molson wrote:
I've owned three copies of the Nikon 200-400 VR, and all were disappointing at medium and far distances. In fact, at subject distances beyond about 75 feet, my $1500 EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS handily outperformed any of the three copies of the Nikon lens.
The issue has been documented by several (die-hard) professional Nikon users, including Thom Hogan and Michael Weber.
This is very surprising (after all, most targets of this lens are far away) and IMHO totally unacceptable at this price point. This reminds me of the 1D3 fiasco. A pro sports camera with problematic AF.
There are shooting situations where the zoom range and the fast addition of a 1.4 extender are very valuable. My photography at air shows is a place where I have been wishing for this zoom range on an f4 lens for a long time, and I expect I will eventually get this lens. The built in 1.4 extender adds something I never could have guessed they would do, and that extra reach that is quickly selectable makes this even more perfect for most of how I shoot at an air show. The size and weight look like they will come out managable for my shooting style of mixing limited hand held with gimbal mount use and using a lever release to get on and off the gimbal fast. One observation about the built in 1.4 extender is that inserting or removing it from the optical path will not change the balance on a gimbal mount, which is nice. The big unknown is optical quality through out the full focal length range, and we will just need to wait to find out about that. The price will likely be very high, and but I will be placing my pre order today if they will take it at my local dealer. And I do hope that the high prices of the new lenses, including this one, will be justified by excelent IQ and tight control of sample variation.
According to a post on BPN (birdphotographers.net), "The Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens is expected to be available in May for an approximate retail price of $9,499.00" and "The Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens is expected to be available in June for an approximate retail price of $11,999.00"
Looks like I'll need to sell my car to fund either one of them...
I like the idea of a built in TC but I'm not sure the (undoubtedly huge) price tag and increased weight are going to make it anything other than a niche product. The current 100-400mm is a great lens and dirt cheap (in comparison).
On an unrelated note, does anyone know the weight decrease of the new 600mm?
+7K sounds about right for a lens of this caliber. Now I'm just wondering whether or not Canon will keep the 100-400 around. Technically there is room in the lineup, both for the specs (focal/aperture range) and price point however with the 70-200 II, 70-300 and the 200-400 that range is pretty well covered.
This looks lie a nice addition. Unfortunately it will be priced at least 7k or more as all of the canon new superheroes are priced higher then the Nikon eqivelents.
I'm going to hazard a guess that Canon sells too many 100-400/4.5-5.6L IS lenses for them to discontinue it. The new 70-300L isn't a replacement--there isn't enough reach--and the new 200-400/4L IS clearly isn't within most photographers' budgets. Were they to discontinue the 100-400L, it would not induce many photographers to purchase the 70-300L; rather, I think they would sooner buy the 400/5.6L, because it's one of the cheapest ways to get to 400mm while remaining reasonably sharp. Conversely, keeping the 100-400L around isn't going to cannibalize sales of the 200-400; the ones who are considering the latter are obviously going to buy it for its faster aperture and expanded focal length range with the included extender, not for its low price.
In short, I don't see the 200-400 as having an impact on other members of the EF lineup--if anything, the 70-300L is more of a threat to the 100-400L. But Canon could prove me entirely wrong and discontinue the 100-400L...they've done stranger things in the past!
wickerprints wrote:
I'm going to hazard a guess that Canon sells too many 100-400/4.5-5.6L IS lenses for them to discontinue it. The new 70-300L isn't a replacement--there isn't enough reach--and the new 200-400/4L IS clearly isn't within most photographers' budgets. Were they to discontinue the 100-400L, it would not induce many photographers to purchase the 70-300L; rather, I think they would sooner buy the 400/5.6L, because it's one of the cheapest ways to get to 400mm while remaining reasonably sharp. Conversely, keeping the 100-400L around isn't going to cannibalize sales of the 200-400; the ones who are considering the latter are obviously going to buy it for its faster aperture and expanded focal length range with the included extender, not for its low price.
In short, I don't see the 200-400 as having an impact on other members of the EF lineup--if anything, the 70-300L is more of a threat to the 100-400L. But Canon could prove me entirely wrong and discontinue the 100-400L...they've done stranger things in the past!...Show more →
They should have just made the 70-300 a 100-400 instead. Instead, they answered a question that nobody was asking.
Bruce Sawle wrote:
all of the canon new superheroes are priced higher then the Nikon eqivelents.
Nikon finally got their supertele lineup up to the level of performance that Canon had way back in 1999... and I think the new L lenses will represent another comparable leap forward in performance and functionality for Canon.
Dave C wrote:
The current Nikon 200-400 price is $6,799 at B&H. Hopefully, it will be somewhere close.
It'll be more, because:
a) It's a newer design, and all of Canon and Nikon's recent designs have been considerably more expensive than lenses of just a few years ago.
b) The built-in TC feature adds some decent value over the Nikon 200-400.
c) No WAY Canon will offer a "bargain" lens against Nikon's offering. <holding nose> That's what Sigma does.
I never thought I'd say this, but I'd be very interested in replacing my 300/2.8IS with this lens. Unfortunately, my 300/2.8IS would go used for roughly half the cost of this lens when it's announced.
Sadly, for me this lens joins the many recent Canon lenses in the category "Wow, awesome lens, Canon! Have fun selling it to rich guys!" This lens would have to sell for $4000 to make me upgrade. While I believe that is a reasonable price, there's no way Canon will offer it for that.
.
