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Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM 'L' Review

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The Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM 'L' lens is a solid and reliable telephoto lens that provides good image quality and impressive zoom range. The build quality is rugged and durable, making it suitable for outdoor and wildlife photography. The autofocus system is fast and quiet, and the lens has good image stabilization. However, it is heavy and the push-pull zoom mechanism can be inconvenient.

The Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM 'L' lens is rugged and durable, with a reliable autofocus system and good image stabilization. It provides impressive image quality and a versatile zoom range, making it suitable for a wide range of photography applications.

Pros
  • Impressive zoom range
  • Rugged and durable build quality
  • Fast and quiet autofocus system
  • Good image stabilization
Cons
  • Heavy
  • Inconvenient push-pull zoom mechanism

The push-pull zoom mechanism and the lens' weight can be inconvenient, but overall, it's a solid choice for photographers in need of a dependable telephoto lens.

The Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM 'L' lens is a reliable and solid telephoto lens, offering an impressive zoom range of 100 to 400 millimeters, which makes it versatile for a variety of photography needs. The lens features an aperture of f/4.5 to f/5.6 and comes with image stabilization, making it ideal for wildlife and sports photography. The build quality is rugged and durable, with a metal construction that can withstand rough handling. The autofocus system is super fast and quiet, and the lens has full-time manual focus for added control. However, the lens is quite heavy at 1.3 kilograms, and the push-pull zoom mechanism, while old-fashioned, can be inconvenient to use. Additionally, the tightness ring to pull the focus ring along with it can be annoying.In terms of image quality, the lens performs well on a full-frame camera, delivering sharp and detailed images with good contrast and colors. The lens is particularly sharp in the middle of the image and maintains good resolution even in the corners. However, it performs slightly less on an APS-C camera, but still provides reasonably good quality. The lens handles distortion and vignetting well, with minimal issues, and produces smooth and pleasing bokeh for out-of-focus backgrounds.Overall, the Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM 'L' lens is a reliable and durable telephoto lens that offers good image quality and impressive zoom range, making it suitable for a wide range of photography applications. While it can be heavy and has some minor inconveniences in its design, it remains a solid choice for photographers in need of a dependable telephoto lens.

The Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM 'L' lens produces sharp and detailed images with good contrast and colors. It handles distortion and vignetting well and creates smooth and pleasing bokeh for out-of-focus backgrounds, making it a reliable option for photographers.

Source

This article is based on the review by

Christopher Frost

Christopher Frost

Christopher Frost is a YouTube channel dedicated to providing in-depth reviews and analyses of photography equipment, particularly lenses. Christopher Frost, the creator and host of the channel, is known for his thorough and detailed evaluations of various lenses from different manufacturers, including Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, and others.  To learn more, please visit the channel here.

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