Canon EF 400mm F5.6/L USM Field test
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- Опубліковано 5 вер 2024
- I field test the Canon 400mm L prime lens that I bought second hand and show the results of my first week of shooting with it.
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#canon #canonlensreview #wildlifephotography
Thanks Andrew. I've had this lens for several years, using it on a 7D Mk II, a 90D, and a 5D Mk IV. Like you, I bought it used. For a while, I was really mad at it because of poor sharpness. Then I cleaned it (there was visible dust looking in through the back), and I was suddenly delighted with the sharpness. (It also needed microadustments on the focus.) I cleaned it by just shooting air in the back with my Giottos Rocket Air Blower.
Thanks for sharing about your experience with the 400. Very interesting how you cleaned it. I'm going to take another look and see how bad the dust and grit is. Thanks for the helpful tip!
You have made a good choice getting this lense.
Dont be afraid to shoot with higher shutter speeds and higher iso.
Noise is easier to correct than a soft image.
I try to shoot at F6.3 or F7.1 if possible, you will find its a lot sharper than 5.6
I have this lense and yes you are correct in saying that it is better on a ff camera. I have a crop 80d and a full frame 5d3 and the results with the 5d3 are far better. Also i would suggest you shoot raw as there will be a lot more detail in the image.
Hi Guy,
Thanks so much for your info, that's very helpful. I have been trying a few different things and so far I'm happy with the performance as my technique is improving. I'm glad I chose thise over the Tamron etc super zooms!
You need to close a little bit the aperture my friend, on aps-c this lens need to be stopped at f7.1 better f8, while on full frame it's pinch sharp even wide open
Thanks for watching and yes i've learned to do that to achieve better iq! all the best
yeah! you got the lens. I'm sure it'll get better once you get used to it. Those lenses with high apertures are so annoying, I got a wide angle with that and I will NEVER get one with higher than 2.8 again. It was fun seeing your journey.
Thanks very much. Yes it's tricky, that's for sure. Low light or even medium light can make you change your whole approach. I think i'll be practicing my birds in flight first though. That seems to be the most challenging!
Hi Andrew! A pleasure to watch the wildlife episode with the 400mm. Loved the cormorant heads composition, you have some nice shots! Keep on practicing 💪🏻
Thanks Edgloris! Those cormorants are great subjects for practicing wildlife photography. It's a tricky lens to use but it can create some really nice images. It's going to be fun getting to know it.
Maybe it's heavier because it has a camera attached to it :-)
Ha, What a twat I was :-) thanks!!!
My 400mm Prime came today from Japan. Very nice, it focuses fine and it also works good with my Canon 2x converter. It's winter now and I can't wait to get it out tomorrow and get some distance shots.
enjoy Mitch. I've been having much more success with mine now i've learned to keep the shutter speeds up! Have fun
@@andrewbalcombe1338 I have a Canon 1D Mk 4 and high shutter speeds no longer scares me. LOL. I tested it last night and high ISO even looked good.
@@BirdWhisperer46 That's a nice camera, congrats on the new lens and I know you will have a lot of fun in the coming days!
@@andrewbalcombe1338 mY last camera was a D1 Mk3 so I am use to these bodies, but this one does video which I am looking forward to. Plus I live on the Mississippi River flyway and am waiting for spring bird migration.
@@BirdWhisperer46 Great stuff, I just looked up second hand mark 4s and they are quite cheap right now. I'm saving up for a second hand R6 though. I think the IBIS and 4k video will be quite useful, also for the unstabilized 400 prime. I live on the migration path aswell, so we will probably be shooting them heading north at the same time.
City shot softness could be due to atmospheric haze at that distance
Hi Roy,
yes, I agree. one reason why using a 400mm for landscapes can be tricky:-)
Congratulations Andrew, with your new lens! I am looking forward to the upcoming results. Have you tried some birdshots on f10 already?
Hi Dennis, Thanks very much amigo. No I haven't tried the f10 thing yet or even the f11 thing if you're referring to Canons new 800 mm lens for the RF mount :-). But that's a good idea. I will give it a go. and show you the results. Fingers crossed!
yes I used the Canon R5 and took a heron shot at f10 :-) coming in my video tomorrow!
What I am looking forward to is to see how well the IBIS of the new R5/6 series cameras contributes to this lens' sharpness at lower shutter speeds. Should be interesting.
I agree, it might give 4-5 stops of stabilization. Very handy indeed.
Hi Andrew, thanks for the video, i live in the Netherlands too and i have a Canon 5D MKIII (from CameraNu haha) and i'm also going to buy a second hands 400mm F/5.6, didn't you use the high speed/AI servo mode of your camera ? for me it's to get sharper images of the birds.
Ha, CameraNu are doing well with us. I hope you get years of enjoyment with your 400mm. I did use the Al servo, but I think the birds were too close and I was too slow. My hit rate with my 70-200 was much higher until I used the 400mm more and got my eye in.
A few day later I managed to get my best bird in flight pics of a torenvalk (kestrel).
@@andrewbalcombe1338 I would agree, it is easy to say that the lens is bad but usually you gotta have a fast shutter speed to have sharp images
@@mrm2204 yes that's the trade off with a crop body sensor, fast shutter speed means more noise, but lately, i've been raising the speeds up to 1/2000th + and often the images came out cleanly. Can't say i'd have the same success during winter low light days though.
Just found your channel and so far I love your content.
What sigma 70-200 is it that you have? I have a 70-200mm f2.8 APO EX DG OS.
I couldn't see if you have the same one. If yours is the same one as mine, what aperture would you say is the sharpest?
I'm struggling to get 100% sharp photos with it on my 7D ii.
Thanks
Hi there. Thanks for commenting.I have the same lens but it has HSM on the end :-). I found the sharpest f stop on my old 60D was F4 - F5.6, But with my 70D I'm still trying to find the sweet spot. It also has some back focusing issues at f2.8 -3.2, which I need to iron out. At 200mm it's quite soft, so if I need a lot of detail in the shot I don't go further than 135mm.
@@andrewbalcombe1338 Okay awesome. I actually think mine also has HSM but I'll have to check. Okay thanks for the reply, it helps a lot.
I'll do some tests on that apertures to see what works with my camera.
@@f2.8- yep, also check to see if it's front or back focusing. That happens a lot with 3rd party lenses and can affect sharpness
Thanks for sharing your journey, very useful stuff. Subscribed.
Welcome aboard Manish! Glad you liked it :-)
400mm does not perform as well on crop sensors, sharpness takes a hit on the crops versus full frame.
tend to agree with you on that one !
I recognize the tree with the cormorants, it's Solleveld. Am I right? 😎
Hi Kees,
yes :-)!!
@@andrewbalcombe1338 LOL. It's very nice birding overthere. Lots of different spieces.
@@keesbrouwer8941 yep, that's for sure. They even have a resident pair of goshawks in the spring :-).
@@andrewbalcombe1338 I have never seen goshawks, only buzzards, kestrels, hobby falcons and sparrowhawks. Last september a visitor has photographed the goshawk (See Flickr group Solleveld!). Happy birding! 👍
@@keesbrouwer8941 I was lucky enough to see them a couple of times. Pretty special indeed! i'll checkout that flicker group, thanks! All the best to you Kees!
Sedge warbler.
Thanks very much Zoltan. Now I know!
only shoot RAW