fplstudio Offline Upload & Sell: Off
|
p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · First outing with 100-400 ii: impressions and pictures | |
I am a happy new owner of the Canon EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 L IS ii and I decided to share my first impressions and pictures. More than a descriptive review I thought that some pictures can convey my real world experience.
First, I have to say that among my L lenses I have a Canon 70-200 f/4 L IS so my impressions can be driven by my personal experience. All shots were taken with a FF Canon 6D during last weekend.
Build Quality
I have other L lenses (16-35 f/4 L IS, 70-200 f/4 L IS, 135 f/2 L, 24-105 f/4 L IS) and the 100-400 ii has probably the best build quality. The lens is generally compact but very heavy for walk round and hiking and this is a factor to be considered when you want a zoom of that caliber. You definitely need a very sturdy tripod to take the lens without blurring your images.
Versatility
Having all focal lenses between 100mm and 400mm and combing this with a wonderful IS makes this lens invaluable for a multitude of situations: you have in one go access to handheld landscapes, nature, wildlife, portraits, sport photography.
Canon 6D | EF 100-400 ii | 170mm f/8 1/125s ISO100
Canon 6D | EF 100-400 ii | 100mm f/8 1/60s ISO400
Canon 6D | EF 100-400 ii | 400mm f/6.7 1/250s ISO200
Canon 6D | EF 100-400 ii | 135mm f/13 1/10s ISO100
Canon 6D | EF 100-400 ii | 135mm f/13 1/8s ISO100
Canon 6D | EF 100-400 ii | 135mm f/16 0.5s ISO100
Canon 6D | EF 100-400 ii | 400mm f/5.6 1/2000s ISO2500
Canon 6D | EF 100-400 ii | 270mm f/8 1/250s ISO160
Canon 6D | EF 100-400 ii | 400mm f/8 1/250s ISO250
Canon 6D | EF 100-400 ii | 214mm f/8 1/250s ISO200
Canon 6D | EF 100-400 ii | 400mm f/6.7 1/250s ISO800
The lens is known to have incredible close-up capacity
Canon 6D | EF 100-400 ii | 400mm f/8 1/350s ISO250
Image Quality
The lens delivers very good pictures. It is pleasantly surprising the sharpness and details that you can achieve with such a zoom even wide open. It seems as sharp as my 70-200 f/4 L IS to my eyes. The colors are the typical amazing outcome of the best Canon L lenses which for me is one of the reason to love the Canon system.
Canon 6D | EF 100-400 ii | 400mm f/5.6 1/250s ISO200
Canon 6D | EF 100-400 ii | 400mm f/5.6 1/500s ISO640
Crop 100%, unsharpened
The out of focus areas and the gradient from sharp to blurred zones are also very pleasant, although we cannot achieve the bokeh of faster zooms like the 70-200 f/2.8 L IS ii.
Canon 6D | EF 100-400 ii | 350mm f/5.6 1/250s ISO800
Crop 100% unsharpened
Canon 6D | EF 100-400 ii | 200mm f/5.6 1/250s ISO400
Crop 100% unsharpened
Resistance to flare seems also very good and chromatic aberrations are well controlled. I have also noticed very little distorsion, I would say better than my 70-200 f/4 L IS.
Canon 6D | EF 100-400 ii | 170mm f/16 1/10s ISO100
In conclusion my first impressions are that this piece of glass delivers spectacular results and it is amazing for its versatility. The only drawback (more for its intended use than the lens itself) is the heavy weight which is less desirable in some circumstances. This is why I will keep my smaller and lighter 70-200 f/4 L IS.
Cheers
Francesco
Edited on Oct 07, 2016 at 07:40 PM · View previous versions
|