm DO II + 2xTC) and this is just a stop lower. A native prime should be sharper than one of half the length with a 2xTC (which gives a 20-30% hit on mtfs). I wouldn't willingly use a 800mm for BIF anyway. Having said that, I'd walk around wit a 100-500mm f/7.1 (with a 1.4xTC at hand) any day.
 
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scottkinfw

Wildlife photography is my passion
CR Pro
Hi,

Where have you been on Safari? Where did you do your night drive? We were planning a trip to Botswana, which has been postponed as a result of the pandemic. We were in Tanzania last year and it was incredible!

One of the interesting parts of being on Safari is capturing the wildlife in its gorgeous natural environment (as opposed to a zoo). I brought mostly primes to Tanzania, and sorely wished that I had brought a zoom, since I enjoyed taking photos of the wildlife that ranged from close portraits to environmental shots (so many lens changes, even with 2 bodies). Many photos of quite distant subjects showed atmospheric haze. For this reason, I am much more excited to see what the 100-500mm lens will be like than these f11 lenses.

That said, I am thoroughly intrigued by these unexpected lenses, and hope to be pleasantly surprised by their combination of size, weight, and performance. Time will tell!
Twice to Serengeti Africadreamsafaris.com did an awesome job for great prices-gave me the vehicle and driver and took us out for as long and far as we wanted to go. Most awesome numbers and diversity) twice- the best. Went to South Africa/Greater Kruger Park. Didn't hold a match to Tanzania/Serengeti in terms of diversity or numbers! S. Africa had good numbers of leopards however, but cost way more.
 
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scottkinfw

Wildlife photography is my passion
CR Pro
This is definitely not a general safari lens. Zooms are the most useful. The current 100-400mm II or the proposed 100-500mm would be the most useful on a limited budget. But, a longer prime on a second body would be great for birds, which you do see during the day. We travelled with one of us with the zoom and the other with a prime on our last safari.
This is definitely not a general safari lens. Zooms are the most useful. The current 100-400mm II or the proposed 100-500mm would be the most useful on a limited budget. But, a longer prime on a second body would be great for birds, which you do see during the day. We travelled with one of us with the zoom and the other with a prime on our last safari.
I took along the 300 2.8L II and it produced incredibly sharp images with great color and contrast, no distortion. I recently got the most recent 100-400L for an upcoming (I hope, if COVID doesn't prevent it), and haven't been as impressed with the above. What is your opinion on that? May I have a not great copy of the lens?
Thx for your imput.

sek
 
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