I've been meaning to ask, ChrisDar, are those crops? Or are those the original sized images?

Thanks in advance!

JonnyBlazexx wrote:
Ugh, you guys are making me seriously consider purchasing a 100-400! I was originally looking at buying a used 300 F/4L... to help round out my 24-105 and my 70-200 F/4L IS... but now this seems really tempting. Does anyone have a 70-200 F/4L IS and a 100-400 F/4L IS and wants to keep both? With my 1.4x TC my 70-200 becomes ~98-280 F/5.6... I just don't know if I can justify owning both of these (not to mention afford them both! haha)

I use the 70-200 and the 100-400 and I wouldn't trade away either. The 100-400 is pretty big lens and I would rather only carry the 70-200 in a number of situations.

Dan

Thank you for your input Dan. Thats what I was hoping to hear. I don't know if my wallet will thank you... but I think I will be making a new purchase soon.

Cheers!

Jonathan

A few more of the Red Arrows with the 100-400 at RIAT 2009 last saturday.

1.

I have used a 100-400 with a 30d for African wildlife photography. I have been disappointed at focus at the long end in many instances, but have also had enough beautifully sharp images at various subject distances to be convinced that the glass itself is very capable. My suspicion is that the issue may be with the camera ... I think a 1dm3 would up the performance quite a bit - though losing some reach.

Incidentally, this lens is one reason I would struggle changing to Nikon - there appears to be nothing in its focal length and weight class to match it on the "dark side". Despite its issues (no dust sealing, somewhat awkward handling, and distracting bokeh in some situations), there is nothing else that can match it for focal length, zoom versatility, Image Stabilization and light weight (it's a relative term!). Often a 500f4/600f4/200-400f4 is just too bulky for quick handheld use. (Haven't tried a 400 f4 DO though - would be very interested to know how usable that is handheld)

My brand new 100-400 got its first look at light this past weekend at the Indianapolis Tennis Championship qualifying round. Unfortunately I erred by keeping the ISO at 400 and not dialing it down to 200, so there is a bit too much noise if I pixel peep on images without a lot of light. Here's an example of one where the lighting was strong and the image was very sharp. Jeff Tarango was one of the qualifying participants. I found out he's most well known for his temper, once being banned from Wimbledon for claiming one of the refs was corrupt

Down sampled image is first. 100% crop of that image is second. No other post-processing like USM.

Canon 450D, 100-400L @ 400-mm, ISO 400, 1/2000, f8.0.

Down-sampled: