Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS (Image Stabilizer) USM Autofocus Lens

This lens has perfect image quality, seemless zoom and focusing controls, and the optimum telephoto range for outdoor and sports photography.

Clarity is continuous from 100mm all the way to 400mm. With my old 100-300mm lense, I rarely shot over 250mm because I began to lose clarity. I compensated by cropping when I got home. With this lense, 95% of my wildlife photos don't need cropping (not to mention the improved color and clarity). It does work well with my 2x extender, but I find that I don't need it very often any more.

I don't think you could find a better lense for photographing wildlife and sports.

Drawbacks:
1. You pay for what you get. Even though clarity, focus, and zoom are the best available, I wouldn't say they are 10x better than an off-brand lense that you can get for 1/10th the price.
2. Weight. Did I mention wildlife photography? This lense rarely goes hiking. Though when it does, it is worth a few extra aches and pains in your shoulders, back, hips, thighs, quads, knees, calves, ankles, and feet. You WILL need to add the weight of a tripod to your pack as well. You won't be holding this lense up waiting for an animal to strike the perfect pose for long without some support.

I have had the lens for over a month now and it is by far my favorite. I am using it on an EOS 30D. The lens is a little heavy but not as heavy as I expected from other reviews I had read. I carry it around for hours tromping through the forrest in search of that one of a kind shot and no problem. It is fast and quiet. I use it mostly for wild life and flowers. I have probably shot over a thousand pictures with it so far and I am pleased. I even took some shots of a jet flying over using the mode 2 stabilizer and they were amazing. I am finding it a little difficult to manually focus after the auto focus is set, but this may be me and not the lens. All in all I use this lens more than my other 3. I am an enthusiast not a professional.

I have had some time to try this lense out and all I can say about it is WOW.
I tried taking some pictures of airplanes flying over and was amazed at the detail in the pictures. The aircraft were probably 3000 feet up and you can see so much detail that I was amazed.
Sometimes I wish that it didn't weigh quite so much, but I imagine that quality comes at some price. That is the only possible thing that might even detract from this super lense. I can't wait to get my next "L" series lense.
Canon made a winner when they created this one.

I use this lens primarily for shooting swimmers at swim meets. The zoom range, rapid focusing, image stabilization and high quality optics are what sold me on this lens. I also plan on using the lens for nature photography.

Although I shoot exclusively 35mm, this lens is just as effective on a digital Canon camera. My only complaint is the weight of the lens which is certainly understandable given its focal length, rugged construction and quantity of glass.

I shoot birds and wildlife, and this lens can do it all. Even great macro photography. I'm thrilled to own this lens. Pictures are sharp and crisp even handheld thanks to the image stabilization and L series glass optics.
Highly recommend.

The lens is great for sports or nature. It is sharp as a tac! Can't say enough about this versitile lens.

Great lens! Only thing that would make it better would be twist style manual focus versus push/pull.

The product is fabulous, the high priced transaction was smooth, the seller is excellent and the shipping was fast. Plus, the price was extremely competitive even with other web-based and store front retail locations.

This lens is an absolute must have for any avid sports photographer or wildlife photographer. Smooth...not too loud when zooming in and out, which is great for wildlife shooting. Fast...a must when shooting sports.

Example of capabilities: I can stand on one end of the football end-zone at the Tennessee Titans stadium and literally read the wording on the T-shirt of a fan sitting on the other end of the end-zone...it's that good.

The glass gives sharp, clear images for daylight photos. Because of the f/4.5-5.6 I would not use it past early dusk hours...not receommended for nightime or lowlight shooting.

Overall: Totally satisfied and well worth the money. You can find these on eBay at great pricing.

I recently started taking surfing pictures. This lens is great. The zoom action is very smooth and retains focus through out the range. I can quickly go from shooting the surfers paddling out to a great tube on the outside break. Because of the quality optics, the pictures are very crisp and clean. Even though it has Image Stabilization it is heavy enough that using a tripod is recommended. I highly recomend this lens for outdoor sports action photographers.

Wonderful zoom range. Fine lens clarity & color reproduction. It is heavy. You can hand-hold it if you wish, but for extended shooting you may need a monopod or tripod.

The seller has refused to ship the lens to me and will not communicate with me or with PayPal. I have filed a PayPal claim and am awaiting a decision.

That is my review.

This lens is literally everything I wanted. Yes it is heavy - but you knew that right? Yes, you should use a tripod or monopod - but if you are a photographer, you knew that too. This lens is crisp and sharp. It is easy to manual focus or auto focus. The Push/Pull zoom is actually easier to use with the weight than rotating zoom. I am a nearly 60 year old woman with Rheumatoid Arthritus and have been out in the desert in NM walking for an hour with this lens - not a problem. I use a monopod with a ball head sometimes, but even when I don't I get crisp clean shots. I think it is a well designed, perfectly balanced lens of great value for the $$. It works well with the 2x extender, but with manual focus only. You want close - you get close! Great lens!

This lens fits nicely in a camera backpack. It really a must have for a traveling photographer.. Sharp as a tack even for 20 x 30..

Have just run through basic tests of lens, but my early view is that it is incredibly easy to use, crystal clear, not as heavy as I thought. The slide-to-zoom feature is excellent despite my early reservations about the design. More on this lens soon.

The purchase came very quickly and well packed. The price was good. I am very satisfied.
Thank you.

i found this lens to be so good and the clarity is far beyond what i expected,it can handle any shot with ease,i wanted this lens to see if it would live up to what i wanted to do with it and it did. its a little heavy for those who complain about things like heavy lenses or bikes,i found it to be a trade off and the benefits are,i don't mind the heavy end of it cause the prize you get in shots outweigh any downside. i simply love it.

I bought this lens used and used it for about 2 months. I had a couple fall day trips planned and I wanted something to reach a little farther than my 70-200mm. I picked this lens because there are one or two other long zooms I plan to try and I feel this lens was the standard to compare them to in the Canon arena. I liked that the lens is fairly compact for a lens with 400mm reach. When at 100mm, its about the same length as my 70-200mm f2.8 IS. Its a bit heavier than the 70-200, but not very noticeably. It seems well made. The zoom action is push-pull like some of the old Canon fd lenses except you use a separate ring to focus. The focus is quite fast, I was able to keep track on some relatively slow birds as well as some football players in action. This lens can be hand held in decent light (sunny), since its relatively light and fairly short compared to other pro-level solutions. The zoom does not creep as long as you tighten the variable friction ring before you sling the camera. The lens isn't very fast aperture-wise, but its as good or better as any other zoom in its class. You have to spend a lot more money and move to a prime to get a large aperture in these focal lengths. The Image Stabilization works well, but I can't help think this lens should have been updated to the newer 4 stop system Canon is using now. I have heard that a new version is right around the corner (early 2010). While don't mind the push-pull zoom, it makes accuracy a little more difficult. I tended to over-zoom, then under-zoom before getting the composition right. Also I think this type of mechanism tends to move the lens barrel around more during action which can make it hard to keep the lens on target while tracking moving subjects. While I liked this lens a lot and may end up with another one in the end, I'm anxious to try out the Sigma 150-500mm OS lens first. One additional detail I will add is that I recently dropped my 70-200mm f2.8 IS lens and had to ship it to Canon for repairs. The cost was very reasonable for the work required and the lens literally works better than it did when I bought it (and it was new!). The turnaround time was fast. MY point? Canons repair service reputation is another good reason to consider a Canon lens over other manufacturers, especially for the L lenses.
Wade

nice seller very good lens clean like new as he said very happy with my buy

buy again from him any time

gerald

This lens has already provided me with excellent results. I have used it as a bird and small wildlife lens. Sharpness is excellent. A nice piece of workmanship and optical achievement.

Although the seller made mistake in delivering the product, he fixed the problem quickly. Reliable seller!

They were very helpful in helping me to not only purchase the right lens for my wifes camera but got it shipped in two days to be here in time for our vacation trip. Very well done. I would highly recomend them to everyone.

Jim G
Denver, Colorado

I decided to buy this lens so that I would have a little more reach than I currently have with my Canon 300mm EF F4 L IS Prime Lens. It also provides me with the versatility of a zoom telephoto. This lens has the superb build qualities of all the Canon EF white lenses.