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Author Topic: New Canon EF 200-400mm f/4 L IS USM on the way ...  (Read 4772 times)

JohnKoerner

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New Canon EF 200-400mm f/4 L IS USM on the way ...
« on: March 02, 2011, 08:11:49 pm »

I don't know if anybody has seen this, but I do know that many of the Canon nature photographers here have secretly (or not-so-secretly) lamented the fact that the Canon's old 100-400mm warhorse has needed to be put to pasture for a long time. I know of at least a few photogs who have actually considered switching brands, just to be able to use the Nikkor 200-400 lens in the field. I myself have thought about just buying the Nikkor lens along with a Novoflex adapter ... but I have remained hopeful that Canon would *finally* address this sagging segment of its lens portfolio ...

Well, apparently the patience of us loyal Canon users has paid off, for Canon has announced the new EF 200-400mm f/4 L IS USM, which not only is almost a Godsend in its own right, but it will be further blessed beyond its Nikkor competition by having a 1.4x extender that is actually built-in to the lens. (Not to mention its new IS II technology.) This means the overall potential "reach" of the new Canon 200-400mm on a FF camera will be 200 – 560mm ... while on a 1.6x crop like the 7D it will translate to a whopping 320mm-896mm potential reach.

This is truly filling an incredible niche. The only "cringe" factor is going to be the price which, if it's like the rest of Canon's latest super telephotos, is expected to be ~$8,000.

I know it's not cool to get excited about a new lens, but I am, and I know that so are many other people.

So I guess I will leave it as ... time to start saving

Jack


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« Last Edit: March 03, 2011, 07:04:44 am by John Koerner »
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BFoto

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Re: New Canon EF 200-400mm f/4 L IS USM on the way ...
« Reply #1 on: March 02, 2011, 11:47:29 pm »

Oh boy...how am i going to explain this one to the wife. Man, i hope the optical and image quality match the price. Now, what can i pawn...oh yey the car!

Paul Sumi

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Re: New Canon EF 200-400mm f/4 L IS USM on the way ...
« Reply #2 on: March 03, 2011, 12:39:43 am »

So I guess I will leave it as ... time to start saving


Or playing the lottery.  Especially since there's a snowball's chance I'll ever spend that much money on a lens otherwise  ;)

Paul
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JohnKoerner

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Re: New Canon EF 200-400mm f/4 L IS USM on the way ...
« Reply #3 on: March 03, 2011, 07:25:23 am »

Oh boy...how am i going to explain this one to the wife. Man, i hope the optical and image quality match the price. Now, what can i pawn...oh yey the car!

Well, if all we can go on to predict the quality in is by relying on the past, while it may be true that there's been some grumbling about Canon's wide-angle lenses ... historically Canon's super telephotos have pretty much been peerless across the board ... so I believe "this" upcoming super telephoto lens here will be no exception. The old 100-400 was pretty much priced as a budget lens; this lens is supposed to be in the class of Canon's elite super-telephotos.




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Or playing the lottery.  Especially since there's a snowball's chance I'll ever spend that much money on a lens otherwise  ;)
Paul



While no one knows what the price will be at this point, the fact is Canon has made major increases in the prices of all its second-generation IS-II super telephotos, and with the new 500mm IS II hitting B&H Photo at a $9,500 price point, I am pretty sure that this new 200-400 IS II is going to be mighty painful to buy. In fact, $8000 might be a "low" guess.

I agree, if that's about where the price is launched, it is not a small chuck of change, but I also know that on the end of my 7D (and with the 1.4x built-in converter) I will pretty much have a 320mm-896mm potential reach, which is a lot of covered ground and (really) means I don't have to do any lens-swapping at all. If the quality of this lens is as high as expected, I think a lot of people will only buy "this" lens as their only dedicated super-telephoto. And while I am sure Canon will price it accordingly, in the long run its flexibility will probably make it worthwhile.

Jack



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« Last Edit: March 03, 2011, 07:30:52 am by John Koerner »
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Tim Gray

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Re: New Canon EF 200-400mm f/4 L IS USM on the way ...
« Reply #4 on: March 03, 2011, 12:44:12 pm »

Well, I guess I could sell my 300 2.8 to get at least a down payment.    :(
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Ken Bennett

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Re: New Canon EF 200-400mm f/4 L IS USM on the way ...
« Reply #5 on: March 03, 2011, 02:44:21 pm »

I'm thinking this would make a fine replacement for my elderly 300/2.8 (non-IS.) I don't use a very long lens all that often, and would find it hard to justify something exotic like a 400/2.8 or a 500/4, but this zoom might be a very useful choice. It covers a good range of focal lengths for general photography, f/4 is plenty fast enough these days, and and the built in converter is genius. Not being a wildlife photographer, I won't be first in line, but I can see this down the road.
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DaveCurtis

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Re: New Canon EF 200-400mm f/4 L IS USM on the way ...
« Reply #6 on: March 04, 2011, 02:19:12 pm »

I'll probably stick with my 400mm f4 DO as it is lighter and 200-300mm range is a bit short for my needs. Although I would kind of like the big zoom with the built in converter. If it was optimised for the long end I would presume it would be sharper than the 400mm DO



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phila

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Re: New Canon EF 200-400mm f/4 L IS USM on the way ...
« Reply #7 on: March 07, 2011, 01:33:33 am »

The built in 1.4 Ext should be great!

I found it quite handy when I used the last Canon lens to feature one. Care to guess which one that was?   

phila

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Re: New Canon EF 200-400mm f/4 L IS USM on the way ...
« Reply #8 on: March 18, 2011, 10:15:44 pm »

It was the NFD 1200 f5.6L.
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