Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM 35mm Zoom
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM 35mm Zoom
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[Mar 16, 2002]
roger o
Professional
Strength:
Build IS AF
Weakness:
It is comparatively slow It is quite expensive, but you do get value for money I''ve only had this lens for a couple of weeks, but it has already proved its worth, bagging me a range of saleable shots. I am impressed. It is tough (I banged it off the side of a crane in a container port with no adverse effects) and the AF and IS systems are remarkable. I have never owned a prime telephoto lens, so I can''t judge the optics against a fixed focal length, but 35mm trannies look razor sharp under a 10x lupe. I you need flexibility and do not need to shoot a super fast shutter speeds, this is a lens worth considering. Customer Service Never used Similar Products Used: None |
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[Feb 20, 2002]
Ken Menzinger
Expert
Strength:
IS Quality of lens groupings. Quality of lens..period.
Weakness:
Weight, but necessary for amount of glass in these quality lenses. Being familiar with Canons'' Image Stabilizer lenses (I''ve owned the 28-135 and the 75-300),it was not a difficult decision to purchase the 100-400. This is the lens you will probably see on my EOS3 at any given time. It''s quite versatile, albeit a tad on the slow side. I do find it''s weight around my neck to be somewhat of a pain. I''ve tried various aftermarket camera straps to no avail. I finally settled on a Gitzo carbon fiber monopod. It''s more portable than a tripod but not at all cumbersome. Coupled with IS, it''s a power duo. Customer Service My lens was flawless until this summer. I used to go out every evening to capture wildlife and sunsets at my local park. This summer, I decided to renovate my kitchen, so I shelved the lens for about Similar Products Used: Canon 75-300 IS and 28-135 IS. |
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[Dec 30, 2001]
adamgoi
Casual
Strength:
A lens capable of producing sharp images Came with hood :) IS rulez!
Weakness:
Price? Push-Pull Wished it''''s a f/2.8 Another fantastic lens! With IS, I can cheat on my tripod! Now I don''''t need to bring the legs when I go photoshoots @ the zoo and birdpark! However, if I have to ''''ambush'''' and wait for exotic creatures to turn up or I wanna shoot any specials, I''''ll still need to crawl back to my tripod...it''''s a heavy lens! Customer Service I haven''''t tried it yet; hope that I''''ll never need to try it :) Similar Products Used: None |
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[Oct 18, 2001]
Raymond Kwok
Intermediate
Strength:
"white" color body (most important). Tripod coller and lens hood incluede. I.S. fantastic.
Weakness:
Big and heavy (but you want this at this price). Push pull zoom. High price (for me). I like it a lot! I.S. function miracle! I can hand held 1/30 @ 400mm! And also can hand held 1/40 when add on a Kenko SHQ 1.5x (means 600mm)! USM AF speed fast (just a little slower than 300/2.8).The ''''white'''' color body strong like a tank. Pics can very sharp even @ 400mm/5.6 full open. If the lens hood is a flower shape I will be more happy. Zoom ring is very good controlled. I like it a lot. And I hate tripod. Also I am very happy since I am a Canon user. Customer Service No need to try (never want to try). Similar Products Used: Sigma 70-300 APO Tamron 200-400mm. Tokina 80-200/2.8 ATX Pro (still own). |
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[Oct 01, 2001]
Griffin Cheng
Intermediate
Strength:
Sharp, fast, durable and the combination of IS with long zoom length makes it the ideal "bird shooter" and certain macro applications
Weakness:
Push-pull zoom mechanism is my major concern. This makes this lens exteremely vunerable to dust and moisture. Wish it could have the same zoom mech as EF70-200mm and have f/2.8. Minor gripe is the weight I shoot mainly outdoors for birds and insects. I happen to find this lens in the Used department and buy it immedately. Apart from the weight, it fulfills my dream of shooting birds, flowers and insects in outdoor environment. The images produced is sharp as blade and very comparable to EF70-200. Some may regard this lens is slow (f/4.5-5.6) but using with low noise-high speed systems like EOS D30 this lens is almost unbeatable. I would highly recommend this lens. Customer Service May need to clean the lens with dust entering in. Similar Products Used: None |
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[Aug 17, 2000]
Irakly Shanidze
Expert
Strength:
Image stabilizer is exactly what the doctor ordered for a 400mm lens. Excellent glass - sharp, contrasty, yet pleasantly warm in color rendition. Very durable construction. Cleverly designed - tripod mount does not interfere with hand holding. Ivory color prevent the lens from overheating - anyone who spent four hours under the Sun shooting birds knows what I am talking about. The same people would also appreciate very fast and absolutely quiet focusing.
Weakness:
Flimsy plastic hood and push-pull zoom is all I can think of. May be it's just a matter of preference, but I would prefer a ring. This lens is amazing! It lets you get away with almost anything, even 1/125 sec at 400mm without a tripod. I did not think that I would use it so often, but its very usable zoom range and outstanding optics coupled with IS made me reconsider. It's worth every single penny of its price. Customer Service Did not need with this lens, but with other Canon problems wasn't bad, just long. Similar Products Used: Tamron 200-400mm f/5.6 LD |
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[Aug 17, 2000]
D. Robert Franz
Professional
Strength:
Lens is extremely sharp, very good contrast. Excellent light falloff charecteristics for a zoom. Great range for wildlife. Compact and lightweight, easy to carry in the field.
Weakness:
none I find myself using this lens much more than I had anticipated. Just last week at the PGA tour stop in Colorado "The International" I used this lens extensively in place of the 70-200 that I usually carried on my shoulder. The extra focal length really helped. IS is a dream, improves sharpness even to 1/1000. Customer Service Canon CPS repairs have always been great. But lens has never needed any. Similar Products Used: All Canon |
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[Jul 24, 2000]
Jim Greenfield
Casual
Strength:
The lens is amazing. I had a 2x teleconverter attached and was handholding the camera with some wind blowing and I still got some very clean shots. Not perfect, but nothing like a regular lens. You would never think that you could handhold 800mm and 200 iso film and get a respectable image. The lens feels very well built too. The focusing is almost silent. I am thrilled I got it after agonizing over the cost.
Weakness:
The lens is heavy. It wasn't so bad if I carried it cradled in my arm. Don't think about hanging it off your neck. I don't understand the weird putty color either. It matches nothing. It looks like it is an offbrand. (trivial but something I have some concern about). The zoom tighening ring is very close to the focusing ring so I was turning it when trying to focus. awesome product if you can afford it and have the desire to carry it around. i don't like tripods and this lens makes it possible to leave it at home. Customer Service not needed Similar Products Used: canon 75-300 USM |
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[Apr 06, 2000]
Warren Jacobi
Intermediate
Model Reviewed:
EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
Strength:
Incredibly sharp. Image stabilization allows much slower shutter speeds and closing down to f8 where this lens really is as sharp as top line non zoom lens. Lense is built like a tank
Weakness:
Focusing speed isn't as fast as some Canon f2.8 lenses, but it focuses much faster than most Nikon equipment. Some may say its heavy. They probably haven't tried lugging a 600 f4 or 300 2.8 around. Given the range of focal lengths covered the weight is modest and considering the other lenses you can leave out of your equipment bag the weight savings are tremendous. For wildlife and sports photography it is great. I've been selling off my Nikon equipment since I bought this gem. Customer Service Not required Similar Products Used: Sigma 170 - 500, Nikkor 80-200, Nikkor 300 f2.8 AF-I, Canon 300 f2.8 USM |
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[Apr 03, 2000]
David Weston
Intermediate
Model Reviewed:
EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
Strength:
Zoom range, can be handheld, versatile
Weakness:
A little heavy and a little expensive. Could be better is it were 2.8 throughout the zoom range. Sharp pictures with this lens, very versatile with the 100-400 zoom range. Friction control of the zoom is an excellent addition and allows locking at a specific range. Great all around lens for sports, wildlife, bird photography. If you take pictures of a variety of subjects this lens is for you. A little heavy to carry as a protrait only lens. Monopod definately helps. Customer Service Not needed so far Similar Products Used: Canon 100-300 |