For the last few days I've been shooting with Canon's new 200-400mm F4LIS lens.
This has been a much anticipated lens by Canon.
For a long time now Canon shooters have wanted a 200-400mm lens and we have had that lens
for quite some time now more than 10 years and this is one of only probably half a dozen
prototypes in existence at the moment.
It was recently used at the London Olympics and after London Olympics it's come down
to Australia where it was used at the Australian Open and I've never been fortunate enough
to get my hands on it for a few days.
This is actually the second time Canon has employed an inbuilt teleconverter.
The first time was in the original Canon 1200mm FD lens which is a very rare lens and also
had an inbuilt 1.4 teleconverter.
The teleconverter was not in the EF version but has been obviously now included in this
new lens.
It's very easy to operate, to slide in and out, literally by just pushing the finger
down here I can slide it to 1.4 or back to 1 times.
A few other things I'm going to talk about on this lens.
This lens has four stop image stabilisation and it has three different modes.
One is for hand holding, mode two is for panning and mode three is for use on a tripod.
Like all Canon's super telephoto lenses it also has focus preset option and a number
of different buttons that can be programmed around the lens.
Canon's new lens has a focal length of 200mm to 400mm.
With the 1.4 teleconverter in there it becomes a 280mm to 560mm.
You can use this lens with a two times teleconverter as well to make it a 400mm to 800mm.
You can even slide the 1.4 converter into turning it into an 1120mm lens.
Haven't yet had a chance to look at what the files look like on screen when you do that
but they're probably not going to be great.
In terms of hand held ability with this lens you can hand hold this lens with a hand held.
It is heavier than a 300mm f2.8 but it's also lighter than a 500mm f4 so it can be used
hand held and I've done some hand hold shooting with this in the last few days shooting equestrian
events and at a local open range zoo as well.
In terms of file quality the image quality from this lens is really good even wide open
it appears to me to enlist in the centre to be at least as good as a 300mm f2.8 LIS which
jowls with other people who have heard who have tested this lens who said it's as good
as a 400mm f2.8 LIS.
So the thing that really separates this lens from every other Canon telephoto in the range
at the moment is this bulge here and what's unique about this bulge is this is where the
1.4 teleconverter for this lens is housed when it's not being used.
It is being used to flip the switch down and it slides in front of the focal plane.
There is a lock mechanism on this on the teleconverter so that you can actually lock it out to prevent
it being accidentally knocked up to three days of shooting I'd never found the need
to use it.
I didn't find that I ever accidentally knocked the teleconverter does require a fairly dedicated
push to move it in and out but it is easy easy to do.
The really great thing about having a teleconverter built into the lens is that the teleconverter
can be specifically designed for this lens and like all the other teleconverters the
Mark 3, 1.4 and the Mark 3 two times which are designed to use on all of Canon's lenses.
This particular one is built in and optimised for the 200-400mm lens so it's really good
in terms of quality.
Where it's located it does not get in the way when you're shooting where you're on
a tripod or shooting handheld it's never a hindrance it's very easy to flip the switch
to get it to 1.4.
This is a very exciting lens from Canon it's been long waited for it's still in prototype
format this is not a finished production model I am hoping to get my hands on a finished
production model before I travel to the Arctic this August to photograph the polar bears
because this is going to be the ideal lens for shooting from ship where you've got wildlife
at a varying distance to be able to quickly flip that converter in to go for a bear that's
at long range or pull it out to go to 200mm at something a closer range without having
to change lenses or put in converters it's going to be really convenient and it could
be the difference between getting the shot and missing the shot.
I'm very excited by this new lens from Canon.
Final word on this lens much has been said about the suggested retail price of this lens
it's rumoured to be somewhere between $11,000 and $13,000 when it does finally ship which
is going to mean a lot of photographers will not buy it so I guess the question is who
is this lens for and really it's for working pros who need a 200-400mm lens perhaps for
things like the tennis or shooting equestrian events or motorsport or football anything
where that focal length is going to be useful is going to provide the photographer with
images that they may not have otherwise got there will be wealthy amateurs who purchase
these as well but I think majority of these will probably end up in the hands of pros
who either shoot sports or shoot wildlife for a living and want the best image quality
they can possibly get.
It's a very exciting lens and I'm very much looking forward to getting my hands on a finished
model.
After shooting with the new lens for the last few days I can and having a chance to have
a look at the files here in my print studio I can now say that the quality of the files
that this lens produce are second to none they are at least as good as any of the other
Canon telephoto lenses in the range and I think perhaps considerably better than many
of them.
I'm still quite amazed as I go through the files just how sharp they are and how crisp
they are regardless of what I've stopped a shot on or what focal length.
There's almost no difference between a file shot at 300mm or shot with the 1.4 telegram
teleconverter in place in terms of image quality this is an extremely impressive lens from
Canon.
Looking at the files with the 2x teleconverter in place things do start to fall off a little
bit as you would expect but the image quality is still certainly very good and at least
equal to what you would expect to see from a prime telephoto lens with the 2x teleconverter
in place.
I know there's been some scuttle bite around the web about whether you can actually use
a 2x teleconverter with this lens I can assure you you can.
I shot with it several times during the last three days at the open range zoo and it works
just fine.
If you need to get to 800mm it's a very good solution and it's certainly the life I think
hanging around a dedicated 800mm lens.
I have no doubt in my mind now that after having shot with this lens for three days
and having looked at the files and processed some files made some prints that this is going
to be the lens for me to shoot wildlife within the Arctic and Antarctic and I have no doubt
that there are many other wildlife photographers who will also be lusting after this lens when
Canon released it later this year.
It's probably the most exciting lens I've seen from Canon in a long long time and I'm
very much looking forward to taking it to the Arctic and Antarctic this year.
