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

Before purchasing this lens, my longest lens was 70-200mm f/4L EF lens(non IS). Although it does the job, often I wish for little longer zoom when shooting wild life and nature shots. Initially thought about getting 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM lens, but there seems to be little problem with this lens that Canon hasn't addressed - some flare problem. Spent little more and got 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS. What an amzing lens it is. I initially thought it would be really heavy by its size, but surprisingly it was ok to me.

Image quality? I think they are better and sharper than my 70-200mm and even my 24-70mm f/2.8L lens. Perhaps I got a real sharp copy. ^_^

The other reviewer didn't mention anything about IS. When shooting in this zoom range, you really need a tripod. Otherwise, your shot will be all blurry by hand shake. But with IS turned on, I was able to save 90% of the shots shooting at maximum 400mm @ 60~100 shutter speed. Normally you'd need 400+ shutter speed to get sharp images. Sure, you can get cheaper lens with this zoom range, but you won't get IS nor its known "L" quality sharpness and color rendering.

Build quality is awesome and has push pull zoom instead of rotating zoom. Some people may prefer rotating zoom, and I had worried about it, but it's not much big of a deal. You just need to get used to it.

If you were thinking of purchasing this lens, I highly recommend it!!!


Happy Shooting~~