Canon EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS II....at last, it's announced!!

RedRobin said:
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Should I test with or without my 1.4x III Extender? Doing so would introduce the worst scenario in terms of long focal length possibly degrading image quality. I have already noticed from the very beginning that in poor light at 400mm + 1.4x the image can look 'mushy' but I had just put that down to pushing the performance envelope too much.
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I don't feel that the converter will have any effect on the basic theory other than the fact that converters usually highlight any imperfections in the optical path, Robin.

Bob
 
Canon Bob said:
I don't feel that the converter will have any effect on the basic theory other than the fact that converters usually highlight any imperfections in the optical path, Robin.
Bob
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....Then isn't a converter a potential imperfection in the optical path, Bob? And it certainly increases the focal length. Sorry if I'm not understanding your post correctly.
 
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RedRobin said:
....Then isn't a converter a potential imperfection in the optical path, Bob? And it certainly increases the focal length. Sorry if I'm not understanding your post correctly.
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Certainly the converter will induce its own degradation that will be irrespective of whether the lens is filtered or not.
I neglected to explain the reasons for each facet of filter degradation as it is a lens thread and didn't want to unduly clutter it.
Specifically the focal length issue with filters.....
When the lens' aperture is viewed through the object lens of a telephoto then that aperture will usually fill the filter diameter and hence all the filter area is utilised. When viewing the aperture of a wide angle lens then one sees a much smaller area of utilisation.

Bob
 
Just to update post #397, mine came yesterday and I've had much fun testing it out. I tried it out first on my 7D MkII and I was rather blown away with it. The AF speed is so damn fast and the IS is excellent, although the mode 3 IS will take a bit of getting used to. On top of that the IQ is just fantastic. I've compared some of the best shots of the MkI against some of the shots I've taken with the MkII and while both were very good the MkII definitely takes the crown for sharpness.

I have also tried it on a 70D, my old one that I passed on to the wife when I got the 7D MkII, and can also confirm what RedRobin said about the AF ability and general usage. The lens works perfectly well with the 70D as expected and I'm now worried the wife will try to grab the MkII instead of the MkI when we go out.

As for carrying the camera and lens I use a Q-Strap with the screw in connector directly into the lens foot. It balances very well to carry and is very quick to get from your side to your eye to shoot. I've got two Q-Straps and never had any problems with carrying anything with them.
 
GeeJay57 said:
...which they don't it seems. Looks like I was mistaken.
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I seem to recall Canon recommending the use of a filter to enhance the weather sealing on the 100-400 MkI but the MkII has enhanced weather sealing and doesn't need any filter. According to the Canon website you can 'Shoot confidently in tough weather conditions' without saying you need a filter.
 
modchild said:
I seem to recall Canon recommending the use of a filter to enhance the weather sealing on the 100-400 MkI
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Definitely not. There would be little point in weather-proofing the front bit when water could easily get in where the lens barrel moved in and out.
 
I have lost my hood (Canon ET-83D) while travelling & a replacement is anything from about £48 to £55.
Do any of you guys know if there is a compatible alternative . . . for example would a Canon ET-83C fit? I do not need the sliding access door.
 
Pmba said:
At this price, I'm tempted... http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/Canon/Canon-EF-lenses/Canon-EF-100-400mm-f4.5-5.6L-IS-II-USM-Lens
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....Have never heard of Digital Depot. If you want to save money by buying 'Grey' make sure you read any small print such as you being responsible for any tax and check what kind of warranty is included. I bought mine from HDEW who have premises in the UK - Cost me £1,699 total with 3 year warranty plus vat receipt. There's a TP thread about HDEW.
 
Going to pick mine up from HDEW in a few minutes, the price is now £1629 from them. I think they only do a 1 year warranty on the lens now.

Still umming and arring on the filter, think I may just get the Hoya HD UV from HDEW at £38 ( £69 from Wex) for now as been reading around and jury is still out on the use of UV/Protector filters.
 
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We have all been singing this lens's praises but is there anything you don't like about it?

Something I accept but I find that at close distance from subject range of say 4ft - 6ft and zoom'd at 400mm, it's not that sharp. Not as sharp as my Canon 300mm L F/4 IS was (now sold) at 6ft and certainly nothing near to the sharpness of my Canon 100mm L F/2.8 IS Macro at that distance. Zooming back to 300mm and less tends to help though. I ought to make some comparisons at 100mm zoom but in the field I will just swop lens to my Macro if around 100mm lens distance.

So, it's not really something I don't like but more of a limitation which I accept which comes with the territory of a 100-400mm zoom lens.
 
Steve W said:
Going to pick mine up from HDEW in a few minutes, the price is now £1629 from them. I think they only do a 1 year warranty on the lens now.

Still umming and arring on the filter, think I may just get the Hoya HD UV from HDEW at £38 ( £69 from Wex) for now as been reading around and jury is still out on the use of UV/Protector filters.
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....Yep, the longer you wait the more likely you can get price drops but no regrets about buying mine for £1,699 a couple of months ago. I think you may find that the 1 year warranty is with Canon and that there are 2 more years covering free repair with a fully Canon-approved repair centre in the UK - That's what mine is.

I haven't had the opportunity (dull light again today) to do my filter test but either way, I reckon that the jury will always be out on this subject!

My advice would be to buy the filter for £38 (great deal) and if you decide not to have it on semi-permanently, you have it available to mount when you are shooting near or on the sea or other more extreme conditions such as car rallies. I have taken mine off for the time being and have read Canon stating that it has the latest fluorine coating making it easier for dust resistance and cleaning. Subject to my test I have possibly changed my mind about filters.
 
Got the lens for £1569 in the end as I also bought a 7dMk2 from them and have ordered the Hoya HD filter as well (got £10 off that as well) so over all very pleased. Just got home so time to have a play with the new camera and lens :D

The lens only has 1 year warranty, the camera however comes with 3 years.
 
Pmba said:
At this price, I'm tempted... http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/Canon/Canon-EF-lenses/Canon-EF-100-400mm-f4.5-5.6L-IS-II-USM-Lens
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RedRobin said:
....Have never heard of Digital Depot. If you want to save money by buying 'Grey' make sure you read any small print such as you being responsible for any tax and check what kind of warranty is included. I bought mine from HDEW who have premises in the UK - Cost me £1,699 total with 3 year warranty plus vat receipt. There's a TP thread about HDEW.
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I bought mine from DD and used the same discount code approximately 2 weeks plus I traded my MkI version for the best figure i was offered that beat the likes of LCE. I did ask them in email comms about sourcing and was told they either buy direct from Canon or a UK top level distributor. Plus mine came with a Canon EWS warranty leaflet I.e the European area warranty. So not grey AFAIK plus they have retail shop.

Not sure what might have changed since I last bought a lens but there was no warranty card for filling in and posting back plus the box was not sealed...is that par for the course these days?
 
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In reply to Red Robin about difference and behaviour, I wondered why mine was hunting when shooting through the double glazing.......and think so far that the AF was detecting room contents reflected in the glass but could not af lock onto it/them and stopped doing so by shifting the focus limiter to 3M upwards

The other thing I noticed was that in the main with the old MkI and indeed other lens was to ettr I dial in a +1/3 ec but with this new mkII to get the same ettr shift I dial in a +2/3 ec. IMO nothing to be concerned about but just different! I have found with Canon since my 350D the exposure metering need such +ec.
 
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Box Brownie said:
In reply to Red Robin about difference and behaviour, I wondered why mine was hunting when shooting through the double glazing.......and think so far that the AF was detecting room contents reflected in the glass but could not af lock onto it/them and stopped doing so by shifting the focus limiter to 3M upwards

The other thing I noticed was that in the main with the old MkI and indeed other lens was to ettr I dial in a +1/3 ec but with this new mkII to get the same ettr shift I dial in a +2/3 ec. IMO nothing to be concerned about but just different! I have found with Canon since my 350D the exposure metering need such +ec.
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....Autofocus systems invariably rely on reading a point of contrast to lock onto. Glass will tend to diffuse such contrast or, as you say, hunt the reflections. The 3m focus limiter is very useful in reducing the depth of field in which AF hunts - As long as you remember to switch to FULL AF when subjects are closer!

Since I changed from using Spot metering to Evaluative I find that exposures are much better balanced and I don't need to set any exposure compensation as often, but that has more to do with the body than the lens.
 
RedRobin said:
....Autofocus systems invariably rely on reading a point of contrast to lock onto. Glass will tend to diffuse such contrast or, as you say, hunt the reflections. The 3m focus limiter is very useful in reducing the depth of field in which AF hunts - As long as you remember to switch to FULL AF when subjects are closer!

Since I changed from using Spot metering to Evaluative I find that exposures are much better balanced and I don't need to set any exposure compensation as often, but that has more to do with the body than the lens.
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Yes, EC more body related but it was noticeable with the MKII hence the posting ;) FWIW I mostly use centre weighted average metering.
 
7D MkII needs the exposure to be pretty good to minimise noise Steve. Don't know what you use to process your RAW files but LR luminance does a decent job and of course there is other NR software available.

One adjustment that I find is very useful especially on wildlife images is to mask the sharpening that you apply so that you don't sharpen noise in the background only on the subject.

I also find that the 7D MkII RAW files need a bit more sharpening than the ones from my 1DX to get the best out of them.
 
I thought I would share a couple of very recent images I shot which illustrate how well I think the 100-400mm L II performs when shooting at each 'end' of its reach - At long distance and also close-up at Minimum Focus Distance. Handheld under cloudy sky but not poor light.

Both images are with my Canon 1.4x III and on 7D Mark II, shot RAW. Click the images for more info on Flickr. The lens is used without any filter (and no, I haven't got around to doing any filter on/off tests yet).



 
That Green-veined White shot is a stunner Robin.

I'm finding that the magnification at closest focussing isn't as great as I expected - I suspect there is quite a bit of focus breathing. I really need to use an extension tube to get decent damselfly shots.
 
Brachytron said:
That Green-veined White shot is a stunner Robin.

I'm finding that the magnification at closest focussing isn't as great as I expected - I suspect there is quite a bit of focus breathing. I really need to use an extension tube to get decent damselfly shots.
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....I have found that you have to take care to make sure you are at least 4ft away from the subject. The Canon 1.4x III Extender is what is offering me more magnification - That Butterfly shot original is only slightly cropped to help composition. The Wren image is a large crop.

I recently bought a set of Polaroid extension tubes but for use on my 100mm Macro lens.
 
Has anyone on here used this lens for fast moving subjects such as motorcycles, cars, dog racing. A friend of mine has just bought one and tried it out on dog racing and he has told me it was a disaster and just could'nt track the dogs.

He normally uses a Canon 200 f2.8 and as soon as he went back to that all was good again.

Must admit i was surprised when he told me that he thought the AF on the lens was slow. I've compared it to my 70-200 f2.8 MkII and thought that it was very close in AF speed to that.

He was using it on a 1D MkIV.

If anyone has used the lens for the above I would appreciate your thoughts. I'm at work so can't meet up and let him try my copy of the lens or let him try his lens on my 7D MkII or 1DX til later this month.

Thanks in advance.

Love the butterfly image Robin. Very nice indeed.
 
I bought one of these specifically for motorsport when they were released as I have damaged the tendon in my left hand and could no longer hand hold my 120-300, and I can't use a monopod to save my life. It has become my most used lens whether on a 7DII or 1DX as I find it to be excellent for just about everything, panning and head-on shots. I've used it with all sorts of cars from little Suzuki Swifts to F1 engine single seaters and haven't found a problem with the AF at all, and mode 3 stabilisation is awesome.





I've even used it with a 1.4x MKI TC and got good results.



 
Toggerman said:
It has become my most used lens whether on a 7DII or 1DX as I find it to be excellent for just about everything, panning and head-on shots. I've used it with all sorts of cars from little Suzuki Swifts to F1 engine single seaters and haven't found a problem with the AF at all, and mode 3 stabilisation is awesome.

I've even used it with a 1.4x MKI TC and got good results.
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....I totally agree about this lens getting such unexpectedly good IQ results with a 1.4x but I do find that AF is noticeably slower when fitted (I use a 1.4x mkIII) - Do you find AF slower?

Please tell us more about IS Mode 3 - I know that IS is only applied when the shutter is released (I use Back-Button-Focus). I leave mine set on Mode 2 and when I have tried Mode 3 it becomes tricky to compose and accurately focus in the viewfinder due to movement (lack of visible stabilisation). So I am not sure why Mode 3 is an advantage.

With this lens, IS need not be switched off when tripod or monopod mounted.
 
AF is slower with the TC but still pretty quick, it feels around the same speed as my 120-300 but I haven't done any side by side testing.

Mode 3 is useful for sports such as football where movement is erratic and even in mode 2 you can end up with the stabilisation causing the viewfinder to jump about a bit. With the other IS modes as well there can be a slight delay with focussing whilst the image settles, doesn't happen with mode 3, the lens is as fast and snappy as when IS is off yet still has the benefit of a stabilised final image.
 
Thanks, Scott @Toggerman - I shall have another go with Mode 3 and see how it suits my photography or not.
 
How is the lens standing up to dust? I live on Crete and dust is a big problem here, it would be good to know this before I decide to buy one.
 
I was upgrading the firmware in my 7D Mark II and noticed that there is a firmware update option for this lens via the camera (though no firmware available for download from Canon's website). Nice to know this option exists for the future.

My lens had firmware v1.0.6 - anyone with earlier/later versions?
 
This has been the case with most of the latest lenses but the only one I know of that had an update was the 300mm f2.8 mk 2 and although it looks like you could do it with a download and the same way as a body update in fact it had to be returned to Canon for the update.
George
 
formula400 said:
whats going to be the best IS mode to use on my 5dm3 for bikes???
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I would say Mode 3 especially if you're going to be switching between bikes in a pack or if you're trying to get a head-on shot quickly followed by a panning shot. If you're just going to be doing panning then mode 2 is also good.
 
JohnM100 said:
I was upgrading the firmware in my 7D Mark II and noticed that there is a firmware update option for this lens via the camera (though no firmware available for download from Canon's website). Nice to know this option exists for the future.

My lens had firmware v1.0.6 - anyone with earlier/later versions?
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....How do you know which version firmware a lens has, please?
 
As I said, Robin, it's really immaterial, but if you want to see, just stick the lens on the camera, go to "firmware update" (same place as you do the camera firmware) and you'll see both the camera and lens firmware version (if available).

Just like that!! (with apologies to Tommy Cooper!!!)

George.
 
George said:
As I said, Robin, it's really immaterial, but if you want to see, just stick the lens on the camera, go to "firmware update" (same place as you do the camera firmware) and you'll see both the camera and lens firmware version (if available).

Just like that!! (with apologies to Tommy Cooper!!!)

George.
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....Thanks, George. It was just something i was curious about. My lens is Firmware 1.0.6, apparently the latest and as supplied by HDEW 'Grey' import.
 
RedRobin said:
....Thanks, George. It was just something i was curious about. My lens is Firmware 1.0.6, apparently the latest and as supplied by HDEW 'Grey' import.
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....and as far as I know, the only firmware ever released.
 
Very pleased with this lens. Here's a few from the weekend including another spectator..






 
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