Another Lens test from another new lens.
For some time know i have been pondering over whether to upgrade my 300mm lenses and get something a little bigger to help me get more into Bird and Wildlife photography. The 300mm just did not seem to cut the mustard anymore. Deciding what lens to finally get has been a nightmare, so many sites visited comparing 2 i was looking at. The Sigma 50-500mm and the Canon 100-400mm. Going off the two 300mm lenses i own, one Sigma and one Canon personally i could not tell much difference, other than certain colors being blown out on the Sigma. But i also thought to myself, if i am wanting to produce better quality images in future then it had to be the Canon 100-400mm. And any thought about getting a Sigma soon went
It arrived yesterday evening so did not get to test it out, was not until gone 3pm today i finally made it outside for a test run. Sadly the weather was very grey and dull, but dry, so i was not really expecting much due to the lighting. Not many birds around other than a few Magpies so i decided to take a photo of the neighbors Apple Tree, which is approx 110 feet away.
After uploading the images i was very surprised at the result, and even more surprised after i did a 100% crop. The quality is quite good considering the lighting was so poor. There has been no processing done on these 2 images, only cropped one of them.



100% Crop -



It is a tiny bit noisy at 100% crop but im not sure whether that was due to the poor light.

All in all i think that i am going to have a lot of fun with this lens

Congratulations Mark, I've had this lens for a number of years before I traded it last year. It's a great lens that takes a little getting used to, to get the best out of it. I used to stop mine down a little bit (f 6.3) at the long end (400mm). Also the IS needs a little time to settle, so don't try to grab a shot to quickly.

Thanks Ken ......
It was one of the only times i have used my tripod, felt i needed to, even though the lens is not that heavy i am still a little wobbly holding it handheld. I will try different settings, thanks for the tip on stopping it down to f6.3

Congratulations Mark on another good buy.

Your garden must be massive if the neighbors Apple Tree is approx 110 feet away. Suppose that's how you Lords can afford all these lovely lenes when you own palaces

lol Dave.....Garden is about 90 feet give or take, still have an old coal shed and outside loo as well, house is a shoebox though ....Def not a Palace

Great lens Mark, mine is permanently slung on my arm when im out. Kens point on letting the gyros spin up is valid, took me a while to allow for that before the final press of the shutter.

Some people recommend turning off the IS. if using the tripod, also shooting at 380mm improves the shot ive found.

Look forward to your images.

Thanks Brian

The next objective is to try and find some time over the Winter to get out there and get some photography done. Opportunities are few and far between at the moment. If i cannot get out there hopefully we will have plenty of winter visitors to the garden so if nothing else i hopefully will get plenty of practice in

Thanks for the tip for using it at 380mm. I had read something similar for the Sigma 50-500mm, that it performs better when not opened all the way up so i suppose it stands to reason that the canon is the same

Well done! I reckon you've got a good lens there!

xx

Thanks Laura. A lot of people praise this lens so i hope i can eventually do it justice and produce some great images with it

Oh Em Gee! Duuuude! I want that lens! I've wanted that lens since... well, since forever! I'm so jealous of you right now.

Btw, I think the result of the shot is epic, I prefer to take shots in the shade for a nice even light, helps with the contrast problems that every camera has. Keep the detail in the shaded areas and all that Jazz.

Having said all the I guess your into taking photos of birds, in which case you would need the strong light to freeze the action.