canon 400mm f2.8

[adrian mandea]

hi guys


anyone has /had/ the canon 400mm f2.8 II (non IS) lens?I am thinking of buying one second hand and i would like some opinions because on the internet there's nothing about it





thank you





adi

[Brendan7]

I can't help you with where to find one, but I do have some advice.


The original 400mm f/2.8L doesn't have the wide-open sharpness of the IS version. It's sharp from f/4.5 onward, but at f/2.8 some would argue it's not very usable. It also suffers from CA. The lens is also heavier than the IS version and isn't weather sealed. I'm mentioning this because you seem to think that the original is just the IS version minus the IS, but there's a lot more to it. Not only that but finding a good copy of a lens discontinued 10+ years will be very, very hard.


These things sell from $3000 to $5000. Why not get the 300mm f/2.8L IS USM instead???? Yes, you lose 100mm (I hope you're not planning to use a 400mm 2.8 for birds) but lose 7lbs of weight and get a much better and more practical lens (you can actually hold it without a $1000 tripod!!!).


my 2¢


brendan

[Richard Lane]

Adi,


What do you plan on shooting with it? Do you need to be able to hand hold it?


Sorry, I can't help you with the non-IS version that you're interested in, however I tried out the 400mm 2.8 IS version and it's very heavy and cumbersome to use. The pictures I took with it were very impressive. If you just look at the weight it's not that big of a deal, but if you figure that you're holding your left arm out and extended, then basically after a few minutes it gets heavy really fast. So, you will definitely need a a good monopod which isn't really a problem, however it does limit the usability somewhat.


I ended up buying the less expensive but new 300mm 2.8 IS which is certainly hand holdable if necessary however I use it with a monopod most of the time, and if I need that extra reach then I just use it with a 1.4xII converter; which will make it 420mm @f4 with IS with very good results.


Rich

[cico2009]

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<span sb_id="ms__id367" class="long_text"]<span closure_uid_gtkjs0="543" tc="e tieni conto che il mio termine di confronto &egrave; con il sigma 150-500...." uc="and bear in mind that my standard of comparison is with the Sigma 150-500 ...." style="background-color: #e6ecf9; color: #000;"]<span sb_id="ms__id367" class="long_text"]<span closure_uid_gtkjs0="697" tc="ops dimenticavo ricorda che per questi obiettivi non ci sono pi&ugrave; i ricambi quindi verifica bene il funzionamento l'AF, graffi interni, muffe polvere ecc....." uc="oops forgot to note that these objectives are no more parts and then verify the good functioning of the AF, scratches internal mold powder etc. ....." style="background-color: #fff;"]sorry for my english