Canon 400mm 2.8 IS II

Messages
8
Name
Nigel
Edit My Images
Yes
I have always shot as most of you do without stabilisation. Having just traded in my mark i for a mark ii I am wondering whether to give this a try for football (soccer).

I tried it at a game the other evening but in fairness I couldn't really tell if it was slower to hunt on AF as it was an evening game at a fairly poorly lit ground....and I lost bottle after a few tries and went back to no IS.

Be interested to hear anyone's thoughts.
 
I would imagine the high shutter speeds used for sports would negate the IS advantage?
 
I would imagine the high shutter speeds used for sports would negate the IS advantage?

Thats true, it also slowed the AF on the other lenses but in the manual, Mode 3 says it stabilises purely on exposure. I guess I wondered it if helped in any way.
 
Nikon have a "sport" VR on their new VR but, tbh, I don't find it at very useful for fast moving subjects in lower light ie evening games etct!
just a rather strange mix of sharpness & blur?
 
I only ever use VR on slow panning shots when you're down at 1/10th or so, or sometimes in very very bright hot weather, say at cricket, or when you have the dreaded heat haze rising from the floor.

All other times it's useless.
 
With your shutter speed being so high (1\800th or higher) IS will be pointless. I try to shoot at 1\1250 and never use stabilisation.
 
In my experience the optics on all of Canon's supertelephotos are always fab and produce top quality images. The advantages of the Mark2 version of the 400 f2.8 are all about it being much lighter, marginally better AF and some better coatings on the glass. The same thing applies with newer versions of the 300 and 500 lenses. Loads of top flight sports togs are still using the Mark 1 versions btw.

On second hand 400 f2.8s the difference in price will be maybe £2k. Canon will still fix Mark 2 lenses but it's getting harder each year to get the older versions of all of their supertelephoto lenses. For me, the weight and fixability issues made the Mark 2 400 worth the extra money.

There is a Mark 3 just coming out and at some point the Mark 2 will get harder to repair too but, as matters stand, I think the Mark 2 is worth the extra Dosh if you can afford it.
 
I've got a mark ii and had a mark i - only changed it because Canon stopped supporting the mark i - it was excellent but weighed a ton - the mark ii is a fair bit lighter. Glass on both is really good.

On my mark ii I've shot with and without IS enabled - doesn't seem to make any difference to speed of focus.

On the subject of second hand price I paid £2300 for my mark i off here while MPB have my mates mark ii on sale for £7200 or so.

Mind you I got to hold a mark iii a couple of weeks ago - night and day lighter and shooting into the sun is incredible on it - don't know what they've done with lens coatings but it's fantastic even compared to a mark ii.
 
Last edited:
I have the mk1 300 and the mk1 400 .. Given what I ahve read about the mkII of both lens I wouldn't upgrade.. for me it's only about the picture quality and that really hasn't improved by 5 thousand quid.... had my 400 (owned from new) recently taken apart and rebuilt from the ground up with new parts here there and everywhere.. its stunning now.. I hadn't realised it had deteriorated over the last 6-7 years.... Like new now and worth the £850 to have it done..
 
Yes, if you can find the right person to look after your older lenses - the Lens Doctor outside Glasgow can do wonderful things, as I know from my personal experience - and don't mind the weight then the older lenses can still be a good investment.
 
Back
Top