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Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM 35mm Zoom

4.7/5 (63 Reviews)

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Focal Length : 100mm - 400mm | Max. Aperture : f/4.5-f/5.6  | Focus : Autofocus  


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Reviews 1 - 5 (63 Reviews Total) | Next 15

User Reviews

Overall Rating:4
Value Rating:5
Submitted by ksbryan0 a Intermediate

Date Reviewed: September 1, 2010

Strengths:    Coupled with the 7D, this lens has a very convenient reach that allows captures of skittish wildlife. The focus sweet spot on my copy is in the F8-11 range, but is performs well at most any aperature smaller than wide-open. Though heavy, this lens is built like a tank and could probably be used as a defensive weapon or a baseball bat, without suffering any damage! Nearly all my shooting is done hand-held, and I have found the IS effectively delivers 1.5-2 F-stops. This is a little less than Canon advertises, but my hands tend to shake considerably normally-even worse after lugging this tool around for a couple hours. The Canon-provided lens hood has effectively prevented flare during all my shooting. The lens offers a very useful field of view range for a lot of all around shooting. I have used this lens for pseudo-macro photography of flowers and insects, and it has produced exceptional results, and does a nice job of blurring the background and delivers subtle bokeh when lighting conditions are right.

Weaknesses:    You won't have to read many reviews to find that a common complaint about this lens is it's weight, and there is no question that it is a heavy unit. Some will see this as a drawback, but it is also a testatment to the quality of construction. I suspect it could take a lot of abuse and still perform well, but I am not going to intentionally test that theory. If you haven't packed around long L-lens before, it will take some getting use to before it feels natural. The only performance weakness that I believe is serious is that, even when mounted on the 7D, in AF mode it has a hard time accurately adjusting focus on fast moving objects that are approaching or moving away, such as birds in flight. To some degree, it also seems to need more contrast for the AF to sharply lock focus than the Canon EF 70-200 2.8 L. I have tried to use a 1.4 TC II with this lens and have determined that the magnification becomes too great for me to effectively hand-hold the lens while shooting. The AF does not function when using the TC unless the pins are taped, but even then I have not been satisfied with the keep-rate of my results.

Bottom Line:   
After viewing a large number of images on a multitude of forums that were created using the Canon EF 100-400 4-5.6 IS L, I decided to give it a try myself. A Craigslist ad described a used, two-owner copy as near mint condition, which I determined to be accurate when I inspected it. Mounted to a Canon EOS 7D, I started to get to know my new L-lens. The push-pull method this model requires for the tele-zoom takes a little getting use to, but within a reasonable amount of time it started feeling 'normal' to me. The bigger adjustment was simply getting use to the extra weight of this lens and finding a comfortable way to carry it for a long period of time, especially when extended to the 400 mm setting. Over the past 6+ months I have had the opportunity to challenge the lens in a wide variety of shooting situations and conditions, and am satisfied enough with it that I have reached a point where I nearly consider it permanently installed to the 7D, and my "go-to" wildlife lens choice.

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Duration Product Used:   21+ years

Price Paid:    $1400.00

Purchased At:   Craigslist

Similar Products Used:   Canon EF 70-200 2.8 L
Canon EF 24-70 2.8 L

Type of photography:   Outdoor

Overall Rating:5
Value Rating:4
Submitted by ben wigg a Intermediate

Date Reviewed: June 27, 2009

Strengths:    easy to use


Weaknesses:    none if you ask me

Bottom Line:   
i am a sporting photographer for a local soccer club and if u ask me this lense
is the best telephoto zoom lense i have ever used i tema it up with a canon eos 50d and on my other camera i have a 28-135 standard lense canon eos 500d
i would reccomend this lense to any one from amatures to proffesional i also like the idea of the slide zoom it is conveniant because of the size of the lense

Expand full review >>

Duration Product Used:   2-5 years

Price Paid:    $1500.00

Purchased At:   of a friend

Similar Products Used:   sigma 50-500

Type of photography:   Sports

Overall Rating:5
Value Rating:5
Submitted by iclick a Professional

Date Reviewed: January 28, 2008

Strengths:    Well made, Excellent sharpness smooth operation. I love the push pull zoom it is fast and smooth.

Weaknesses:    None, it is just an allaroud wonderful tool.

Bottom Line:   
Excellent images on both FF 5D and 1.6 20D. Allows sharp selective focusing close in and long reaching telephoto. Teamed with the 24-1o5 an outdoor photographer will need only a superwide and a Macro to cover all aspects of the world. With the 20D crop factor you can rewach out and capture wildlife at incredible distance without disturbing anything. I have sold many 24 x 36 images taken with this lense with little or no software processing.

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Duration Product Used:   21+ years

Price Paid:    $1200.00

Purchased At:   Online

Type of photography:   Other

Overall Rating:4
Value Rating:4
Submitted by readingr a Intermediate

Date Reviewed: April 25, 2007

Strengths:    Quick to acquire focus
IS is a bonus hand held
Construction
Contrast
Balance with the 5D
Hood included in price

Weaknesses:    Small amount of vignetting at full open max zoom (bird against bright sky) but not a real problem
Zoom tightening control requires two hands
Cost of filters


Bottom Line:   
Recently bought with a 5D with the intention is to use for wildlife photography.

Still learning to use the IS and its 2 modes but seems quick to focus on the subject.
Still learning how to use the lens and the camera features to get the most out of the lens.

The pictures so far seem sharp at all lengths. The zoom ring needs to be kept reasonably tight to prevent the lense slamming forward when pointing down and to prevent unintentional movement when zooming. Still not found an easy way of doing this one handed yet.

Manual focusing is quick and easy and the zoom being in the same ring makes composing easy.

Still mastering but at the moment I am pleased with the ability on the 5D and the pictures so far are terrific and getting better as I'm getting used to it.

Weight I thought would be an issue but not finding this as it seems to be balanced nicely with the 5D body.

Construction is excellent and everything feels well put together.

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Duration Product Used:   6-10 years

Type of photography:   Outdoor

Overall Rating:4
Value Rating:5
Submitted by SmartWombat a Expert

Date Reviewed: December 15, 2006

Strengths:    Good IS.
Surprisingly lightweight.
Easy to handhold at 400mm with IS.


Weaknesses:    Push-pull design, external zoom changes length of lens.
Therefore not as water resistant as the 70-200 L IS 2.8.

Mode switches (IS, AF etc) are easily knocked when taking it out of a camera bag.
You need to get into the habit of checking them every time you use the lens.

Seems soft at 400mm/f5.6 but good at f/9.
Some vignetting evident wide open, improves at f/8.

Not usable with the 2x TC, no AF and manual focus is very sensitive, viewfinder is rather dark with the f/11 maximum aperture with the TC on.
Bear in mind I wear glasses and younger users may find manual focus acceptable.

Bottom Line:   
I've used this lens for a year and half now, and I'm happy with it.
I started out cheap, with a comparable Sigma, and upgraded after a week.
It's proved good for wildlife and motorsport, though limited by the f5.6 maximum aperture at 400mm.
Like most zoom lenses it's better stopped down from wide open, particularly on the 1D series bodies which show up the fall-off in the corners not so evident on the 20D with its 1.6 crop factor.

I'd recommend it for the 1.6 crop factor bodies (20D, 30D, XTi etc).

Purchase price was £1180

Expand full review >>

Duration Product Used:   21+ years

Price Paid:    $1180.00

Purchased At:   Jessops

Similar Products Used:   Sigma 80-400 DG EX IS (about £300 cheaper)
Sigma has twist zoom, not push pull, but still changes length of lens.
Sigma proved slower AF on 20D, and many flares at night from diaphragm blades on car headlights at le Mans 24h.
Sigma IS wandered all over the place when lens braced instead of hand held.
Nevertheless the Sigma was quite capable with stationary or slower moving subjects.

Type of photography:   Sports


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