Canon 100 – 400mm L Lens Review

Last week we send photographer Bas van Est out with the new Canon 100 – 400mm L lens to test out. Here are his thoughts…

By now the Canon 100 – 400mm lens is well covered with high profile reviews and, in the world of technology, pretty much old news. However, it did take Canon 10 years to release the Mk2 so I feel this lens is worth the extra chat.
I had a good read at the reviews online (Ken Rockwell, DP preview etc) before taking it out into the field myself. And by field I mean, stash it in my backpack on a 5 hour roadtrip  up north to test it on some lifestyle / surf photography vibes.

It’s considered to be amazing, yet I still had my reservations due to past experience with lenses that cover such extensive focal range.

On this trip I matched the lens up with a Canon 5D mk 3 as well as an EOS 1DV SLR and below are some of my findings.

Ergonomics
The size of the 100-400mm when packed away is similar to the 70-200 f2.8 so if you’re already used to carrying that around then you will barely feel the difference. The ability to shoot at 400mm without an extender and still have the range to pull back to 100mm for a wider shot was super useful for the landscape shots that I got on this trip. It definitely beats carrying a 200-400mm around, from a weight (and price point) perspective.

Focus
I tested the speed of the focus as the sun was shining directly into the lens but not once did it hesitate or delay when grabbing focus. This was probably one of the most impressive features for me, which I think will apply very well for shooting outdoor adventure sports aimed straight into that morning or evening light. Unfortunately the surf wasn’t pumping enough to put the focus modes to the test but the odd seagull were a dream to capture, even at 400mm.

IS
I was standing on rocks shooting handheld at 1/80 @ 400mm and some motion blur was showing in the image….no surprises there. I only had to push it another stop to 1/160th and the IS managed to get me a stable shot @ 400mm.

Aperture
Ok, so the lens is not as fast, especially with an minimum aperture of f5.6 @400mm, but the ISO performance on all the latest camera’s will make up for the 2 stops difference, and don’t forget….it’s @ 400mm!!!!

I didn’t work with an variable ND or Circular polariser but the access latch in the lens hood to adjust such filters is a pretty clever addition.

The lens is so sharp that the screen on the back of the camera cannot render the image to the full capacity, and thus the results in post were far better then I had initially expected.
With outstanding industry reviews, a growing number of emerging photographers combined with my own experience from this trip I can see why a specialist focal range has been popular at since they got the lens in at Kingsize. If only I could justify the purchase!!

ps: It works just as well on the latest Canon Automatic SLR film cameras, for those that want to #staybrokeshootfilm

 

Check out what Bas shoots when he’s not testing lenses over on his WEBSITE.