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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Canon 100-400mm II vs Canon 400mm F4 DO Lens | |
100-400 II has better IQ than a typical 400 DO MkI, although there are some 400 DO MkI copies which are very good, but I view those as exception.
As far as AF responsiveness is concerned, both lenses are similar, although 400 DO would have an intrinsic advantage because it is one stop faster.
Similarly, 100-400 II + 1.4xTC yields very good IQ, better than 400 DO MkI + 1.4xTC, however, the latter combo has better AF performance.
Lastly, 400 DO MkI can get you to 800mm with 2xTC with autofocusing on a number of cameras. The zoom can not go beyond 560mm with AF on any camera.
However, I have not used my 400 DO MkI with 2xTC, because the performance was poor any which way I looked at it.
The bottom line: although the nominal aperture of f/4 gives 400 DO MkI a couple of expected advantages over 100-400 II, my opinion is that the zoom is a significantly better lens regarding IQ, versatility (variable FL + excellent MFD), handhold-ability (lighter + much better IS) and price.
Almost forgot about bokeh. No practical difference. 400 DO MkI has more susceptibility to global flare (resulting in contrast reduction) in response to strong extrenuous sources of light. However, mitigating the effects of such light is Photography 0.1.
Bokeh largely depends on lens-target-background geometry, background colours and texture, shot aperture, etc.
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