Canon EF 100-400mm Lens Review: A Versatile Powerhouse for Wildlife and Sports Photography

Hello Everyone,

Today I received my infusion so this fun fact Friday will be a short one. Today in fun fact Friday I want to talk a bit about my main go to lens. First I want to start of by saying this lens was one of the best investment I have made in my photography. The image quality is so good, many people have a stigma against zoom lenses but this one does its job. Prime lenses are great but having a lens that allows you to control the scene and composition does so much for you in wildlife photography. At first I was kind of annoyed that it only reached up to 400mm but as I have grown in my photography I have really been enjoying capturing a scene and showing the landscapes around the areas I explore. I use a canon m50 mark II which uses an M mount but you can buy a converter to use different lenses on different mounts. I bought an EF converter and have been using it like that since purchasing it. I LOVE this lens I went yesterday to take some pictures and found a baby barred owl and I had a field day. This lens does not mean and I am just scratching the surface on what it can do.

This lens focus length obviously is 100-400mm with a maximum aperture of F4.5-5.6. This lens has an inner focus system but you are able to use it manually as well. It works wonderful on manual but this lens is so quick to find your subject that the auto focus is all I use. That’s how good this lens is this lens is perfect for wildlife, bird, and sport photography. When ever there is quite a bit of distance between you and your subject this lens will deliver. Closest focus distance is 3.2ft/0.98m this lens requires you to be quite a distance away but is nothing to crazy and you can get away with some close up shots even from a couple feet away. This lens has a rotation type zoom system. I believe this is the downside to this lens it would have been nice to have and internal zoom but for the price I can deal with this. This lens has image stabilization and you can also get a range extender which are compatible with this lens either a 1.4x or a 2x. This lens has four switches on the side the first one is a focusing distance range switch which from full-infinity. The second switch is your auto focus/manual focus switch I honestly never use this I keep it at AF. The third switch is the image stabilizer switch on/off I always keep it on. The fourth switch is the image stabilizer mode this lens has 3.

The lens mount has a rubber ring for enhanced dust and water resistance. The focusing distance ring is very important. I always keep it in full but what does it do exactly. Well when seen at full your minimum range for auto focus is 0.98m/3.22ft and when set to infinity your minimum range is 3m/9.84ft. What about the image stabilizer modes what are they and what do they do. Mode 1 corrects vibrations in all directions. Is very effective when shooting still subjects. This is my go to mode as I have very shaky hands and this helps me get clear detailed pictures. Mode 2 corrects vertical camera shake during following shots in a horizontal direction, and also corrects horizontal camera shakes during following shots in a vertical direction. Mode 3 corrects vibration only during exposure. During panning shots, corrects vibration during exposure only in one direction similar to mode 2. This lens comes with a camera hood I highly recommend using it as it controls lens flare. This lens also has a tripod mount build in to the lens that can’t be removed. Some people are bothered by this I really don’t mind it as I have switch it to the top of the lens and I use it to carry this heavy lens. This lens weighs at 1570g/55.4oz doesn’t sound like much but if you own a heavy camera and don’t have a shoulder strap be prepare for this lens to hurt your wrist after awhile. Hand holding this lens hurts after awhile as well be prepared to feel it after awhile of holding it to your eye. so what do I think of this lens well this lens is a must have especially if your doing wildlife photography. Having some great range depending on what ever scenario you find yourself in. I give this lens a 4.8/5 stars as I have some small little quirks that I am not a fan of but they don’t affect my pictures. I don’t have much complains for this lens I love it.

I hope you have enjoyed this small little review I hope to keep reviewing and sharing my experiences with many more products. If you love photography and want to get into wildlife, bird, or sports photography this needs to be in your camera bag. Until next week I hope you have enjoyed!