The Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM is a spectacular lens that comes in at a hefty price tag; in this instance however you really do get what you pay for if you can afford it. This lens is the most expensive item in our kit at a price of around $1,800 and is quite heavy to carry around but we sure do love using it for landscaping and shooting wildlife. This lens includes a built in 3 Mode Image Stabilization; which works fantastically, a reasonably wide 9 blade f/4.5 aperture at 100mm (f/5.6 @ 400mm), and a razor fast built in Auto-Focus and is without a doubt able to deliver the sharpest images of any lens I’ve ever used.
Auto-focus helped grab a bee on flower on a breezy day.
When it comes to images and video the 100mm-400mm focal length gives you a unique telephoto look in your pictures giving your subjects a flattering and compressed appearance. You can easily use this lens for pleasing portraits or close ups on well lit and overcast days however it does suffer at lower light levels if you are using it for indoor events where you're are trying to capture sports of anything thing that might be moving responsibly quick. That said on many modern cameras you can just bump up the ISO though to compensate and still come away with very usable pictures or video.
Pleasing bokeh and depth because of the longer focal lengths.
Because of the long focal length which is at a minimum of 100mm you'll have to be standing a good distance away from your subject unless your are going for a more macro type of effect which this lens can do just magnificently given that it has a super short minimal focusing distance of roughly three feet. And if your are a far distance from your subject then no problem!
This picture was shot at the minimal 100mm focal length
This picture was shot at the same location as above at 400mm focal length.
At 400mm you can easily get close up shoots of things spectacularly far away tack sharp that you otherwise would not of been able to capture. That said with that extreme focal length we found it very restrictive in tight spaces or when wide shot needed to be done so keep that in mind if the location you're are going to be shooting is going to be an indoor venue.
At 400mm you can get up close and personal but stay a safe distance away from wildlife.
The build quality of the lens is solid. I've not dropped this bad boy but I feel like if I did so and it was not from a great height onto some pavement it would probably survive the fall denting the object it collided with while still looking fine. Canon claims the lens is fully weather sealed and though I've only gotten it a little wet from taking it out a drizzly days I feel like I can trust this lens on my camera during a poring storm. Rubber seals and a focus rings keeps the lens firmly in your hand and while keeping the important components dry.
The lens also features a resistance band for how smoothly you can extended or contract the focal length making sure you've either a smooth or tight draw of the lens which can completely mitigate and lens creeping that occurs. Lens creep is an annoying phenomena occurring when the zoom lens barrel extends due to its own weight. The resistance band at a tight configuration eliminates this problem completely on this lens in my testing which is a big plus!
Overall this really is a great lens able to deliver unique perspectives and nice flat compressed images. It’s extreme focal length and 9 blade aperture allows for very pleasing bokeh and shallow depth of field. It is also super, super, super, sharp. The downsides are the restrictive pricing as it is quite the investment, the weight, the lack of the ability to go wide (but that’s not why you get this lens), and the medium speed which makes it kind of niche at times. That said if you like going outdoors and shooting landscapes or shooting wild life this lens is a must have. If you intend to do portraits, indoor sports, or need something faster that is cheaper. I would recommend f/2.8 70-200mm like Canon’s or Tamron’s.
Below are just a few more images that I captured while going on a creek trail to review this lens.
Conclusion
Score
Affordability: 2/5
Build Quality: 5/5
Image Quality: 5/5
Utility: 3/5
Overall Scoring: 4/5
The Bottom Line: A Superb performer for landscapes, portraits, wildlife, and outdoor events but with a prohibitive cost and sometimes niche focal length.