Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lens Review
Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lens
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by Bryan Carnathan Bryan Carnathan
If you can get past the price, the Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lens will blow you away in most other regards. This is simply one of the most incredible lenses available and one of the ultimate action sports lenses. The 400 f/2.8 IS II features superb image quality at even wide open apertures, incredibly fast AF and best-available build quality.
Angle View on Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III DSLR Camera
My first thought when reviewing the 400 f/2.8 IS II press release was that this lens is the answer to the "How do you make a $7k lens look like a bargain?" question. The answer of course is that you introduce a $10,500 replacement lens. This initial price was increased by $1,000 before the 400 IS II hit the streets (the original 400 f/2.8 IS price also increased a significant amount during this timeframe which included the devastating 2011 Japan Tsunami).
My second thought being a more serious one, was: How can one of the best lenses ever, the Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS USM Lens, be improved upon?
The answer to the second question was quickly answered upon lifting the Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lens with a Canon EOS-1D Mark IV mounted, to my eye during the Canon Expo 2010. I can handhold this one! I cannot understate the dramatic difference in weight - and this weight difference starts making the difference in price appear smaller (especially if shoulder or back surgery is included in the equation).
The EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lens is the 5th generation in Canon's 400mm f/2.8 series, replacing the introduced-in-1999 EF 400mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens. Owners of the this lens will, like owners of the previous lens version, primarily be professional and serious amateur photographers (or wealthy photographers). And due to the focal length and max aperture of this lens, they will primarily be using this lens for sports, wildlife and photojournalistic pursuits.