First time with a 100-400

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Steve W

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Hi,

I'm hiring a 100-400 next week to use for a zoo visit + general wildlife shots whilst on holiday. Has anyone got any helpful tips / lessons learnt that I care to share with me for this lens?

Much appreciated

Steve
 
I got my 100-400 from MPB Photographic earlier this year.

Think it's quite an old model but still focuses quickly and the results are nice and sharp.

Not had any issues with the IS tbh..... If I'm using it for Cricket/Rugby I use a monopod and the shutterspeed is 1/1000 or greater.

I suppose it depends on what you're going to use it for but I certainly would let the way IS works put me off buying what is IMO a cracking and versatile lens.

Here are my first efforts with the lens http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=306518

Here are some Rugby shots http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=312539

And some cricket shots http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=328964

And randomly..... a Goodyear blimp :lol: http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=348561
 
Only tip is to enjoy it, I've had mine for 18 months and it is by far my most used lens..
 
I think that Canon would say that it is 2 stop IS on this lens, for me it does the job well enough. I reckon that this is the best zoo lens around, attached shot is taken at 1/160th (but not a full zoo) and seems sharp enough to me.

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lots more zoo shots over on my flickr, most (but not all) taken with my 100-400 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/37669825@N04/sets/72157627447629921/with/6104432416/
 
Cheers guys for the posts, I will have fun with 100-400 I'm sure. I borrowed a friends EF-S 55-250 last time I went and I found it did not have enough reach, hense why this time I'm going for the 100-400 :D
 
I don't think I'm especially wobbly just normal wobbly for my age but I find I get the best results from this lens at 1/400th or faster.
It's taken me a while to realise this and I'm now getting sharp bird shots.
 
Hi Steve, I bought a used one a short while ago and took it on holiday with me, the only advice I can give is enjoy it and do not worry about things you do not have to :thumbs: A few samples from it.

IMG_2880.jpg



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k5.jpg



G-2.jpg
 
Steve W said:
...I just seen on canon rumors that a new patent was filed last year for a 100-400 so there may be 100-400 MkII on the way at some point...
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I am sure that if/when a new 100-400mm comes out it will be a LOT more expensive than the current model. I'd reckon at least £1800 or more.
 
futureal33 said:
Not from me, but Id be interested to hear your opinion of the IS system. I've heard its old and only offers 1 stop IS, where modern IS systems are offering upto 4 stops. Tbh its the only thing stopping me buying one :(
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I find the IS system gives me a solid two stops.

1/800 sec is the slowest I can reliably handhold without support at 400mm and get a good rate of sharp shots with IS turned off.
With IS on, I can get about the same rate of sharp shots between 1/160 and 1/250 sec. Nearly all my subjects require this sort of speed as an absolute minimum anyway, so I never find the IS system limiting.
 
Yes, the IS is old and a claimed two stops only. Which sounds much less than four, but in reality it's the first stop and the second that make the biggest difference.

Say, with a given shutter speed, camera translates to 16mm of movement on the subject. A reduction of one stop = 8mm, two stops = 4mm, three stops = 2mm, four stops = 1mm.

So the benefit of two stops IS is a 75% reduction in shake and four stops only raises that by roughly another 20% to about 94%. In theory :D

Rumours of a replacement 100-400L have been around for years. In the meantime, we've had the 70-200L Mk2 which is almost on a par with a 2x extender. My guess is that Canon regards that as the replacement option (though I'd love to be wrong). Then there's the 70-300L, and 200-400L + 1.4x in the pipeline.

Edit: nice pics Rich :thumbs:
 
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Those photos are great, I hope I can get similar results. I have a 450d so am hoping to keep ISO down as when it gets higher noise starts to creep in.

Thanks for info on the shutter speeds, will give those a try and see how "steady" I am :|
 
had mine a couple of months and am really happy with it, dont understand the stop thing, all i know is it takes a great photo, have a look at some in my sig, all the zoo, woodpecker, amd moon shots came from mine
 
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Flying giraffe said:
had mine a couple of months and am really happy with it, dont understand the stop thing, all i know is it takes a great photo, have a look at some in my sig, all the zoo, woodpecker, amd moon shots came from mine
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The IS on some cameras allows you to hand-hold at shutter speeds where you would normally get blurred shots, for instance the general rule of thumb is that you need to use a shutter speed that's equal to the focal length you're using to limit motion blur i.e 400mm min shutter speed 1/400 but then some say you should take crop factor in so on a canon crop that'd be 400x1.6 which would be 1/640.

If IS offers "4 stops" then potentially you could hand hold down to around 1/100 (OK my maths is probably a little out but you get the idea ;) )

Provided you're shooting in reasonably good light then it's not likely to be too much of an issue anyway.
 
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