Thinking of buying this lens, just need a little push. I’d like to see a variety of shots to confirm its excellent IQ and any personal comments why you think its a good choice.
Regards
Carl
trenchmonkey wrote:
This lens is the reason I still shoot some Canon gear. Absolutely the best bang for the BIF buck
out there. Light, fast AF, gorgeous IQ wide open, nice built in hood....best $1000 I've ever spent.
Thanks Trenchmonkey, Guessed you would post a reply. One concern I have is 5.6 enough for the UK light? I will be using on my 40D as well.
Early mornings, last light I'm at ISO 800-1250 with this combo...no probs. Sure f4'd be better
but that DO will set ya back 5x as much. Check out Jody Melanson's stuff, he's the 400 f5.6 King! Mr. Zoom's no slouch either but he's a 500 f4 IS guy now.
One concern I have is 5.6 enough for the UK light? Yeah it is a problem especially as we seem to have endless grey days lately. but as trenchmonkey says you can get a reasonable shutter speed at high iso. Sometimes on grey days if wildlife are in the trees or shade it can be difficult and i wish I had F4, but that would cost.
Gavin Sim wrote:
One concern I have is 5.6 enough for the UK light? Yeah it is a problem especially as we seem to have endless grey days lately. but as trenchmonkey says you can get a reasonable shutter speed at high iso. Sometimes on grey days if wildlife are in the trees or shade it can be difficult and i wish I had F4, but that would cost.
I would recommend it, very happy with mine.
Cheers Gavin, Some summer we've had I would love F4 or below but they are all silly money here as you know. It would be interesting to know how many other UK shooters use this lens.
Even though I have the 600 now, I'll NEVER sell my 400 5.6. It's just too handy, too light, too sharp, and super fast focusing to ever sell. This one lens is the reason why I went with Canon to begin with. Holds its value incredibly well. Have you checked the FM reviews on this lens?
hfillmore wrote:
Even though I have the 600 now, I'll NEVER sell my 400 5.6. It's just too handy, too light, too sharp, and super fast focusing to ever sell. This one lens is the reason why I went with Canon to begin with. Holds its value incredibly well. Have you checked the FM reviews on this lens?
Many thanks, Yes I've checked about everything now, just using this thread to hopefully get a few shots and other points of view.
I note you also have the 70-200 f2.8. I would definitely go with the 400 f5.6 to complement. Great value for money & you would be extremely hard pushed to find a post complaining of IQ or performance of this lens. I hesitate to say never but I've probably now opened a can of worms.
carl haslam wrote:
Thanks Trenchmonkey, Guessed you would post a reply. One concern I have is 5.6 enough for the UK light? I will be using on my 40D as well.
Regards
Carl
UK light? Weather sealing might be more important given these last few weeks!
Seriously, if you can live without IS the 400/5.6 is a cracking lens.
Here are some pictures when I got a chance to use a 400mm /f5.6 for a trip to San Diego. When we went to the zoo, the sky was overcast and we had a little drizzle of rain from time to time. My concern was that without IS or fast aperture, I would not get any good images. I need to trust my 5D more, as the camera and lens did just fine. The only problem I ran into was that with a 1.4x Teleconvertor, I could not get AF to work. This was expected, but it was worth a try!
I hope you don’t mind me posting so many pictures. Some of these aren’t very good, but at least it can show what the lens does in these situations. I was very surprised (and pleased) at how well sharp the images came out. The AF was fast (even in the drizzle) and the lens was a jewel. My goal is to test out the 100-400mm next. All these images were shot wide open (f/5.6).
A very good piece of glass, especially for the money.
I was using a 300 2.8 L IS plus 1.4x for the longest time, and after trying the 400 f5.6L, I sold the 300 and banked the change.
The image quality of the 400 is amazing, wide open its superb.
If you can do without IS and the 5.6 max aperture, then there is no better lens @ 400 mm for the cash outlay.
I shoot heaps of motor-sports and even with the 1.4xII on a 1DmkIIn the results are superb and the focus is second to none.
pk
will keenly watch this thread. Thanks Carl!
but as trenchmonkey says you can get a reasonable shutter speed at high iso. Sometimes on grey days if wildlife are in the trees or shade it can be difficult and i wish I had F4, but that would cost.
Weather sealing might be more important given these last few weeks!