I love my 100-400 II.

[gail bisson]

I think I have fallen in love with this new lens. I finally got out to take some pictures with it today.
The following statement is not meant to be scientific just my first personal impressions.
FOR WOMEN AND SENIORS who do not have the strength to handhold long telephoto lenses, the 100-400 II will be a game changer.Especially for BIF.
The autofocus is almost as fast as my prime lens (600mm II) when shooting it bare (400mm) on the 1DX and it is still fast and responsive with the 1.4x teleconvertor (540mm).
If I was to RATE the autofocus speed of my 600mm II as a 10/10 then I would rate the 100-400 mm bare as 9/10 and with the 1.4 x teleconverter as 8.5/10
The new design that gets rid of the "push-pull" design takes a minute or two to get used to, but it is then easy to acclimate to the normal rotating mechanism as found in most zooms.
I did find that with the lens wide open at 5.6 and 400mm there was some vignetting in the blue sky. This vignetting disappeared at F8.0.
I am not sure if this is the intense blue sky causing the vignetting and I will test it under cloudy skies this weekend.
I have a lot more keepers with the 100-400 because I didn't clip as many wings because I could zoom out quickly.
My percentage of keepers ie. tack sharp images was as good as when I use the 600mm II.
The foot is CRAP and I will be getting a replacement foot for it as soon as RRS comes out with one. It is small and stubby and difficult to grip with my small hands so men will really dislike it. A lot of people are not happy with the lens collar that cannot be removed but that doesn't bother me
This will be a wonderful travel lens and lens for bigger birds.I have included some pics above.
Camera was my 1DX
The THIRD image is at 400 mm F 5.6 ( you can see the vignetting)
the SECOND image at 400mm F 8.0
the FIRST image is at 540 mm F 8.0 with 1.4x teleconverter.
All images straight out of camera with LR sharpening at +15. Nothing else done.
Gail

[gail bisson]

And here are the same shots at 100% crop.
Again only sharpened in LR at +15 points and no output sharpening.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Thanks for the mini review Gail! Sounds like a promising lens for sure. The vignette, if indeed a quirk of the lens, will be less of an issue with a crop camera.

[arash_hazeghi]

sharpness looks good Gail (just a bit grainy but that comes from LR conversion), the CA in the first one should also be correctable. yeah it's a great lens.

Keep in mind just like other lenses, the AF speed will not be as fast on a non-1DX camera once you add a 1.4X III.

[Loi Nguyen]

Hi Gail, thank you for the mini review. Good to know that the AF is pretty fast (relatively) with the 1DX. I have had this lens since Xmas, but have not had much time with it except using it on my puppy and the 5D3, really happy with the IQ and AF speed too. I did use it once with a 1.4x TC and 5D3 and as expected AF was slow. Will have a chance to try with the 1DX this weekend I hope. Loi

[gail bisson]

Just a follow up on the lens. I took it out for a spin this morning under cloudy skies and there is no vignetting at all so I am not sure why the blue sky has the vignetting...
Arash- you are absolutely correct in your statement about the 1 DX driving the autofocus more quickly than other cameras.
I will try the 100-400II on the weekend with my 1D MKIV and will follow up with my non-scientific findings.

[Dennis Zaebst]

Hi Gail, I would be interested in your impressions using the Mark IV. I don't yet have a 1D X but just recently acquired the 100-400 II. I plan on using it on the original 7D as well carried on an Black Rapid RS-7 strap while I keep the 1D IV on a tripod with the 500. Next week I will be in Florida and will have a chance to use the lens for BIF with both bodies. I will report back about my impressions.

[gail bisson]

I am looking forward to your thoughts as well. I am working tomorrow but will be out on Sunday shooting eagles again.
gail

Hi Gail, I would be interested in your impressions using the Mark IV. I don't yet have a 1D X but just recently acquired the 100-400 II. I plan on using it on the original 7D as well carried on an Black Rapid RS-7 strap while I keep the 1D IV on a tripod with the 500. Next week I will be in Florida and will have a chance to use the lens for BIF with both bodies. I will report back about my impressions.

[Joseph Przybyla]

Hi Gail, congrats on your new lens. Having joined the senior ranks many years ago I concur on the weight and handling of a zoom in the focal length. I use Nikon's new 80-400. Regarding speed of auto-focus with a camera other than the 1Dx, I have found that keeping the battery near full charge speed up focusing at least on my D7000. I believe the pro bodies have a larger battery which powers the auto focus faster. Good shooting with your new lens.

[gail bisson]

Another update! I used my 1DMKIV with the new 100-400 and I am still impressed. I also used my 1DX and I didn't have any vignetting problems with it against the blue sky as I did in the OP.
Lens is still fast and responsive with the 1D MKIV. With the 1.3x crop of the 1DMKIV I get some pretty good reach without using the 1.4x.
I would say that with the 1DMKIV the lens is about 90% as fast as using the 1DX.
Here are some sample pics with the 1DMKIV.
Small crops on both pics and I used LR to process.
Gail

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Gail, thanks for posting these. Gorgeous images. Loved the ones shot with the 1D4. I have bought the 100-400 II and am equally thrilled with it and it pairs nicely with my 500 II L on my 7D & 5D3. Now my Achilles heal in my kit is the 7D. Considering buying the 7DII. But still waiting to see the IQ &AF issues settle in.

[Doug Brown]

I'm very impressed with the 100-400 II. I sold my 70-300L and my 400 f/5.6 after looking at the quality of the 100-400 II files. It's a great lens when paired with the 7D2.

[Eric Dienesch]

@gail: Thank you for your opinion and the pictures.. i have the old 100-400L, its still a sharp lens,but the bokeh is not good and the iStabilisation is "weak."
and Teleconverteruse with the Version 1 is not the best idea :e3

But your last eagle picture in post #10 seems to be made with another lens (600mm+1.4) or so, because of 840mm ? Right ?

[gail bisson]

@gail: Thank you for your opinion and the pictures.. i have the old 100-400L, its still a sharp lens,but the bokeh is not good and the iStabilisation is "weak."
and Teleconverteruse with the Version 1 is not the best idea :e3

But your last eagle picture in post #10 seems to be made with another lens (600mm+1.4) or so, because of 840mm ? Right ?
OMG! You are absolutely correct Eric. My mistake- the last image of the BE against the forest BG was indeed shot with the 600MM lens. I have an almost identical shot with the 100-400 II that I should have posted!
Thanks for keeping me on my toes.
Gail

[gail bisson]

To Doug,
Thanks for weighing in as I have been periodically checking the thread you had started looking for an update from you with your thoughts,
Gail

[Dennis Zaebst]

Thanks for posting all of these! Spectacular capture of the eagle with the MK IV, Gail! Beautiful image. Love the OOF background - gorgeous bokeh.

Now tomorrow I get to try out my new 100-400 II with my MK IV. If I get any good ones, I'll post one or two here.

[Diane Miller]

I love mine, too, especially with the new 7D2. Will be posting some from time to time in Avian. I love having zoom for subjects I can get close to.

[Dennis Zaebst]

OMG! You are absolutely correct Eric. My mistake- the last image of the BE against the forest BG was indeed shot with the 600MM lens. I have an almost identical shot with the 100-400 II that I should have posted!
Thanks for keeping me on my toes.
Gail

To Gail: If you have a similar shot with the Mark IV can you post here? I assume the one against blue sky is with the Mark IV?

Thanks!

[gail bisson]

Hi Dennis,
Yes, in Pane 10 the picture with the blue sky is the with the 1DMKIV and the one with the forest BG is with the 1DX so disregard that one!
The image posted above is with the 1DMKIV and the 100-400II. The combo does well with dark subject on dark BG.
Image is 70% FF at 370mm with minimal PP.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and seeing some of your pictures.
Gail

[Edward Arthur]

Hi Gail, impressive stuff indeed. Do you remember which IS modes you used? I'm interested in learning how the mode 3 is working out.

[Doug Brown]

Hi Gail, impressive stuff indeed. Do you remember which IS modes you used? I'm interested in learning how the mode 3 is working out.

I don't recommend mode 3 for bird flight photography because the viewfinder is not stabilized; this makes it hard to keep your focus point on flying birds.

[gail bisson]

I have the IS turned off when I am shooting at SS of greater than 1/1000. I have always worried that the IS at those SS won't do much to help me and in fact may delay focus acquisition by a millisecond. I could be wrong with this belief and am happy to be corrected. Otherwise I am in mode 2 usually,
Gail

[arash_hazeghi]

I have the IS turned off when I am shooting at SS of greater than 1/1000. I have always worried that the IS at those SS won't do much to help me and in fact may delay focus acquisition by a millisecond. I could be wrong with this belief and am happy to be corrected. Otherwise I am in mode 2 usually,
Gail

That is not true. IS has no effect on AF acquisition, they are on different circuits.

IS is helps flight photography in two ways. 1) by stabilizing the view finder it helps with keeping the bird centered and smooth tracking 2) Long focal lengths are susceptible to the tiniest vibrations given the magnification, this can happen even at faster than 1/1000sec, IS helps mitigate this issue (this is most useful for 500mm and longer).

IS remain ON and on mode 2 on all of my lenses.

hope this helps

[Loi Nguyen]

I finally had a chance to take my 100-400 II out for a day shooting snowy owls with Daniel. Love it. It's tack sharp and IQ is just as good as my 500f4 II. AF is very fast with the 1DX and IS mode 2. Loi

[Karl Egressy]

I'm also very impressed by the 100-400 Mark II lens.
It will take over the 500 f4.0 for flight shots almost all the time.
I used it successfully for small songbirds as well.

[Dennis Zaebst]

Well, I finally got to use this lens, and I have to say it's the best handholding lens I have ever used. It's optics are certainly first rate, it's easily light enough to hand-hold (even for a senior like myself); and the 4-stop IS certainly helps when hand-holding. I carry the lens and camera on a Black Rapid RS-7 strap over my shoulder, which makes it fast to bring up to my eye.

If I had to criticize, it would be that I have had a little trouble in knowing which way to rotate the zoom ring. I am now getting used to it, but it seems reversed to what I am used to with older lenses. The only zoom lenses I have used are older Sigma lenses. In any case, this is a very minor quibble.

Overall, I would say I too love this lens. I also have a 500 mm f/4L IS (the Mark I), and it is just too heavy for me to hand hold. This lens makes it easy to get sharp images.

I attached a photo I took on the 22nd at Merritt Island, in rather tricky light. I will travel to Fort De Soto tomorrow and over the next few days hope to get a better handle on BIF, which I expect will be made much easier with this lens.

1D Mark IV; ISO 800; 100-400 mm f/4L IS II; 1/800 sec. @ f/7.1; AV mode; Evaluative metering + 1 stop.

[gail bisson]

Thanks for your thoughts on the lens Dennis! Enjoy Fort DeSoto!

[Joe Murphy]

That is not true. IS has no effect on AF acquisition, they are on different circuits.

IS is helps flight photography in two ways. 1) by stabilizing the view finder it helps with keeping the bird centered and smooth tracking 2) Long focal lengths are susceptible to the tiniest vibrations given the magnification, this can happen even at faster than 1/1000sec, IS helps mitigate this issue (this is most useful for 500mm and longer).

IS remain ON and on mode 2 on all of my lenses.

hope this helps


There's been lots of debates over the years on whether or not IS effects AF speed, but in the latest CPS newsletter they advise to turn IS off for even faster AF.

Link - http://cpn.canon-europe.com/content/education/tipsandtricks.do#page=14432

[gail bisson]

Thanks for this Joe.I will let Arash know about this link and see what his thoughts are.
I still leave my IS off when shooting at high SS so this is reassuring to me.
Gail

[arash_hazeghi]

I will ask Chuck to check if this is true.

As I mentioned before having shot flight for over 8 years with various canon gear I don't believe IS affects AF in any noticebe way

IS is crucial for handholdin big lense because it satblizes the view finder allowing the shooter to track the bird centered in the finder.

[David Salem]

Great to hear all the good reviews about this new lens. I have the old one and I never take it out anymore just because of its inconsistencies. It's great for all around vacation photography but for fine detail and BIF stuff, it lacks, or at least mine does.
I played with Doug's New lens a couple days ago at our workshop and it seemed to focus quick and produced nice sharp images.
I have been shooting flight Photography for quite a few years and I have had a few different lenses and I've never taken any of them off of IS, never even looked at the button after I turned it on..

Thanks for all the info everyone, I will be definitely adding one of these to my arsenal fairly soon.

[Dennis Zaebst]

I just returned from Florida in late January, and had great success with the 100-400 II. I found a reddish egret fishing on the North Beach early in the morning at Fort De Soto. I photographed this bird for over an hour. My keeper rate with this lens was phenomenal. Almost all in this sequence were as sharp as this one. It seems superb at capturing fast action.

This one was taken with a 1D IV; ISO 400; 100-400 f/4 - f/5.6 II at 400 mm; 1/2500 sec. at f/7.1.

[Dennis Zaebst]

Here's another from the same sequence.

1D IV; ISO 400; 100-400 f/4 - f/5.6 II at 400 mm; 1/2500 sec. at f/7.1.