Camera Price Buster User Reviews
Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens

Average Rating: Good
based on 7 reviews. Click here to add your own review.

Rating: Excellent
Product: Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens

Many people hate this lens. Think maybe it is not sharp. Well I do not think there is a more versatile, well built, sharp and contrasty zoom out there, with IS, that will get you to 400mm (and be portable). The 3rd party alternatives just do not work the same.

Unfortunatley there are bad copies of this lens about (I had one) but a good one is a keeper for good.

Versatile. A travellers wildlife lens. Have a look at my puffins at www.travellinglight.de if you dont believe me.

Neil

Rating: Good
Product: Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens

Good all round lence

Dean Eades

www.BirdMad.com

Rating: Good
Product: Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens

I was a little disappointed with it being a pump action zoom and its not worth using in dark conditions because of the f-stop being 4.5-5.6 . Otherwise very useful tool to have from time to time. It doesnt get as much use as the 70-200mm f2.8L IS USM does.

Rating: Good
Product: Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens

Good all round lens

www.BirdMad.com

Rating: OK
Product: Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens

I bought this lense as I wanted a longer lense for track side use. To be honest I am a bit disappointed.

I like the push / pull zoom. It does pump a fair amount of air around and I did notice an increase in the amount of dirt on the sensor when I started to use it.

Uses common 77mm filters. Weight is not bad.

Trouble is focus speed on fast moving targets, and the IS seems a bit slow to realise that you are panning. With a 1.4 teleconverter on a 1Dmk2n the focusing speed is very slow. For panned shots without the teleconverter it can cope with the IS turned on if you ensure you pan for a while before taking the shot (need to do so for far longer than with, say, the Sigma 120-300 with 1.4 converter).

For handheld shots on non moving targets the IS works well (although at first it is like being drunk, looking through the view finder and having a slight delay when you shift target). Image quality is fine. The switch for min focusing distance is useful.

Rating: Excellent
Product: Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens

This is a great lens for wildlife photography. It is very sharp, has great contrast and the image stabilizer is superb.

We took it to Africa and used it with a 20D, and the results were brilliant. The push pull zoom design is easy to get used to and very fast to operate - although the locking ring is a litle fiddly sometimes to realease with one hand.

We have had no problems with dust, contrary to some comments on other sites. It is reasonably heavy, but not unduly so - the weight was never a problem, and with the stabilizer it is easy to use handheld.

I highly recommend this lens - unless you are willing to pay £4000 or so for one of the big bulky primes, this is the lens to go for if you are serious about your wildlife photography.

Rating: Excellent
Product: Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens

My first L lens (I have purchased another since) and it really is a wonderful piece of equipment: sharp, fast focusing and much easier to handle than I had been led to believe. The IS, though an early implementation, really does make a difference at the longer end of the focal range. It is heavy but this is a small price to pay for the excellent shots that this lens is capable of producing. The push-pull zoom works well (no dust sucking as far as I can tell) and I personally think its the best way to get from one end of the available focal range to the other, in a hurry. If youre into wildlife or birds, or you just prefer to get as close to the detail as possible, you will love this lens.