I have the 300 f/4L IS and a 1.4x and I am going to try shooting with it. I can't get the 400...No $$$$ these days, but with the 5D I need more reach. Thanks Trenchmonkey...Rich
can't fault this little lens. always sharp and very fast AF. if you are thinking of a zoom, think of the teeming thousands of sports photographer who carry fixed 400, 500 and 600 or even 800. ain't you lucky?
I love mine but if any lens would benefit from IS it would be the 400/5.6 L. It's the only truly handholdable "super"tele and would be KILLER with IS. I'd pay $2000 for a 400/5.6 L IS.
hauxon wrote:
I love mine but if any lens would benefit from IS it would be the 400/5.6 L. It's the only truly handholdable "super"tele and would be KILLER with IS. I'd pay $2000 for a 400/5.6 L IS.
Adding IS to this lens would "kill" it - it is perfect as it is. The majority of bird photographers do not use IS; I have it turned off on my 100-400 (because it is a cr@p IS system) and rarely use it on my 500 f/4. If you have good light (as I am fortunate to have) then IS is of no value whatsoever.
Your shot of the Bar-tailed Godwit is nice, but the colour is way over-saturated for my taste, and totally unnatural.
Chris Procter wrote:
I live in the UK and for out door shooting a little common sense like upping the ISO when its bad weather - and you wont go far wrong with the 400mm
hope you dont mind if I post you some samples from this great Lens
Chris, those are fabulous shots - I can see every single rivet on those planes (and note that the pilot had not shaved!). My favourite is the greyhound race - beautiful expression on the leading dog's face, and all the better for being "contra jour".
Alan Kefauver wrote:
How does this compare to a 300F4L+1.4TC?
I have the 300F4L+1.4TC. I rented the 400F5.6 for a weekend. I didn't have the 400 for a long enough period of time to really completely understand all the differences. I did realize that the 400 seemed to perform better in ai servo (I'm using a 40D). Obviously I continue to use the 300F4L+1.4TC combo. Lately, whenever I'm using the 1.4TC I use one shot, believing that ai servo isn't reliable enough with this combo. When I use the 300 without the tc, ai servo performance is stellar! With the 1.4TC the outer image circle suffers from CA and image softness. For BIF the outer image circle is really a none issue.
I must admit that I haven't read all the posts in this thread so appologies if you've already gone out and bought it!
I'm in the UK too and own a 20D and this lens for birding/wildlife. It's a cracking lens in the right light, which has been a bit of a problem recently! At /5.6 it does require a fair bit of light or high ISO. It's a great price for the IQ though and the built in hood is a great idea. I'd go for it!!
Here's a shot which I think demonstrates the lens reasonably, hope this helps!
I had a hell of a time trying to choose between the 100-400 and the 400 5.6. In the end after much discussion I went with the 400. I think it was Jody melanson who swayed me in the end; he put my mind at rest as to whether Id be able to handhold the lens. Now it’s used mainly for wildlife but I have used it for other photography, the speed of focusing is awesome (pretty similar to my 70-200 f2.8) and I doubt id have caught some of the shots I’ve taken with the zoom. If the light is crap I just up the ISO and apply noise reduction Post processing. It’s one lens I will not be selling
