Is this combo hand holdable?

[MN Shutterbug]

I'm considering this combo for a 30D I'm also considering:

Canon 300 F4 L non IS and Canon 1.4 TC. I know Steve handholds his 100-400 quite often, and this combo would be about the same weight. Of course, I'm no Steve and his lens has IS.

[mcary]

X,

The short answer to this, like most other photo questions is - it depends. You'd be looking at a 420mm f/5.6, which would be easily hand held in high light situations. If you are out during bright sunny days it would be no issue. I've had the 1.4x on my 100-400 which at the longest is an f/8 at 560 mm and had shutter speeds up near 800 with an ISO of 400, which in my opinion is relatively easy to hand hold. The rule often referred to is the inverse rule - if you take the focal length of the lens/combo ideally your shutter speed should be 1/focal length in order to hand hold. An example with my 100-400 and 1.4x (560mm), I should be looking for a shutter speed of at least 1/560 or faster.

Now to discuss the downside, if you've been having the kind of November that we typically have in Duluth (overcast and dreary) I can struggle to get shutter speeds of 1/100 even with ISO's up over 400 at f/5.6. With a non-IS combo I would be more or less out of luck. The IS on the 100-400 is a 2-stop IS which means if we follow the inverse rule of a necessary shutter speed of 1/400, we can cut it in half twice from 1/400 to 1/200 to 1/100 and our new lowest advisable shutter speed becomes 1/100. I've taken images at 400mm with the lens that have turned out at SS as low as 1/50 hand held (with the IS), but these are pretty difficult. I would no doubt have missed those shots if the lens wasn't equipped with IS.

I've actually considered selling my 100-400 to pick up the f/4 300 IS and using the 1.4x with it, because my copy of the 100-400 is a little soft at the long end (but still adequate). I hope this has helped a little. I'm sure the other guys will chime in if I've overlooked anything.

[MN Shutterbug]

If I would have thought about it, I wouldn't have asked such a dumb question. I knew about the handholding rules. However, I didn't have any knowledge as far as how many stops the IS can help. Mike, is the 100-400 you have, the same one as Steve's? I'm considering that lens but why is it, some people's copies are better than others? This just doesn't make sense, especially from a company like Canon. They should all be consistent.

Thanks for the reply and Happy Thanksgiving.

[finnbay]

Good answer, Mike. I think that covers it pretty well.

[mcary]

X,

The 100-400 I have is the same as the one that Steve uses. I have no idea why some copies are better than others. I don't know if having my copy "recalibrated" would help or not - as I don't know what recalibration entails (maybe someone out there could help us on this one). I have noticed that the lens is extremely sharp at around 200mm, even wide open, and is still good at 400, but there is a noticeable difference. The lens is sharper at 400mm when stopped down, especially to around f/8, which works just fine for still subjects and if Steve is willing to weigh in - I believe this is the situation in which he uses his most. I purchased the lens for action shots especially for waterfowl flight shots. In this situation, I need to shoot the lens as wide open as possible to get faster shutter speeds to help stop the action of a moving bird. My copy of this lens is weakest at exactly the spot I want it to perform (f/5.6 @ 400mm), which is why I was considering a different combo. Don't get me wrong, the lens still performs very nicely. But, when you compare it against the results that other individuals are getting with other gear combinations there is a noticeable difference and this doesn't bode well especially if you are considering selling your images in a competitive market. Now image sharpness isn't everything and you can certainly take very nice images with this lens, even images that individuals and larger publications would be happy to purchase. I guess it just comes down to a matter of personal preference and how picky/discerning a person wants to be.

[Dbl]

Quote:

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If I would have thought about it, I wouldn't have asked such a dumb question. I knew about the handholding rules. However, I didn't have any knowledge as far as how many stops the IS can help. Mike, is the 100-400 you have, the same one as Steve's? I'm considering that lens but why is it, some people's copies are better than others? This just doesn't make sense, especially from a company like Canon. They should all be consistent.

Thanks for the reply and Happy Thanksgiving.

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The standard answer is about 2 stops gain with IS, you may do better or worse depending on your technique. The older IS version, which the 100-400 is, it is recommended that is not be turned on when used on a tri pod. The newer IS, like my 300/2.8 can be used on a tri pod.

I won't go into debates on Canon quality control. Suffice it to say that any manufacture can have quality issues. Canon I think is better than most in this regard. Keep in mind that there simply are more Canon lenses out there because they are one of the top sellers. I have returned two brand new Canon lenses in the past year due to focus issues, one was an L-series. It happens, I mentioned in another topic here that I went through 3 copies of a Sigma 100-300/4 and never got a good one.

The advice I gave earlier about shooting the lens on YOUR camera before buying is a smart way to buy. Remember that not all lens issues are in the lens, the camera itself can be the cause. I have had my 20D in for focus calibration and can see the difference in almost all of my lenses. There is range of tolerable focus calibration in all manufacturers cameras, mate that with a lens that is on the edges of proper calibration and you might see some degradation.

Happy turkery day X!

[Dbl]

Focus calibration is done at the factory my understanding is that it is done with software. The best results come from sending the body and lens in together. You could always buy a new MarkIII with has the ability to do micro adjustments to each lens you own and retain that in memory so when you mount the lens on the camera it adjusts to your settings. Only will cost you $4500 for that, or about $200 to have Canon do your camera and lens.

[Steve Foss]

XT, I answered your e-mail already, so you've got that to look at.

With tripod and/or monopod, you'll have good luck with that combo in low light if you develop a solid technique, and I'm told by several who have used them both that the non-IS version of that lens is slightly but noticeably better than the IS version. Haven't compared them myself.

On the 100-400, the IS (older generation) is commonly considered to compensate for two stops. Newer IS is supposed to be good for three stops.

It was more likely a person would get a "bad" copy of the 100-400 several years ago than now. For some reason, quality control on that lens was hit or miss, but it seems to have been largely taken care of. Not to say you can't get a bad new copy now of that, or any, lens, but it happens far less often than it used to.

If I remember right, it costs about $80 to calibrate a camera/lens combo at Canon. I've had the 100-400 for four years and haven't done a thing to it except keep it clean.