CANON 100-400 IS Lens

[JeffinMass]

I rented the Canon 100-400 IS lens to do aviation photography over LAX. I shot twenty five rolls of film!!! I liked it so
much I received it as a gift. If you are shooting anything that moves fast (aircraft or wildlife) and it is windy out the
IS system works exceptionally well.:cool:

[Zee71]

Yes .... For most Canon shooters this the lens of choice for their aviation photography.

[megatop412]

Now...if only Nikon could follow suit and replace their 80-400mm with an AF-S VRII equivalent

[steve1840]

Canon really needs to update this lens....while it is the choice of most aviation photographers, it is rather outdated. It is good for its price, but really needs a revamp.

[lijk604]

Canon really needs to update this lens....while it is the choice of most aviation photographers, it is rather outdated. It is good for its price, but really needs a revamp.
Agreed, however, based on their recent releases, a revamp will double the price. I'd say a 100-400L IS II will start around $2500

[steve1840]

Agreed, however, based on their recent releases, a revamp will double the price. I'd say a 100-400L IS II will start around $2500

You're probably 100% correct John. And I doubt they would change the aperture either. Would probably stay at a 4.5-5.6. Would venture to guess that they would simply upgrade the glass a little and improve the image stabilization.

[Aviation.High.Guy]

I had been shooting with a Canon 70-200 + 2x teleconverter occasionally for greater focal length. The time came to purchase a stronger tele so I got the Canon 100-400L and did away with my 2x convertor.

I'm just curious as to how satisfied others are with the sharpness of the 100-400? Gotta admit, I'm a little disappointed now that I've been shooting with it for a while. It's just a little too soft for my liking. Granted, it's a given that it wouldn't be as sharp as the 70-200. I just don't know if I'm being too critical or not. Any thoughts? Is there any definitive way to test the sharpness of this lens to find out if there is a problem with it?

[jerslice]

I'm just curious as to how satisfied others are with the sharpness of the 100-400?
Liked it on my 40D, not so much on my 7D or 5Dii.

[Cary]

I can deal with it on my 7D, but definitely not on my 5DmIII or 1DmIV. My 70-200 2.8 IS II + 5DmIII is dreamy, but obviously, it doesn't get much use at JFK.

[Aviation.High.Guy]

Sounding like I should buy a crop sensor body and just leave the 100-400 on it.:tongue:

[Joe]

I have the 100 -400 on my 7D and it is my favorite lens, I have no qualms with it.

[tlabranche]

I have a 2008 copy of this lens. I love mine. It is a bit heavy. I use it on a crop sensor. I would love to see what sort of IS revamp they could make. I am very satisfied with the IS.

[RWB]

I've been thinking about getting one, I see Adorama has it for under $1400, but it states "grey market", anyone see any issues with that?, and thoughts on putting it on a plain T3?(also on sale at various stores) I currently use the Tamron70-200 2.8 and am happy with it especially around sunset, but it seems like it doesn't have the sharpness when shooting something past 250-300 yards. The old point and shoot I had w/15 optical zoom seemed to bring in a sharper image from further away, and another thing I've had issues with is the closer I get to the centerline of the flightpath for a head on shot, I might get 1-2 out of 5 that are focused correctly as it comes towards you.

[tlabranche]

A grey market lens is still warrantied by Adorama. If the glass is scratch free on both ends, then there is nothing to be concerned about. Regarding using it on a T3, there is nothing wrong with that either. I used to used mine on my T2i and it worked out really great. At F/8, the lens is really sharp. I read that some folks don't like using it on their full frame bodies. I use mine on my 6D full frame and I still love the lens.

[Aviation.High.Guy]

Since I started this thread, I bought a 7D and I'm finding the Canon 100-400 to be working out much better on it than it did on my 5D body. T3 and T2i are also great bodies for this lens.

[Jared Blech]

i use 7D and 100-400, works great!

[RWB]

Thanks for the responses, going to do it!