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

I've tried this lens on my Canon Digital Rebel XTI a couple of times in my house since I received it for Christmas. It's been too cold and snowy/rainy to try it outside. From the two photos I took (one of my dog and one of a Christmas wreath) it's not hard to see how incredible and sharp the optics are on this lens. I wanted this lense for outdoor photography rather than indoor shots so I can't attest to how it'll work outside just yet. The focusing is fast, relatively quiet and the slide zoom takes no time to get used to. From what I've read from reviews the cons of this lense are the weight and the look. Sure it's a little heavy and it catches a lot of attention due to it being white and fairly long (especially with the lens hood) but you have to expect that with a lens of this quality. Due to the weight, the use of a tripod is definitely recommended but the pics I took handheld prove that a tripod isn't necessary. I love this lens so far and I can't wait to get out and field test it!

A++++

I wanted a lens to shoot birds and wildlife. I have the 70-200 f/4 IS but it just wasn't long enough. I did a lot of research and decided to go with the 100-400. I am very pleased with the sharpness and ease of use. I like the push/pull. I don't find it hard to use at all. The IS makes it possible to hand hold at 400mm. While it is heavy I think it's pretty well balanced. I use it with a 40D. I'm glad I bought it.

I live about fifteen minutes from the Miami Metro Zoo and wanted a lens with very long reach to get the great portrait style shots of the animals that weren't possible otherwise. I use a 40D. I agonized for weeks between this and the 70-200 2.8 and finally decided to go with 2x the reach over razor sharpness (based on the many many many reviews I had read). Much to my delight, however, I got 2x the reach and haven't lost a pixel of sharpness. The images I get at the zoo are TACK SHARP. I'm talking every single strand of fur on a monkey - as it swings on a branch. I'm talking truly amazing contrast, saturation, sharpness and reach. It is quite simply an indispensible lens for nature photography. I highly recommend using a monopod with it - besides, with the monopod attached, extended to 400mm with the lens hood on, you'll get so many admiring, borderline lustful stares you'll feel like a half naked showgirl.

I felt compelled to write this after reading some reviews that were accusing this beauty of being soft. I'll put my best shots with this lens against any others and win every time.

The lens is suprisingly easy to handle and hold. Canon has kept the weight to a minimum. The image stabilization works very well and the lens takes very good handheld photos. Selected this lens over the shorter telephoto with a 1.6x, because of the much better weight disbursement.

What can I say? This is a great lens for everything under the sun. It is worth every penny I spent on it. Most of the pictures I take with this lens are of track meets and other sporting events. I purchased this coupled with the 2x converter. One thing that I didn't realize when I purchased the package was the autofocus does not work through the 2x converter. Things move too fast for manual focus at track meets and air shows. So it is rare that I use the 2x converter. I got this lens last year in time for the snowmobile season to start. It is tough and goes with me everywhere. The detail is just incredible. I would recommend this for outdoor use. Not quite fast enough for indoor without a flash. If everyone is standing still, it does a great job, but this lens belongs outside.