Canon EF 100-400 II
Januari 07, 2015 I picked up my new Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM at Foto Robyns in Sint Truiden (Belgium). II have been waiting for weeks for the lens to be available through Canon Belgium.
For quite some time I have been looking for a good quality zoom lens to use beside my 600 mm. I tested the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM extender 1.4x a while ago and the image quality was outstanding but that lens was just too heavy to use together with a 600 mm. I am also giving the Sigma 150-600 Sport some thoughts but just couldn't pass on the new Canon.
I did some testing with the 5DIII and 1DX, with and without a 1.4x extender. A short session in my garden hide quickly made it clear that the new Canon 100-400 II is an excellent lens. Even with the 1.4x extender, image quality isn't affected and still way better than the old 100-400. And because it's a fairly compact lens (everything is compact next to the 600 mm ;-)) makes it an ideal companion for the 600 mm.
I will let the images speak for itselves (click on the picture for bigger pictures).
1DX, 100-400 II + 1.4x, 1/160, F8, ISO800, 560 mm
1DX, 100-400 II + 1.4x, 1/250, F8, ISO800, 560 mm
1DX, 100-400 II + 1.4x, 1/250, F8, ISO3200, 400 mm
5DIII, 100-400 II, 1/320, F8, ISO1600, 400 mm
5DIII, 100-400 II + 1.4x, 1/600, F8, ISO800, 401 mm
1DX, 100-400 II + 1.4x, 1/200, F8, ISO800, 560 mm
1DX, 100-400 II + 1.4x, 1/200, F8, ISO800, 560 mm
1DX, 100-400 II + 1.4x, 1/200, F8, ISO800, 560 mm
1DX, 100-400 II + 1.4x, 1/320, F8, ISO800, 450 mm
Nothing wrong with this lens ;-).