usa.canon.com Customer Reviews Collected from usa.canon.com
Canon - EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens - White
Average Customer Rating:
4.6 out of 5
4.6
Open Ratings Snapshot
Rating breakdown 75 reviews
5 Stars
55
4 Stars
15
3 Stars
3
2 Stars
2
1 Star
0
93%of customers recommend this product. 
(
67 out of 72
)
Customer Reviews for Canon - EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens - White
Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
Great versatility
on July 25, 2015
Posted by: nathan
from Birmingham, MI
We bought this lens originally to photograph our sons football but we have used it for so much more. I take great shots of my sons lacrosse team, the 400 has great reach to get up close action shots of the kids playing, good details. I have also taken this on my trip to Africa,Belieze for fly fishing and various trips, the photos we took were amazing and the ability to get close ups from safe distances was great and I did not sacrifice details. I love the versatility and durability of this lens in different environments
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
Awesome
on February 19, 2011
Posted by: Ninja Snapper
from Denver, Colorado
My first L-series lens and I could not have made a better choice!!! From elk in Estes Park to bugs on blossoms at eight feet, and a myriad of sporting events like football, golf, swimming and track & field, this lens has performed flawlessly. Using it almost always in hand-held mode, from macro insect and flower shots, all the way to maximum zoom with a 2x extender, I personally feel that there could not be a more versatile lens out there. It comes to the fore for me when shooting outdoor sports - I've often carried it all day at track meets and soccer tournaments, craddling it like a baby [in the crook of my arm] between shots without noticeable strain at the end of the day. And the balance with or without the tripod foot seems perfect for me. As a side, it never fails to garner glowing comments at shoots, especially when being used in maximum zoom mode. Quite simply, I LOVE this lens - there's no better glass on the market for versatility and capability.
Pros: Fast auto-focus, Superior build quality, Super-sharp images, balanced, fast zoom
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
4 out of 5
4
Big Bag O' Compromise
on December 11, 2011
Posted by: ABQ.Joe
from Albuquerque, NM
Canon's EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 is a versatile lens I use with a 7D body, primarily for wildlife shooting, along with capturing standoff candid shots at events and on the street. However, it's VERY conspicuous at 400mm.
In a lot of ways this is a 5-star lens, but it tries to do a little too much maybe. I truly wish Canon had made thls their first 200-400, maybe allowing for 4.5 max aperature throughout the zoom range? When you're shooting early morning bird flights, that extra stop at 400mm would mean lower ISO and much better shots.
That said, this lens performs well at all focal lengths, and that wide range often comes in handy. On a 1.6 crop body, your reach is equivalent to 160-640mm--that's pretty sweet.
A lot of people hate the push-pull zoom, but I love it. You actually get a lot more zoom speed when shooting fast-moving subjects, like birds in flight and basketball, etc.; just remember that shooting those kind of subjects consistently takes a lot of practice! The zoom friction is adjustable, so you can zoom fast, or lock it down with no creep.
The IS performs well, giving you around 3 stops as far as I can tell, and has 2 switchable types; one for standard shake control, the other for lateral movement, like tracking birds through the sky. Shooting a static subject at 640mm, don't be surprised if you're able to take shots at 1/30.
The 100-400 is pretty sharp throughout the range, and gives me good color, with just a tad too much contrast in some situations, like during golden hour. I don't get much chromatic aberration or flare, but on a full-frame camera, you get some pronounced vignetting in the 250mm and higher range.
As with any telephoto, you get a lot of background blur, but the quality of that blur (bokeh) is kind of strange when you have a complex background, like trees: the background gets kind of a spaghetti-like blur pattern that isn't always pleasing. I'm admittedly spoiled by the 24-70L and 50mm 1.2L, so I might be nit-picking.
Canon kind of surprises me by only weather sealing around the switches. I find that kind of a bummer, since it's far more likely to be used outdoors than most Canon lenses. You can pull off a few shots in a light shower, but forget staying out in the rain--you will fry both lens and camera.
The 100-400 is a hard lens to compare, because it kind of stands on its own. I guess the bottom line is that it's a great performing (if slightly flawed) 100-400 zoom lens: just remember that ANY 100-400 lens would be flawed; it's a wide range to cover, and Canon does it quite well.
Pros: sharp, versatile, good price performance, relatively lightweight 400mm
Cons: limited low light capability, odd bokeh, vignettes on full-frame cameras, not fully weather sealed
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
4 out of 5
4
Great Lens, Know the Limits
on April 9, 2014
Posted by: Len90
from New Jersey
I purchased this lens as I needed to give myself a bit more reach than my 70-200 could offer, even with the 1.4 extender. The versatility with the lens is great. The 100-400 range is perfect for photographing airplanes, wildlife, sports, etc. The images are sharp up until about 300mm and then there is a slight drop off in sharpness as you go beyond 300. The focusing at times can be a bit slow, which can be tough if you are trying to lock in on a moving subject. Finally the lens does seem to vignette a lot when mounted to a full frame, which is to be somewhat expected but maybe not so much to the degree I get at times. The lens is push/pull which is a bit uncommon now. However, the adjustment period really isn't bad and after a day of playing around it feels normal. The tension ring is great for allowing you to determine how much or how little force will be required to zoom in or out.
I have had this lens for nearly 5 months now and it does seem to be what I utilize the most. I still use my 70-200 f4L IS at times when I know I will not need that extra reach. My 70-200 copy is amazingly sharp and I find it to be a bit faster at focusing.
Overall, I do recommend this lens to almost everyone. It is a great versatile lens but does have a few limitations. It will be interesting to see if Canon does come up with something to replace it in the coming years as the current version is coming up on 16 years already. My version was a 2013 build, based on both the serial number and having come with the new center pinch lens cap. The design might be old, but Canon is still actively making them!
Pros: Superior build quality, Super-sharp images
Cons: Slow auto-focus, vignetting
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
Fantastic Wildlife Lens
on February 28, 2009
Posted by: Geo-Ranger
from Idaho
The image stabilization of this lens is nothing short of fantastic. It produces razor sharp images hand held even at 400 mm.
Pros: Super-sharp images, Superior build quality, Fast auto-focus, fantastic image stabilization
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
4 out of 5
4
EF 100-400mm is Versatile
on December 10, 2014
Posted by: Birdman
from Davis, CA
I bought the lens for wild bird photography. I considered the EF 400 5.6, but I thought I better go with IS. I am a pure amateur hobbyist. I like the portability of the lens. The great close focus (5.9') has been useful in getting images of flowers and insects. Most of my use is at the 400mm, but I like the ability to shorten-up if the subject comes closer. I use it mostly from a monopod, and I am still working to get consistently sharp images of moving birds. I have seen the work of professionals who use the same lens, so I know what is possible with my Canon equipment.The EF 100-400mm is heavy! For me, the push-pull zoom feature is an interesting challenge - keep it too loose, and it creeps longer; too tight, and you miss a shot trying to shorten it. I'll keep working with it to see if I can give it 5 Stars.
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
A great value
on May 22, 2014
Posted by: sabre95521
from Arcata, Ca
This is my second purchase of this lens (the first got stolen) so that right there should tell you how much I like this lens.
My favorite subject for this lens is Airshows but is a great Nature lens except in the darkest of conditions.
Pros: Fast auto-focus, Superior build quality, Super-sharp images
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
Best wildlife lens
on June 16, 2011
Posted by: mrlotus74
from Honolulu, HI
Never comes off my 7D!
Used for shooting butterflies to an orca.
Even with a 6 ft minimum focus, achieves beautiful
macro shots of insects and flowers. 400mm can
handle most distant bird and wildlife shots and
compared to 500mm plus lenses is so much easier
to use and transport. Image quality has been
excellent and I have not bothered switching to
my Canon 24-105 lens for anything so far.
While quite heavy, I have become used to handling
it and can track fast moving birds comfortably.
I have never used a tripod and don't see a need for
one for my photography.
The price is reasonable compared to other quality
lenses. The odd push-pull telephoto actually works
very well even when tracking fast moving subjects.
I cannot report any faults or disappointments, but
be prepared to answer a lot of questions at zoos etc.
Pros: Fast auto-focus, Superior build quality, Super-sharp images, extremely versatile
Cons: heavybut manageable
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
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