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Lens review
ON TEST
SPECS
On the strength of customer feedback, Canon has produced aMark II version of a lens that proved extremely popular with sports and wildlife photographers. We find out howwell they listened CANONEF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM
PRICE £1999.99 CONTACT
www.canon.co.uk CONSTRUCTION 21 elements in 16 groups NUMBEROF DIAPHRAGMBLADES 9 CLOSEST FOCUSING DISTANCE 0.98m IMAGE STABILISER Yes, 4EV FILTER THREAD 77mm DIMENSIONS (DXL) 92x193mm WEIGHT 1640g (with tripod mount)
Words & pictures by Roger Payne
If you’re familiar with the original EF 100- 400mm the MkII version doesn’t, on first acquaintance, appear substantially different. It’s a little chunkier, but the physical dimensions are virtually identical. Pick the lens up, however, and you’ll realise there’s an immediate difference – the push-pull trombone zoom action of the original has been replaced by a twist action control to bring the MkII version in line with all other Canon zoom optics. The MkI’s zoom resistance adjuster has been retained, which helps to eliminate zoom creep and means you can dial in a bespoke amount of torque when you zoom, but now it’s a far more positive action, with less than a quarter turn dividing maximum and minimum torque.
When I first invested in a Canon EOS system, I bought two L series lenses: the EF 24-105mm f/4L, which I loved, and the EF 100-400mm f/4.5- 5.6L IS USM, which I didn’t. Where the standard zoom delivered image quality by the bucketload, the telezoom always left me feeling flat, primarily when it came to out-and-out, pixel-peeping clarity. Clearly I was in a minority, because the original lens proved extremely popular, particularly with budding sports and wildlife shooters who either couldn’t stretch to a prime Canon telephoto, or wanted a far-reaching zoom. Now there’s a new version. And much like the Canon EOS 7D Mark II, it’s driven by customer feedback. As a result, this is more than a cosmetic brush-up, it is a complete reworking.
Pick the lens up andyou’ll realise there’s an immediate difference – the push-pull trombone zoomaction of the original lens has been replaced by a twist action control
Photography News | Issue 16
www.absolutephoto.com
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