Home · Register · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda
Username  

  New fredmiranda.com Mobile Site
  New Feature: SMS Notification alert
  New Feature: Buy & Sell Watchlist
  

FM Forums | Canon Forum | Join Upload & Sell

1       2       3              7      
8
       9              21       22       end
  

Archive 2013 · Hands-on: EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4X

  
 
Tom_W
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.8 #1 · p.8 #1 · Hands-on: EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4X


PetKal wrote:
With Ron's kind help, he and I might be able to test 200-400L on these little white pijuns in flight.


I, for one, would look forward to seeing the results of that test, along with some commentary. You're an experienced 500/4 II shooter so I'm particularly interested in seeing how you see this lens compared to that.



Jun 03, 2013 at 07:49 PM
PetKal
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.8 #2 · p.8 #2 · Hands-on: EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4X


Tom_W wrote:
I, for one, would look forward to seeing the results of that test, along with some commentary. You're an experienced 500/4 II shooter so I'm particularly interested in seeing how you see this lens compared to that.


Tom, we shall try to put the 200-400L into a sort of a framework made by 400 II, 500 II and 300 II.
Lucky for us, I have been shootin' little white pijuns with 500 II as well, for two seasons now.

Edited on Jun 04, 2013 at 05:22 AM · View previous versions



Jun 03, 2013 at 08:10 PM
Tom_W
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.8 #3 · p.8 #3 · Hands-on: EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4X


Awesome!

Great pics, BTW!

I absolutely NEED to get the 400/2.8 out on a road trip. It's been a backyard companion lately, which beats being a "safe queen" as it's been for the most part. A coveted tool that I've been less than willing to use a lot due to the weight.



Jun 03, 2013 at 08:14 PM
PetKal
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.8 #4 · p.8 #4 · Hands-on: EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4X


Tom_W wrote:
Awesome!

Great pics, BTW!

I absolutely NEED to get the 400/2.8 out on a road trip. It's been a backyard companion lately, which beats being a "safe queen" as it's been for the most part. A coveted tool that I've been less than willing to use a lot due to the weight.


I know the feeling.....but I forced myself to use mine, say 20 minutes handheld and then on a pod. If it wasn't for the 400 MkII being so much lighter, I would have never sold my MkI.



Jun 03, 2013 at 08:18 PM
rscheffler
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.8 #5 · p.8 #5 · Hands-on: EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4X


Peter, those are great! I'll be lucky if I can get any part of those in the frame, let alone in focus.



Jun 03, 2013 at 09:35 PM
PetKal
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.8 #6 · p.8 #6 · Hands-on: EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4X


Thanx, Ron. That difficulty is always there, particularly when there is wind, and the pijuns are fishing very actively. Tracking them with a heavy long lens is not easy at all.


Jun 03, 2013 at 09:46 PM
burningheart
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.8 #7 · p.8 #7 · Hands-on: EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4X


Peter you make a good argument to want to upgrade a 500 4.5 to a 500 MKII. Nice shoots.


Jun 03, 2013 at 10:39 PM
Doctorbird
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.8 #8 · p.8 #8 · Hands-on: EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4X


It's the mass of the lens that matters, not just the weight. The mass and how it is distributed along the barrel determines the inertia/momentum (mostly the angular type), and hence the agility of the lens.

On my BIF outings I have a fair bit of difficulty acquiring focus with the 400 II (usually with a TC) on the 1DX on birds, especially the whitish terns and black skimmers, especially when they are flying against rippled water or other background. Perhaps if I could hold the apparatus more steadily it'd help.

The decreased maneuverability on these sometimes erratic birds also causes frequent loss of focus. Attempting to follow the birds brings to mind the expression, ".. the tail wagging the dog..".

However, every once in a while, everything comes together and the combination shines,

It would be nice if these instances are more frequent.

Db































Jun 04, 2013 at 12:46 AM
Doctorbird
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.8 #9 · p.8 #9 · Hands-on: EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4X


BTW Peter, those are nice images and reproduction.

Db



Jun 04, 2013 at 12:51 AM
sritri
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.8 #10 · p.8 #10 · Hands-on: EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4X


lowa2 wrote:
Peter, I hang my 500/4 is on a blackrapid sport strap and the Acra Swift clamp. I then clamp my monopod to the lens using an acratech long lens head on the monopod. The rrs plate for the 500 is long enough to hold both quick release clamps (monopod and swift clamp).

I then use a measuring tape leather pouch on my belt, and set the monopod into that. I can walk for hours and not even feel the weight. It's at shooting position and stabilized all the time!


OT : Mike - Can you please share an on-field photo of this setup ? I am having so much back and shoulder issues with my 500 & the Black Rapid,



Jun 04, 2013 at 12:55 AM
PetKal
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.8 #11 · p.8 #11 · Hands-on: EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4X


Doctorbird wrote:
It's the mass of the lens that matters, not just the weight. The mass and how it is distributed along the barrel determines the inertia/momentum (mostly the angular type), and hence the agility of the lens.



Yes, and 200-400L is just too heavy for intense action where handheld use becomes imperative. Even 500 II is too heavy. The venerable 400 f/5.6 prime is much more suitable, and so is 400 DO and even 300 f/2.8 IS (assuming there is good proximity to target)

200-400L is almost as long as the 500, and going by its block diagram, it looks like it could be fairly nose heavy, which is not favourable when it comes to the control of lens swings, as well as the necessary physical effort.

Db, those are respectable looking shots, and the little heron in flight is quite a catch.



Jun 04, 2013 at 05:22 AM
KatManDEW
Offline

Upload & Sell: Off
p.8 #12 · p.8 #12 · Hands-on: EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4X


Any news on deliveries of this lens? Are many of them showing up in customers hands?


Jun 04, 2013 at 09:30 AM
KatManDEW
Offline

Upload & Sell: Off
p.8 #13 · p.8 #13 · Hands-on: EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4X


rscheffler wrote:
I find the throw of the zoom ring quite long, as earlier reported.


I have the same feeling about the 70-300L. For fast moving actions shots, where the FL is rapidly changing, it's challenging, and a workout for the wrist...



Jun 04, 2013 at 10:03 AM
mitesh
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.8 #14 · p.8 #14 · Hands-on: EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4X


KatManDEW wrote:
Any news on deliveries of this lens? Are many of them showing up in customers hands?


My pre-order from BH is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first batch of shipments from them to customers who pre-ordered.



Jun 04, 2013 at 10:38 AM
KatManDEW
Offline

Upload & Sell: Off
p.8 #15 · p.8 #15 · Hands-on: EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4X


mitesh wrote:
My pre-order from BH is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first batch of shipments from them to customers who pre-ordered.


Thanks for the info mitesh.



Jun 04, 2013 at 11:54 AM
rscheffler
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.8 #16 · p.8 #16 · Hands-on: EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4X


I'm no BIF expert, but here are a couple of a static gull at near distance hand held from a seated position on a step. The first is with the internal TC wide open. The second is with the internal TC and the 1.4x v2 external TC at f/10 (stopped down 2/3 of a stop). The second image was cropped about 30% due to the center-only AF focus on the eye resulting in a lot of dead space. Crops are actual pixels from LR conversion with slightly stronger sharpening than the default.

http://ronscheffler.com/samples/fmcanon/200-400/20130603_0269.jpg
http://ronscheffler.com/samples/fmcanon/200-400/20130603_0269crop.jpg


http://ronscheffler.com/samples/fmcanon/200-400/20130603_0378.jpg
http://ronscheffler.com/samples/fmcanon/200-400/20130603_0378crop.jpg




My shooting yesterday was primarily of the local cityscape from a number of vantage points where I tried the lens bare and with a combination of teleconverters. It was a lot of fun because of the compositional flexibility the zoom allows. And even though I 'only' have the v.2 teleconverters, I was pleasantly surprised that the results were actually decent. Very difficult to determine distant sharpness performance due to the atmospheric (heat) distortion, but colors remained good and contrast decent with CA reasonably controlled. It was only when I used the internal TC and stacked 2x and 1.4 external converters that things were falling apart, but primarily due to strong geometric barrel distortion... and CA was worse too. But in a pinch, combined with cranking up the ISO, it was certainly usable with the IS still functioning and keeping things fairly steady at 1568mm f/16 (though the camera doesn't recognize the external 1.4x and reports f/11)



Jun 04, 2013 at 12:04 PM
burningheart
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.8 #17 · p.8 #17 · Hands-on: EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4X


Thnks Ron, seeing those my anxiety just went up, combined with all the other shots I am confident that the 200-400 will satisfy me, now only if it would get here.

Edited on Jun 04, 2013 at 01:55 PM · View previous versions



Jun 04, 2013 at 12:38 PM
Renier1
Offline

Upload & Sell: Off
p.8 #18 · p.8 #18 · Hands-on: EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4X


KatManDEW wrote:
Any news on deliveries of this lens? Are many of them showing up in customers hands?

mitesh wrote:
My pre-order from BH is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first batch of shipments from them to customers who pre-ordered.

Congratulations on your purchase. Would you be willing to say when you put in your order? I only ordered recently so would like to have an indication of how long this wait could be, thanks.



Jun 04, 2013 at 01:28 PM
Scott Stoness
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.8 #19 · p.8 #19 · Hands-on: EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4X


burningheart wrote:
Thnks Ron, seeing those my anxiety just went up, combined with all the other I am confident that the 200-400 will satisfy me, no only if it would get here.


I have also ordered. My anxiety went down ( I have not seen really persuasive comparisons as yet until this one) and my anticipation went up - the 560 shots (with tough white in bright light, handheld) look pretty good.

And shooting at 1.4x plus internal 1.4x being usable is a bonus.My experience with the 2x on my 600 is that you can do it but why bother. Whereas this seems usable. However, I doubt I would. 600 with 1.4x is as far as I want to go with image degradation.

Thanks Ron - the 1.4x in tough light looks good.



Jun 04, 2013 at 01:50 PM
mitesh
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.8 #20 · p.8 #20 · Hands-on: EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4X


Renier1 wrote:
Congratulations on your purchase. Would you be willing to say when you put in your order? I only ordered recently so would like to have an indication of how long this wait could be, thanks.


Hi,

I placed my order within 10 minutes of the announcement. At least one other FM member placed his order the following morning, and his order has also shipped. Hope your wait is not long



Jun 04, 2013 at 02:51 PM
1       2       3              7      
8
       9              21       22       end




FM Forums | Canon Forum | Join Upload & Sell

1       2       3              7      
8
       9              21       22       end
    
 

You are not logged in. Login or Register

Username       Or Reset password



This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.