Canon 100-400mm IS. Any problems encountered with this lens?

Location : Bedfordshire Spotter Watch Member : No

Hi,

Thinking of getting the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS Lens but have recently read some reviews saying that photos are very soft at 400mm. Anyone else experience this? Could someone also post some photos here to show the image quality at 400mm.

Thanks,

Ben

Location : Bristol Spotter Watch Member : No

I think it varies with the lens...I've had no problems with mine whatsoever, and as long as your PP is up to scratch the pics at 400mm are perfectly useable...;)

A few examples...all at 400mm, and some cropped as well (on a 400D) :)

http://www.airliners.net/photo/UK---Air/Panavia-Tornado-GR4/1348430/M/

http://www.airliners.net/photo/UK---Air/Lockheed-C-130K-Hercules/1348429/M/

http://www.airliners.net/photo/UK---Air/British-Aerospace-Hawk/1350780/M/

.mic

Moderator Location : In a layby

As Mic has said 400mm is pretty usable. I used to have one but wasnt overally impressed, so sold it. I shot this handheld on Davem's 100-400mm at Fairford the other night

Canon 100-400mm IS. Any problems encountered with this lens? Tuenight22

Canon 100-400mm IS. Any problems encountered with this lens? Tuenight22

Cant remember if it was exactly 400mm but it certainly was at the longer end.

Photo of the Month Runner-Up Location : Hull; E yorkshire

This shot is taken at the maximum 400mm range at about 8PM in fading light and cropped slightly. I have had what I would say to be a 90% sucsess rate using the lens as such, higher when using in good light.

Hope that is of some help;

Kevin

Canon 100-400mm IS. Any problems encountered with this lens? 1993

Canon 100-400mm IS. Any problems encountered with this lens? 1993

Location : Mildenhall

The "IS" packs in.
But apart from that the lens is fine (and still usable without "IS")
I love my one, best money I ever spent.
Dave.

Location : Henlow, Beds

First off, I do not own this lens but I've used one several times and researched it a lot as it seemed like the perfect solution. In the case of optical quality they seem to vary by copy. If you get a good one, they are very good. The majority however seem to go a bit soft in the last 50mm. The two main problems I've heard of with them both related to the push/pull design. First the bearings go. This seems to be more of a issue with plane photographers than other groups. I suspect that this is because we use them more at 400mm then others and thats when the most weight is on the bearings. Second is bust in the lens. Its not weather sealed and the push/pull action seems to suck more in than the more normal twist zooms.
The other thing you should consider is the weight of this thing. You will know if you carry it around all day.

I would really discribe this as a "marmite" lens - you either love it or hate it. I would really recommend that you try it before you part with £1200+ of your hard earned cash. If you can't blag one off someone to try for a day, consider hiring it for a week - I can recomment these Lensforhire and the copy I had from them was a "good one"

I hope this helps

Location : swindon Spotter Watch Member : no

Hi, ive had my 100-400 since feb and so far have had no problems with it.
i think its a great lens, though it is quite heavy but you get used to it.
i tried a few lenses before i chose this one i.e. sigma 50-500 and found that the canon was a much better lens although quite a bit more expensive, its worth it! Thumbs Up

ive been using it regular now trying all sorts of subjects and would change it for anything!
HTH Jonathan Smile

I also use a 100-400L, and love it!

The push-pull zoom style takes a while to get used to, but its much more versatile than the twist zoom on much lens.

Some more example images: These were both taken within 15 seconds of each other, in the same light. I havnt edited them apart from cropping and levelling.

At 400mm:
Canon 100-400mm IS. Any problems encountered with this lens? UKARGal4

Canon 100-400mm IS. Any problems encountered with this lens? UKARGal4

At 100mm:

Canon 100-400mm IS. Any problems encountered with this lens? UKARGal3

Hope this is in some way helpful

Ben

Location : Geilenkirchen, Germany Spotter Watch Member : No

When I see those nice sample shots I seriously consider buying me such a lens as well. I use a 70-200 and 300/4.0 but of course this setup lacks the versatility of a 100-400. Maybe I should sell the EF 300 and get me a good second hand EF 100-400.

awacsfan,
just a word though... i've seen your pics on another forum and i really enjoy them, especially from your local airfield. Keep up the good work, your lenses work well at that location but then the 100-400 is a really nice lens, it's a shame i can't afford one but i have used one for the day

Location : N E Jockistan Spotter Watch Member : No

I've had my 100-400is since May 2001 when they cost a lot more than they do now. I've had my moneys worth out of it and have no plans on changing to anything else.

Location : Geilenkirchen, Germany Spotter Watch Member : No

Razor61 wrote:: awacsfan,
just a word though... i've seen your pics on another forum and i really enjoy them, especially from your local airfield. Keep up the good work, your lenses work well at that location but then the 100-400 is a really nice lens, it's a shame i can't afford one but i have used one for the day

Thanks for the encouraging words - your are right, here at my "home base", the 70-200 is basically all I need as even the EF 300mm is too much for the heavvies. What I'll probably do is go out and rent one for a day or two and see how it handles and what kind of results I can get before actually spending all the money on the lens.

Location : Near Heathrow

Dave934 wrote:: The "IS" packs in.
But apart from that the lens is fine (and still usable without "IS")
I love my one, best money I ever spent.
Dave.

I second this comment.

It can be repaired, about £250ish.

I think the 100-400 is a great lens for this hobby. The results can be pleasing and it has good reach. The "pros" will talk about shooting with primes, but that requires a different mind set and skills. Most hobbyist photographers still use the 100-400, me included! Laughing

Location : Shropshire Spotter Watch Member : no

I've had my 100-400mm for about 2 years now and haven't had any problems, the only thing I've noticed is it hunts a little bit in low light, but that can be said of other lenses as well. Overall it's a cracking lens.
I've recently bought a 300mm F4 with 1.4 tc and so far the results have been promising, but possibly not as versatile as 100-400.
Taken at RIAT last year at 400mm

Canon 100-400mm IS. Any problems encountered with this lens? _MG_0137wtmk

Canon 100-400mm IS. Any problems encountered with this lens? _MG_0137wtmk