Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

This was my first Canon "L" glass that I purchased and I'm extremely delighted with it's versatility and sharpness. So far, it's just as sharp as my Canon 16-35 f/2.8L and my images are crisp and full of contrast/color. Although it's not as fast as some of the other "L" lenses (300 f/2.8L or 70-200 f/2.8L), this lens does very well. We visited Baltimore on back-to-back weekends (Zoo & Aquarium Dolphin show)and every photo (handheld) was sharp, sharp, sharp!!! Indoors, I cranked up the ISO to around 800 and there are a few photos where I could actually see the water beads on the dolphins skin!!! Outside, it's great around ISO of 100-200. I would definitely recommend this lens to anyone & mine stays in my bag 100% of the time!!!!

I read 100's of reviews on the Canon EF 100-400mm IS USM zoom lens before taking the plunge. Most reviews were glowing, and from reviewers who advised "just do it". But there were also some from people who had a "less than expected" experience. I really needed the variable reach and at least 400mm of it at times, and also really needed fast and accurate AF for sports, so this seemed like the one to try. I've now logged over 3000 shots, and only wound up with about 20 that weren't properly focused (most of these were my fault since I was using ONE SHOT focusing mode on my camera).

I now have to say - absolutely amazing results.

When I got the lens, I played around with the Canon 50D lens micro focusing adjustment for an entire evening in low light, and with the LCD moire test pattern approach, and couldn't find a better setting than the default "+/- 0" for BOTH 100mm & 400mm zoom points. Then, on the soccer field, this lens blew me away with its clarity. And while I know that several people have complained about its bokeh, I couldn't disagree more - what I got was beautiful. Background spectators, coaches, tree's, and sky were all very nicely blurred - no artifacts and nothing strange at all, and this made each image subject stand out brilliantly.

I shot sunshine one day, and pouring rain the next. Both gave me excellent results. I shot ISO400, F8 (bright day) and ISO500, F7.1 (overcast) on a monopod with the focus range limited on the lens to 6.5m and IS mode 2 (allows for panning). Based on all of the reviews, and my own experimenting between F5.6 and F8 indoors, I opted to shoot at F8 or F7.1 to extend the DOF a bit, and get the crispest images possible.

I used ONE SHOT AF with center focus set on the camera. The results were fast, accurate, and as I said - left me with amazing images that were tack sharp. The Canon 50D also does a great job outdoors with ISO400 & 500, so no real sacrifice there to shoot stopped down a bit.

Push-pull zoom? I wondered about this too from all the negative press in some of the reviews. I found the push-pull action (with adjustable friction) to be PERFECT for shooting on a pod. One other advantage point not made by others, that I discovered in the pouring rain - when you're outfitted with a rain bonnet over the lens and camera, it's trivial to push-pull the zoom in and out with your wet "free" hand with the camera and lens completely protected. This would NEVER have worked with a rotating zoom ring on the lens, as I was constantly going from 100mm to 400mm and all points in between as the action moved around quickly on the field.

I would like to try the 1.4 extender with this lens and birds/wildlife, but think it would be a waste of time for sports, with baseball being the possible exception, since you lose AF capability with this lens. That would never have worked for me shooting soccer. As an experiment, I was also able to shoot about half a soccer game hand held, without the monopod, using IS mode 1 in bright sun, and got VERY good results as well, but did notice the camera/lens weight after a while. Fatigued arms tend to shake more, and controlled breathing won't help this, so I'd recommend a monopod or tripod for extended shooting. The lens mount for this leaves a very nicely balanced set-up that isn't always trying to fall forwards or backwards on your mount.

In closing, I have to second everyone else who's written "just do it, you won't be sorry" on this lens. And if you are sorry, you've probably gotten a bad copy and I'd recommend returning it or sending it in to Canon for a tune-up. This lens CAN really deliver - I now have lots of proof. One other thing - I have been watching the rumor mill for Canon to release its F4 update version of this lens. Like others, I figured as soon as I bought the F4.5-5.6, they'd announce the new one a day later. Couple of points on that - (1) you might still be sitting, waiting, this time next year, and have missed some great shots, (2) if Canon rolls out a fixed F4, you KNOW it's going to cost a lot more, and (3) I believe Canon has steadily and quietly been making improvements to their 100mm-400mm all along; you can see a lot more "recent buyers" really, really happy with the copy they got, and older versions (especially those bought used) as the ones people complain most about. Now I can't wait for the rain to stop so I can go hunting some birds...Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

Having gone through the Canon 75-300mm and 70-300 IS lenses, I decided to finally bite the bullet and pick up the 100-400mm to replace the others. I have not been disappointed in the quality of the lens and resulting photos. The push-pull takes a little getting used to, and I still don't particularly like the way the locking ring works, but those are minor annoyances to achieve the results this lens has delivered.

I recently used this lens (handheld) to shoot a high school golf match. The shots were incredible! This lens is fantastic. The shots turned out great, superb colors, great clarity, great sharpness. It did get a bit tiring after lugging it around nine holes without using a tripod. The IS worked great and the length was amazing. I would recommend this lens to any photographer wanting a great zoom. Once I get the money I will spend it on this bad boy (as the one I used was loaned to me by my uncle). Chapeau Canon!

I've used the 100-400 with great success. The reason I purchased this lens was to try the really long shots with a 2x extender on a tripod with my 40D & 5D Mark II. I've been very pleased with the results with very long range as well as without having used the extender.