Questions About EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens

[Styner]

Hi Y’all what is a Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Super Telephoto Lens for Canon? What do they mean by EF ? is 400 mm good? I am trying to take pictures of wildlife now far away. I have a canon rebel T3. I am looking for a good lens that will capture wildlife giving me high-quality photos that are taken far away.  I’m looking to spend under $900

[ebiggs1]

"I am looking for a good lens that will capture wildlife giving me high-quality photos that are taken far away." "Several hundred feet away"

Now for the rest of the story. Depends on what "wildlife" you are wanting to photograph. A small bird like a cardinal will still be a small bird in you photo even with a 600mm lens. If your shooting and elephant from several hundreds of feet 400mm to 600mm might do ok. What's the answer? Get closer. When I am shooting a cardinal for example I like to be 25 feet give or take and use my 600mm lens. A hummingbird maybe 10 feet. On the other hand if I am shooting s grizzly bear several hundred feet seems to work quite well.

You see the mistaken notion is that a super tele lens is designed to make far away things look up close. And yes that is a function but the main most thing for a super tele is to fill the frame with small subjects. That translates to still being very close to your subject. So get close is the key here.

[ctitanic]

Here is my way of shooting wildlife, when I spot a bird or animal that is far away I start shooting the animal from that point and start walking slowly toward the subject taking pictures in every stop along the way. In this way I'll always have a picture of the animal to keep if the animal goes away before I get close enough. The longest is your distance between you and your subject the worst will be the quality of the picture due to refraction and other factors. This means that having a good zoom lens (800 or higher) does not mean that you will get good pictures. To me a good compromise is to have a variable zoom from 70 to 600 mm and always try to get the closer you can to the subject. 

[ctitanic]

One more point, most animal if you walk slowly toward them avoiding eye contact or pretending you are looking at something else will allow you to get close. Another point is to move closer in diagonals no in a straight line toward them. Use your surroundings, if you can get behind put some obstacle between you and the animal that allows you to walk in the direction of the animal, use it.