I hired the Canon 100-400 f4.5 - 5.5 L for the BTCC Final - What do you think?

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Hi all - Im trying to decide whether to buy the Canon 100-400 f4.5 - 5.5 L or to go for something else/similar like the 70-300.

It will be paired with my 550d.

My uses will be:

Motorsport (BSB, BTCC, MotoGP, WSB, DTM) at Brands, Thruxton and Silverstone
Wildlife - Big cats and birds

Ive been very tempted by this lens but before shelling out a grand or so for it i decided to hire it.

My first impression were that it was good, but perhaps a little soft? This might be due to the fact that i had to shoot at 7.1 or below because it was a really really dull day.

I have a few questions that I would really appreciate some thoughts on:

- The date code is UW091. Which i think is 2008? Is this significant to its performance?

- I found the lens good at focusing, but im used to photgraphy bikes, so does anyone know how this lens performs on a crop camera for superbikes? (faster and smaller!!)

- Any comments on the pictures?

Any constructive critisism of advice is really appreciated.


Rob Collard #8 - Ebay Motors - BMW320 by bdigital101, on Flickr


James Colburn #2 - Slamming on the anchors by bdigital101, on Flickr


Gorden Sheddon #52 - Honda Yuasa Racing Team - Honda Civic by bdigital101, on Flickr


Andrew Jordan #77 - Pirtek Racing - Honda Civic by bdigital101, on Flickr


Gorden Sheddon #52 - Honda Dynamics - Honda Civic by bdigital101, on Flickr
 
It's not raining :D

How did you get on with the lens. Did it feel right for size on the 550D and did you get on wi the push pull?

Personally I think it's a great lens(so good I have two). It's really versatile and has great reach especially on a crop camera.
 
Are they low res pictures, they're really blocky full screen on my iPad so I can't comment on the quality
 
Byker28i said:
It's not raining :D

How did you get on with the lens. Did it feel right for size on the 550D and did you get on wi the push pull?

Personally I think it's a great lens(so good I have two). It's really versatile and has great reach especially on a crop camera.
Click to expand...

Overall, I got on well.

Pros

- I enjoyed the push pull, really quick and easy to zoom in a hurry.
- Great having the additional length (coming from a basic Tamron 70-300mm non IS)
- Was able to shoot from the longer range places that i cant usually (medical centre, outside of Druids and exit of Sterling)

- My percentage of decent shots was higher than usual (but was this due to me shooting cars instead of bikes?)

Cons

- I wasnt amazed! I was expecting wow for a circa £1000 lens but i guess its just a good all rounder.

- Its old, soo im led to believe some of my other choices have better AF?

- It was too close for some places!! I had to stand back at a couple of my usual spots and sometimes that was still too close!

My main issue is that using it this weekend didnt really tell me what i need to know...... How well does it perform with the superbikes. Cars were easy to track and lock on and my hit rate of sharp images was quite high. But would this still be the same when shooting bikes? ?!
 
Personally I love mine which I've had for two years shooting a mix of birds of prey, zoo's and drifting with the odd track day thrown in, it literally lives on my camera.

I started with it on a 500D before upgrading to the 7D and can't fault it.
 
I shoot birds in flight with mine... not as fast as a bike but less predictable and much smaller..

I like mine, always have since I got it. I find the AF performance decent, not as fast as my 70-200 F2.8 MKII but still more than usable.....

It should be fine with bikes...

Look at the flickr group to see what people do with it...

group

Good luck
 
Thanks for the replies - Much appreciated.

There are certainly some amazing shots in that group, but of course they are shot in a range of conditions on a range of bodies.

One of the limitations i found was that on such a dull day, I couldnt shoot up at f8 (where ive read the lens gets its sharpest results). The majority of the time i had to settle for wide open or 7.1 if i was lucky.

On my 550D, ISO 800 is pretty much the limit before grain takes over and becomes too noticable.

I am tempted by the 70-300mm L because its newer and has better IS (and ive read that its faster AF) - But my concern is that when shooting superbikes the extra reach of the 100 - 400mm will be important.

Im torn!
 
These were taken with the 100-400 on a 40D. Both were taken at f/8.

186.jpg


ValentinoSM.jpg
 
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