I have a friend that has a Canon 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS lens that he has had for 4-5 years. He hasn't used it much & there's not a scratch anywhere - it's in perfect condition. Are the older models of this vintage the same quality and design as what is being produced today? He's got a great price on it & I was wondering about any design changes in the more recent models.
Call Canon. I'm sure someone there can give you ALL the info you'll need. I have the same lens and needless to say it's one awesome lens in terms of image sharpness and overall quality. The push pull might take some getting used to, as I have the 70-200 with interrnal zoom, and I like that better. The 100-400 is a very nice range. Best of luck.
Hi Nick. I own a 5 year old 100-400 and it's a workhorse. It's got the limitations inherent to a 4.5/5.6 and that it telescopes but I've had no problems.
I agree with the others. I've had mine almost 5 years and though I don't use it much any more since I got longer glass for birds it's always with me as a backup. It's a very nice lens for the price and very versatile. I've had no problems with mine and I got used to the push-pull quickly.
Wick, it's the same 100-400mm Canon has had all this time, in fact, there has been an ongoing question if a version II would ever be brought to market. Being that Canon's factories are just starting to ramp up since that horrendous earthquake so any new models and designs are slow coming, that probably won't happen any time soon. And because of demand, prices have been higher on th lenses they DO have, so a new 100-400mm sells for $1619 at B&H right now. So I think that all this boils down to this: pull the trigger and get that lens from your friend!
I believe the newer lenses have a more effective I/S. The older lenses advertised a 2 stop increase and the newer ones are more. I'm not certain of this but I do believe it's so. Canon would be the way to know as suggested. I have two 100-400. One about 10 years old and the other about half that. Don't see any difference but I don't use I/S that much either so hard to say.
JR
I can't give you an answer to the newer quality question but I have been using mine, with one repair only, since October, 1999. I wouldn't give it up! No good with converters but you can use it with tubes and I do!
Discussion
6 repliesThanks for any insight!
Call Canon. I'm sure someone there can give you ALL the info you'll need. I have the same lens and needless to say it's one awesome lens in terms of image sharpness and overall quality. The push pull might take some getting used to, as I have the 70-200 with interrnal zoom, and I like that better. The 100-400 is a very nice range. Best of luck.
JR