EF 400mm f5.6L

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Name
Douglas
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Hi,

I have found one of these lenses, used, for around £800, and have almost determined to buy it as a direct replacement for my 'Bigma', which if I'm honest, I never use below 40omm, and mostly at around f8.

Does anybody have any real experience of this lens, it's pros and cons? It will be used almost exclusively for birding.

The other two 'possibles' in the frame are the 300f4L, and the 100-400L IS, though I'm fairly sure neither will match the image quality of the prime.

Finally is £800 a fair price to pay for a mint copy with a 6 month guarantee??

I can't buy private unless I first sell the 'bigma'.
 
Hi,

Thanks for that, but I really need a trade in facility at the moment.

Doug
 
Don't buy it... your shots will be far too sharp! ;)

Found this review Doug.

CLICKY
 
Sell the Sigma first Doug.

Don't buy nothing until you speak to Ian Kerr (kerso)

I know for a fact he will do much better than £800 for this lens.

It is without doubt the best bang for buck Canon lens by far.

Tack sharp images with quality second to none..;)

One of my examples here with this lens.

bird-table=3.JPG
 
It is by all accounts very sharp however I prefer the flexibility of the 300f4L IS and the 1.4x = 420mm f5.6 with IS! (not including the 1.6 crop factor of my 20D)
 
I've had the 400 for 18 months or more now and find it a very sharp lens with pretty fast AF. Its also relatively light for the focal length.

All the seal shots and most of the bird shots on my gallery are taken with the 400mm.

My only problems with it are those of any long lens without IS when the light starts to fade.

Ideally I would probably have a 300mm F2.8, a 600mm F4 plus a pair of TC's but thats a pretty significant investment.
 
Hi,

I have just purchased a new 400 5.6L for £740 and an EF extender II 1x1.4 for £205, which I think is an excellent price.

Does anybody have experience of this combo?? I have read that despite the drop of one stop, image quality does not substantially deteriorate ??

I'm also wondering if anyone has experience of using this lens plus a x2 (Kenko Pro DG) extender on a 1D MkIIN?? I have used the 50 - 500 with an X2 on the 1D, and it still AFs perfectly well, and I wonder if the 400 will also AF with an X2? I know for sure that it won't on my 20D:shake:

Thanks,

Doug
 
The 400mm F5.6 really needs IS, especially in this country.
 
The 400mm F5.6 really needs IS, especially in this country.

Surely that's just an excuse for poor handling skills - I've acheived some pretty good results with the bigma at 500mm, handheld and tripod mounted, and that's a lot bigger.

I often wonder how photographers used to manage in the days of film, with really heavy primes and film speeds no better than ISO 800!!

IS is an aid, nothing more.
 
Surely that's just an excuse for poor handling skills - I've acheived some pretty good results with the bigma at 500mm, handheld and tripod mounted, and that's a lot bigger.

I often wonder how photographers used to manage in the days of film, with really heavy primes and film speeds no better than ISO 800!!

IS is an aid, nothing more.

Sounds like you have a good tripod (and superglue on the bird feeder :D) so that you can get good shots in low light. 'IS doesnt help you greatly (if at all) with a tripod... usually best to turn it off.
 
Surely that's just an excuse for poor handling skills - I've acheived some pretty good results with the bigma at 500mm, handheld and tripod mounted, and that's a lot bigger.

I often wonder how photographers used to manage in the days of film, with really heavy primes and film speeds no better than ISO 800!!

IS is an aid, nothing more.
Just making use of the technology :)
Tripods have their place for landscapes and some other stuff but I prefer freedom of movement :)
 
LOL I use IS all the time, even on a tripod, which is actually recommended by Canon with the latest versions of IS.

Technique with a long lens is actually entirely different to what most of us will be used to. IS is probably the most important development in lens technology in living memory. ;)

I'd have argued black was white that THIS was totally wrong not so long ago, but it's absolutely right and coupled with IS is going to get you sharp shots at shutter speeds hitherto impossible.
 
Sorry guys, I've nothing at all against IS, in fact it's wonderful. What I can't do however, is condemn or dismiss a lens because it doesn't have IS.

I've used TLR and SLR cameras for over 30 years, and never found the need for IS, but now it exists, I'm pretty sure I'd liked to have had it available.

All I'm trying to say is that IS is a means to an end, not an end in it's self. I need my lenses to be tools not toys, and as long as they do the job, I'm happy.
 
Sorry guys, I've nothing at all against IS, in fact it's wonderful. What I can't do however, is condemn or dismiss a lens because it doesn't have IS.
Of course not. The 400mm f5.6L would be a great lens for you mate in my honest opinion and would give you good results, So would the 100-400L IS :D
 
add my 2p
I think that the 400mm 5.6 is an absolute corker of a Lens... really sharp and lightning fast autofocus
and must add it works great with a 1.4x converter, with very little speed loss to the autofocus (or image quality loss)
I really cannot recommend this highly enough for day light shooting enviroments
bearing in mind that in comparison to its similar sized lenses it beats all of them in my opinion (bar the F2.8 offerings)
the 300mmF4 has a much slower autofocus and the 400mm works better with the converter

and the 100-400mmIS canon zooms autofocus is light years behind both the above, and it does not work well with converters at all

sure it would be nice to have IS on the 400mm, but this year it has been my most used Lens and I love how light it is. compared to lugging around the big primes all day
a few examples
83465018-L.jpg


83454088-L.jpg


120793348-L.jpg


120793385-L.jpg
 
400MM CANON KERSO DIRECT PRICE £690 & 10 POSTAGE. IAN

add my 2p
I think that the 400mm 5.6 is an absolute corker of a Lens... really sharp and lightning fast autofocus
and must add it works great with a 1.4x converter, with very little speed loss to the autofocus (or image quality loss)
I really cannot recommend this highly enough for day light shooting enviroments
bearing in mind that in comparison to its similar sized lenses it beats all of them in my opinion (bar the F2.8 offerings)
the 300mmF4 has a much slower autofocus and the 400mm works better with the converter

and the 100-400mmIS canon zooms autofocus is light years behind both the above, and it does not work well with converters at all

sure it would be nice to have IS on the 400mm, but this year it has been my most used Lens and I love how light it is. compared to lugging around the big primes all day
a few examples
83465018-L.jpg


83454088-L.jpg


120793348-L.jpg


120793385-L.jpg
 
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