Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens

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Ive only had this lens for 2 months, but Ive put it through its paces. Probably 1000 shots +. Everything from insects to flowers to birds and landscapes. I use it on a Canon 7D mark II and it is my "walk around lens". Out of the box my copy had a back focus issue at 100mm, but a quick micro adjustment solved that (-10). I shoot hand held, so it was really hard to get used to that extra 100mm moving from my EF 70-300L f/4-5.6 IS USM. I was kind if disappointed how little that extra 100mm gave me. Not sure exactly what I expected, but it was more than what I got, LOL. I have to be really careful to control camera shake withe the 100-400 because as we all know, the longer your focal length the more exaggerated shake is. Now, the IS in this lens is bona fide 4 stops. Ive taken shots with a single room light bulb, hand held, at 1/10 second and they were as sharp as could be expected. Where I have problems is shooting in cluttered areas like tree leaves. The camera wants to hunt a bit more than I would like. The EF 70-300L locked on in these situations without any problem what so ever. I use the 1st AF spot in the 7D2, the square within the square, so I can literally pin point a focus spot through the leaves and branches. I realize the auto focus is largely done in camera, and the 7D2 is amazing, but there is something with this lens that makes it hunt in these few situations. I do set the lens AF to 3m to infinity, and that helps, but doesnt eliminate the problem. 90% of the time, it locks on instantly, even in clutter. I suspect low light to be the culperate. It just causes me to take as many shots as I can until the subject leaves. Sometimes Ill get 100% others Ill get 60% (Im used to 90%) with the 7D2 and the EF 70-300L. Im not a fool, so I know camera shake plays a part. Another problem Im adjusting to, but its a good problem, is finding my target when zoomed to 400mm. Now, here is what I dont get. All the reviews that say the twist in the zoom ring is to long. I have small hands and fingers, and I just dont get that. I can go from 100mm to 400mm in a flash, in one twist and its not the least bit aqward. Im not sure if these people have ever used this lens or their technique is wrong.. I just dont get it EDIT: Note, this lens will focus to 3 feet, even at 400mm. You have to be aware of your DOF or you will think you are having focusing problems. Check out a youtube video by a guy who tested this lens in the Galapagos Islands. Close focusing is actually what sold me on this lens. I realize that images uploaded are not really a good representation of the lens, but you might get something out of these shots: 1) Hummingbird at 30 feet; Roseate Spoonbills at 200 feet; Lizard at 6 feet (400mm); Gull at 100 feet; Skipper at 4 feet (400mm); Flower and Bee at 5 feet (400mm); Pileated Woodpecker at 100 feet; The obligatory moon shot : ) All of these shots have been CROPPED. EDIT 5/26/2019: This lens is holding up well. I am notorious for not taking care of stuff and being a little rough, so that is why I even mention it. You would expect it too, but I am not the normal user. Its been dropped, banged, taken out in the rain, fog, heat, cold... You get the picture? I always do, LOL.

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I spent many weeks reviewing cameras and lens combos and I finally decided on the Canon 80 with the 100-400mm lens II. I shoot mainly wildlife and have been to Africa twice, using a Nikon D3200. But with another trip booked in September I knew I wanted to step my game up. I finally narrowed down my decision to the 80D and the 7D mark ii and went with the 80D, mainly for the newer features and better image quality. I also purchased the Canon 100-400mm ii lens to round out the perfect safari combination. Then I took my camera and lens to the LA zoo a few days ago and was blown away by the image quality! In one word, amazing!! Check them out for yourself. Both pics are shot at 400mm and look impressively sharp!!

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Let me just preface this post by saying that a $1700+ purchase is not a drop in the bucket for me and I had to sell several pieces of equipment to make it work. This lens is replacing a 70-200mm f/4L (non-IS) and a 300mm f/4L (non-IS, yes, one from 1992). I wanted something with really good reach and great image stabilization. About 6 years ago, I rented the Mark I, push-pull version of this lens so I could cover Air Force One and Obamas arrival in San Francisco for a website contribute to. I was impressed with the reach, but the images were a bit soft compared to other really nice L glass Ive owned and used. I debated long and hard between getting this lens and the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS Mark II + 1.4x III, and ended up with this lens. Primarily, I didnt want to have to deal with a teleconverter. Plus, I knew Id be shooting at 400mm a lot, and there is a slight decrease in quality with the 1.4x III on the 70-200 compared to this new 100-400L. To save a few hundred dollars, I bought this used -- something Id recommend to people as long as the website has a return policy for third party vendors, like Amazon does. Heres what I like: 1) Image quality is fantastic. From 100-400, throughout the entire range, contrast and color are rendered superbly. 2) Sharpness is top-notch, even at 400mm and wide open. Im just blown away with how good the wide open performance is. 3) Image stabilization is fantastic, and truly necessary for 400mm hand-held shots. I do fully believe its good down to 4 stops as advertised, as I am able to get sharp images 3 out of 4 times at 1/10sec and almost every time at 1/20sec for a stationary object at 400mm. Make yourself familiar with the different modes and how they work in order to be most effective with the stabilization. 4) Macro ability. You can focus down to about 1 meter (3 feet), which means you can get some great up-close shots. 5) Bokeh. Fantastic separation and bokeh quality. What I dont care for: 1) The tripod collar foot. Its hard to get on and off. I even chipped the paint trying to forcibly remove it once when it was stuck. I have since learned not to over-tighten the wheel. 2) The weight. Yeah, I knew what I was getting into when I bought this monster. Make sure you have a good strap. I use the Black Rapid RS-7, which helps my shoulders and neck a lot. 3) Lens creep. The locking mechanism for the zoom is good, but not perfect. Its also not convenient to use, so half the time I dont use it, and the lens creeps anyway. I suppose this is equally my fault and Canons fault. Mine for not using it, and theirs for not making it easier to use. Overall, this is a hell of a lens. There are few things that are better for pure image quality and versatility. Expensive? Yes. Worth it? You bet!

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I finally upgraded from the original, and "upgrade" doesnt even begin to describe how much of an improvement this is. Night and day. Big time. Images are razor sharp even wide open. The 4-stop IS delivers. Built like a tank and focuses really fast. Even the shooting experience changes (not just the IQ). As a wildlife photographer (who is literally climbing through the woods every weekend) the locking hood alone was a big improvement. Paired with a high-performance camera, like the 7D mkii, this lens performs like a beast. Previously I was using a 70D with the original 100-400. It wasnt a terrible combo and I did get good pictures (and will keep as backup), but this lens (paired with the 7D) just changed my entire shooting experience. Looking forward to this year.

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The rumor mills have been churning for years now on a replacement for the Canon EF 100-400 f4.5-5.6 L IS USM which was initially released over 10 years ago. Finally Canon have come through with an update to this lens. The lens comes very well packaged from Canon with foam protecting just about everything, including the lens hood. In the box you will find the lens, tripod mount, front and back covers, a new ET-83D lens hood with a sliding door (about an inch square) that is very useful for circular polarising filters and a very nice carrying case which is very similar to the case the 70-200L f2.8 comes with. On the lens you will find switches for auto-focus/manual focus, full focus range or 3M to infinity (the lens will ignore near objects and only try to focus on objects further than 3 meters (about 10 ft) out or beyond), Image stabilization on/off and three different modes of image stabilization. The lens comes in Canons famous white L metal finish and is fully weather sealed (you do not need a filter to complete the weather sealing like you do on some other L lenses that I have). The build quality of this lens is excellent as you would expect from any of Canons L series lenses. Rather than the old, dated push/pull mechanism of the previous lens, this lens uses the normal rotational zoom with the barrel extending out from the main body. Canon has used an internal floating focusing mechanism which results in non-rotation of the front element (something you want if you are using graduated filters for example). The zoom ring is strangely at the front of the lens whilst the rear ring is focusing (this is essentially a reversal of what you normally find). Both the zoom and the focusing rings have a smooth motion to them giving you excellent control over both with a friction ring directly behind the zoom ring allowing you control and locking of the zoom. Canon have updated their Image Stabilization to the latest and greatest which according to the specs allows you an equivalent 4 stop gain. The IS really is very good however in the few tests that I have managed to complete, this is more of a 3 stop gain, not 4. You now get 3 flavors of image stabilization as well as tripod detection so the IS doesnt have conniptions by the lack of movement anymore (a great feature if, like me, you sometimes forget to turn IS off when you mount the lens on a tripod). The front element has a new ASC (Air Sphere Coating) which is supposed to reduce backlit flaring and ghosting whilst the fluorine coatings on both the front element rear lens surfaces is meant to help reduce smears and fingerprints. The lens also features an upgraded USM ring-type drive which results in extremely fast and virtually silent auto focus operations. You can manually focus the lens in auto-focus mode and sometimes this helps when going from near focus at full focal length to far focus. There can be little focus hunting when you do this. So how good are the optics? The center of the lens is tack sharp, in fact the lens as a whole is extremely sharp but there is a little fall off towards the edges, and by a little I mean a very little. The peak lens performance occurs seems to be around 190-220mm with the weakest spot not surprisingly being at the full 400mm but even at 400mm this lens is very sharp. There is slight vignetting the further you zoom out, again nothing to be worried about and there is virtually no chromatic aberrations (color shadows/fringing at image borders). You will not find a creamy smooth bokeh like you find on a f2.8 prime on this lens, that is to be expected but it is better than the original 100-400L and is generally very good. If you are a pixel peeper you will find a slight halo around the out of focus discs but you have to zoom quite far in on your image for it to be noticeable. Pros : Image Sharpness Image Stabilization Flexibility of the lens USM focusing is very fast and silent Cons : Bokeh isnt as creamy smooth as other L prime lenses but still very good. The image quality of this lens is outstanding and the build quality superb. The focal range of 100-400mm (160-640mm on an APS-C camera) gives you more options than say the 70-200mm especially for wildlife and sporting events. Did I mention the tack sharp image quality? It really is so good that Im seriously considering whether I need to carry both this lens and the 70-200mm f2.8L in my bag, which gets to heavy with both lenses, or whether I can just leave the 70-200mm at home unless I know I am going to need its lower settings. canon have done a wonderful job with this lens and it is a significant improvement over the mk I. A couple of other things worth mentioning. This lens does work with both the Canon 1.4x and 2.0x TCs and also the Kenko 1.4x Pro 300 TC with full autofocus. It also works with the MetaBones III adapter with full autofocus if you are thinking of using this lens on a Sony A7 or A7R. When used in conjunction with the MetaBones III adapter the autofocus does take a lot more time to lock in and you will notice some slight hunting but combined with the A7/R sensor it creates some sensational images.

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All I can say is I love this lens.

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I have been extremely happy with this lens. Im using it on an 80D for the most part and occasionally on my backup 30D. I primarily shoot sports with this lens including motor sports (motorcycle road racing). Its focus is super fast and precise which makes it easy when the subject is moving fast. I cant find a single negative thing to say. In addition to sports and racing I have also used it to photograph birds as well. The pictures are simply amazing. I have also used this lens with an extender and managed some pretty awesome shots of the moon. I use this in combo with a Canon EF 70-200 F/2.8L. I actually grab the 100-400 just as much as the 70-200. It is a big lens and it is heavy but I shoot it handheld 99% of the time and its totally manageable. By far I get more "keepers" with this lens than any other lens in my bag.

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Had the old version 1, of this lens, since it was released over ten years ago, which has and still serves its purpose. However, the new and improved/enhanced updates to the new version II, sold me right away. If it increases my chances of getting a better pictuce and capturing birds in flight more efficiently, I am all for it... Took it out to a local lake, was misty and cloudy and damp, not ideal for taking photos, but, was able to catch several American Pelicans in flight, though the photos came out darkish, when I looked at them on my computer and enlarged them, I was struck by the focus and clarity of the images, could see the orange around the eye of the pelican, I would never have expected this, I could see the improvement in the lens and auto focus systems. Added a 1.4 extender III, and though there is some drag in aquiring the image, it will focus quickly,once your locked in on the image, much better than version 1, of this lens. I still enjoy the Tamron 150-600mm lens, excellent on sunny days, the images are exceptable/keepers, however, canon still has the eadge, on image quality. The instant 600mm reach of the Tamron, still earns a seat beside the Canon, I use both extensively. I will hand hold the canon 100-400, but always use something to support the Tamron, tripod or window of the car, etc. Took several pictures with the Canon 100-400 with the 1.4 III extender, of a snow goose resting about a 50 yards away, and despite the weather, the eyes and feathers were very sharp and in focus, this also atest to the improved stablization system, my old 100-400mm, many times, seems to show some blurriness, when hand held. Appreciate the 3 stablization modes, expecially the panning setting, will use this extensively. I use a canon 7d mark II. Have a full frame but use it mainly for landscapes, havent had a chance to test it with this lens as of yet. As usual, canon arrived late, with this lens, was well worth the wait, with these advancements to the 100-400mm II.

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I wont repeat most of the reviews here...this is a very good lens. What I havent seen mentioned too much is the incredible stabilization. Check out the photo I uploaded of the rabbit. I was taking it fast, without too much time to think about settings, and realized only afterward that I shot it at only 1/80...at 214mm zoom. Normally Id use the "exposure should be twice the zoom" rule and shoot at no slower than 1/400. But it turned out okay, amazingly. Just be prepared to crank up the ISO. A fast lens it is not, and it needs a lot of light! But Ive still used it indoors with good results (see photo of Morgan Tuck, taken at 6400 ISO).

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The best combo with the Canon 7D Mark II for bird and nature photography. Great for silhouetting the background. This lens makes up for the distance sorely needed for crisp nature photos and simply makes you want to get outdoors to play around. Pros and Cons have already been stated by other reviewers. heavy with a canon body so I recommend replacing the stock canon strap with a more comfortable shoulder strap. my shoulder strap connects to the camera body where as the tripod quick release plate just rests on the lens mount.

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