# Remedy against GAS? Shooting with a vintage EF 500 mm f/4.5 L USM



## justaCanonuser (Aug 9, 2018)

Well, we all are more or less driven by GAS: should I have the latest camera or lens? But sometimes I hesitate and reconsider my addiction for the latest stuff. This happens every time when I think I should upgrade my vintage, now 23 years old EF 500 mm f/4.5 L USM (built in 1995). It survived sand storms, fell from a tripod on a rock etc., it looks battered, but it still works 100 % reliably. It has no IS (in fact, it has a built-in passive mass inertia IS ), its first generation USM drive is a bit slow, wide open the image edges get a little bit soft (but f = 5 is fine) and with a 2x TC my cameras switch off their phase AF... But every time I have it in my hands, I still love it, and I know exactly what this lens can achieve and where its limits are - after many years its like an extension of my body. I shoot it more the 80 % free hand, because then I am best in catching birds in flight. For this technique this lens is not too heavy with 3 kg (my old back is still fine) and its more slender form factor compared with a modern EF 500 mm f/4 is just perfect for my hand.

For this Atlantic puffin I used it in combo with a 7D2. I think it is more important that you really know your gear than having always the latest stuff.


----------



## Maximilian (Aug 9, 2018)

Hi *justaCanonuser*!

Thank you for sharing this story and the nice pic with us.
And a nice idea of (re-)inventing the IS (= inertia stabilizer) *lol



justaCanonuser said:


> I think it is more important that you really know your gear than having always the latest stuff.


100% agree with this. 
New (better) gear makes it esier most of the times. But if you do it wrong from the start, no high end gear in the world will help.


----------



## degos (Aug 9, 2018)

justaCanonuser said:


> For this Atlantic puffin I used it in combo with a 7D2. I think it is more important that you really know your gear than having always the latest stuff.



Says the guy shooting with a 7D2, still Canon's latest prosumer sports/action body and retailing today for £1200, more than the price at which it launched here in the UK.

I'm actually the contrary; I'm happy to invest in new lenses but bodies are well out of date; 1DS3 and 7D. 

Well done with your old 500mm, but features like IS and spot-focus were really worth it to me. No Canon body can help shoot at 1/10th like a Mark II stabilised big white can.


----------



## BeenThere (Aug 9, 2018)

Try shooting a flying bird at at 1/10th with IS. Please show us the result.


----------



## justaCanonuser (Aug 9, 2018)

degos said:


> Says the guy shooting with a 7D2, still Canon's latest prosumer sports/action body and retailing today for £1200, more than the price at which it launched here in the UK.
> 
> I'm actually the contrary; I'm happy to invest in new lenses but bodies are well out of date; 1DS3 and 7D.
> 
> Well done with your old 500mm, but features like IS and spot-focus were really worth it to me. No Canon body can help shoot at 1/10th like a Mark II stabilised big white can.



 you're right and wrong. In fact, compared with the money you have to invest in a new EF 500 mm a 7D2 is low budget. For me, today's digital cameras are (unfortunately) short-lived products, but a good lens is a keeper for a while, sometimes more than 20 years. 

In fact, IS is in particular good for video, because already a little bit of wind blowing into the long lens hood starts to shake it e.g. on a Wimberley on tripod. For stills I don't miss IS much, because I shoot mainly birds, and most of them vibrate literally from life. I also have a Tamron 150-600 mm G2 as a light travel gear, it has a very good IS (VR), but I don't need to rely too much on it.

Thanks for your nice comment. Maybe I should add that this is not a lucky keeper within thousands of failed shots, I get quite a decent in-focus hit rate when I get adapted during shooting, despite it is such an old lens.


----------



## Durf (Aug 9, 2018)

great story! you should post a picture of the good old 500mm lens!

I've got a couple 40 plus year old Takumars that I just love using, the image quality is beyond amazing....not perfect, but amazing!


----------



## Del Paso (Aug 9, 2018)

Your picture of a puffin literally illustrates the difference between a tech-freak and a talented photographer.
Excellent lens, but even better photographer!


----------



## justaCanonuser (Aug 10, 2018)

Del Paso said:


> Your picture of a puffin literally illustrates the difference between a tech-freak and a talented photographer.
> Excellent lens, but even better photographer!



Oh, thank you for your nice comment!


----------



## justaCanonuser (Aug 10, 2018)

Durf said:


> great story! you should post a picture of the good old 500mm lens!
> 
> I've got a couple 40 plus year old Takumars that I just love using, the image quality is beyond amazing....not perfect, but amazing!



Here's my old 500 mm club. 



How about an image of your old Takuma? I love to shoot with more or less vintage glass and cameras, too (I am no collector, I really use them). Here's a quick selection of some of them (had those images already):


----------



## AlanF (Aug 10, 2018)

Modern lenses do quite well.


----------



## Durf (Aug 10, 2018)

Takumar 85mm f/1.8 lens on my 6D2.....



Here's my old K1000 with an 80-200 zoom on it....


----------



## justaCanonuser (Aug 11, 2018)

AlanF said:


> Modern lenses do quite well.
> View attachment 179618


Congrats, nice shot! I never said that modern lenses don't do well, but as you can see with my example, vintage lenses can pretty well keep up with modern lenses - at least the white ones from Canon


----------



## justaCanonuser (Aug 11, 2018)

Durf said:


> Takumar 85mm f/1.8 lens on my 6D2.....
> View attachment 179620
> 
> 
> ...


Beautiful!


----------



## DSP121 (Aug 27, 2018)

That's a great shot!


----------



## justaCanonuser (Aug 28, 2018)

Thanks!


----------



## salicaceae (Jul 3, 2021)

justaCanonuser said:


> I think it is more important that you really know your gear than having always the latest stuff


Sorry for bumping this old thread but I feel that I just have to say that justaCanonuser is spot on. A couple of years ago I never thought that I would ever own a 500 prime but as of November last year, the f4.5 big white presented it self before me for the price of $1200. I knew that I could not afford to sit this one out so I struck the deal and boy is it a BEAUTY! Battered and scuffed to the teeth but with crystal clear optics, it fits my $800 1DX like a glove ;D

I used to be one of those who thought that newest of the new was what mattered to succeed, until I bought my old battered 7D and understood that an old Ferrari still beats the hell out of a new Fiat  As said before in this thread, new gear is ofcourse great, but comes with unimaginable price tags. Old shitty stuff can still keep up as long as you really know what you are doing 

Canon EOS 1D X • Canon EF 500mm f/4.5L USM @700mm • 1/800 • f/9 • ISO 500





Canon EOS 1D X • Canon EF 500mm f/4.5L USM @500mm • 1/1600 • f/6.3 • ISO 100. Heavely cropped.


----------



## AlanF (Jul 3, 2021)

salicaceae said:


> Sorry for bumping this old thread but I feel that I just have to say that justaCanonuser is spot on. A couple of years ago I never thought that I would ever own a 500 prime but as of November last year, the f4.5 big white presented it self before me for the price of $1200. I knew that I could not afford to sit this one out so I struck the deal and boy is it a BEAUTY! Battered and scuffed to the teeth but with crystal clear optics, it fits my $800 1DX like a glove ;D
> 
> I used to be one of those who thought that newest of the new was what mattered to succeed, until I bought my old battered 7D and understood that an old Ferrari still beats the hell out of a new Fiat  As said before in this thread, new gear is ofcourse great, but comes with unimaginable price tags. Old shitty stuff can still keep up as long as you really know what you are doing
> 
> ...


Nice shots. Can you afford an old Ferrari?


----------



## salicaceae (Jul 4, 2021)

AlanF said:


> Nice shots. Can you afford an old Ferrari?


No. That's why I drive an old shitty Volvo ;D


----------



## justaCanonuser (Jul 5, 2021)

salicaceae said:


> Sorry for bumping this old thread but I feel that I just have to say that justaCanonuser is spot on. A couple of years ago I never thought that I would ever own a 500 prime but as of November last year, the f4.5 big white presented it self before me for the price of $1200. I knew that I could not afford to sit this one out so I struck the deal and boy is it a BEAUTY! Battered and scuffed to the teeth but with crystal clear optics, it fits my $800 1DX like a glove ;D
> 
> I used to be one of those who thought that newest of the new was what mattered to succeed, until I bought my old battered 7D and understood that an old Ferrari still beats the hell out of a new Fiat  As said before in this thread, new gear is ofcourse great, but comes with unimaginable price tags. Old shitty stuff can still keep up as long as you really know what you are doing
> 
> ...


Nice shots! The 1D-X seems to work well with the old lens. Btw I should dig out my old gannet images from Heligoland and Norway...


----------



## justaCanonuser (Jul 5, 2021)

Funny, a revived old thread! Here is my update: my battered old 500mm F4.5 still works flawlessly, it's amazing. I post a quite rare little tern that I managed to catch after it surfaced with a little fish, I shot that image in Northumberland in 2019. Camera used here: 7D II. C'mon, Canon, I want a fast, rugged R7 crop camera with about 24 MP!


----------



## AlanF (Jul 5, 2021)

justaCanonuser said:


> View attachment 198805
> 
> Funny, a revived old thread! Here is my update: my battered old 500mm F4.5 still works flawlessly, it's amazing. I post a quite rare little tern that I managed to catch after it surfaced with a little fish, I shot that image in Northumberland in 2019. Camera used here: 7D II. C'mon, Canon, I want a fast, rugged R7 crop camera with about 24 MP!


The only time I got a Little Tern was also in Northumberland, at Long Nanny. Were you near there?


----------



## justaCanonuser (Jul 5, 2021)

AlanF said:


> The only time I got a Little Tern was also in Northumberland, at Long Nanny. Were you near there?


Between Seahouses and Beadnell at the shore. We spotted a place where obviously little fishes were hidden, and there the tern was hunting. It was amazingly close, so I could work w/o TC.


----------



## salicaceae (Jul 9, 2021)

justaCanonuser said:


> Funny, a revived old thread! Here is my update: my battered old 500mm F4.5 still works flawlessly, it's amazing. I post a quite rare little tern that I managed to catch after it surfaced with a little fish, I shot that image in Northumberland in 2019. Camera used here: 7D II. C'mon, Canon, I want a fast, rugged R7 crop camera with about 24 MP!


Nice tern! I am really impressed with my sample as well. Mine also built in 1995. I understood that the leap up from my prime 400 5.6 would be noticeable, but damn does this lens perform and exceed every expectation I had. The hitrate together with my 1DX is just enormous!  The only bad thing with this combination is that so many photos are so great so I don't want to throw anything away = crowded backup hard drives and dire needs to buy me some more storage. And yes, dig up those gannets! They are gorgeous! I so long for the gannets migration season in October/November here on the Swedish west coast.

My sample work as a charm with the 1.4x III converter as well as mentioned above. My 400 5.6 turned into a slug and oh so dark forests at f8 with the extender, thus ISO had to be bumbed up like crazy which turned everything to noisy shit =P Even at ISO 3200 this gear still produce stuff that I never thought I would ever dream of. Sample image below.

Definitely agree! An R7 would me yummi!! However, since I only eat the crumbles of shitty old gear for bargain prices, the R5 or R6 or R3 or a future R7 is at least 10 years away ;D

Canon EOS 1D X • Canon EF 500mm f/4.5L USM @700mm • extender 1.4x III • 1/800 • f/6.3 • ISO 3200


----------



## justaCanonuser (Jul 9, 2021)

salicaceae said:


> Nice tern! I am really impressed with my sample as well. Mine also built in 1995. I understood that the leap up from my prime 400 5.6 would be noticeable, but damn does this lens perform and exceed every expectation I had. The hitrate together with my 1DX is just enormous!  The only bad thing with this combination is that so many photos are so great so I don't want to throw anything away = crowded backup hard drives and dire needs to buy me some more storage. And yes, dig up those gannets! They are gorgeous! I so long for the gannets migration season in October/November here on the Swedish west coast.
> 
> My sample work as a charm with the 1.4x III converter as well as mentioned above. My 400 5.6 turned into a slug and oh so dark forests at f8 with the extender, thus ISO had to be bumbed up like crazy which turned everything to noisy shit =P Even at ISO 3200 this gear still produce stuff that I never thought I would ever dream of. Sample image below.
> 
> ...




no bad drake shot, salicaceae. 

Well, a 1D-X surely still is a powerful camera with a very good AF system. Sid you manage to shoot birds in fast flight, too? (If you can hold such a lens, not everybody's back is up to that, mine still works...) I personally like very much the balance and smaller form factor of the old f/4.5, compared with a 500mm f/4, it fits extremely well in my hand (medium sized male). I don't miss IS too much, the only drawbacks are its not so fast USM drive compared with today's standards, and that the phase detection AF of Canon's DSLRs does not support a 2x TC on this lens.


----------



## justaCanonuser (Jul 9, 2021)

Okay, a bit more of vintage EF 500mm F/4.5 charm, here with Canon's 1.4 TC III on my 7D II. A young crested lark in the morning sun. Image slightly cropped.


----------

