# Proudly removing my EF 400mm f/5.6L from my inventory!



## Ozarker (Apr 22, 2016)

A young man I've been mentoring bought my 70D and kit lens a while back. Well, yesterday he called me and said he'd saved up the money to buy my 400mm f/5.6L.

It is a great lens, but not one I cannot do without since I can put my Canon EF 2X III on the EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II when I need 400 mm. After AFMA I get solid photos with the extender and lens.

Josh will be heading to Alaska to work fish processing and may stay there. I think the 400MM will serve him well there.

I'm doing mostly portrait work now (hobby) and the 400mm rarely gets used. I think if I buy a long lens again I'll save my pennies for a 600 f/4L and skip 400mm altogether.

Josh is a good kid, but comes from a very troubled family. I wish him well and have been happy to watch him learn that he doesn't have to take the road the rest of his family has taken. He just turned 18 this past month and has decided to take the high road.

You could say that photography has saved a young man from an otherwise bleak future.  That is such a good thing for boys like him. 

Let's keep shooting and if we can pass on the glory of this great field, hobby or pro, to the young of this world.


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## nc0b (Apr 22, 2016)

For BIF I get drastically better results with the 400mm f/5.6 over my 70-200mm f/2.8 IS II with 2X TC III. For that matter I sold the 2X TC. Again for BIF I prefer the prime over my 100-400mm II. For general wildlife the new zoom is great, and works well with the 1.4X TC III, unlike the prime, on a 5DsR.


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## candyman (Apr 22, 2016)

CanonFanBoy said:


> A young man I've been mentoring bought my 70D and kit lens a while back. Well, yesterday he called me and said he'd saved up the money to buy my 400mm f/5.6L.
> 
> It is a great lens, but not one I cannot do without since I can put my Canon EF 2X III on the EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II when I need 400 mm. After AFMA I get solid photos with the extender and lens.
> 
> ...



That's a very good thing. 
I did the same thing my self just recently and helped a troubled 15 year old girl. Gave her some older photography equipment to let her focus on something else rather than problems. I notice that when busy with photography, I do not think about anything else. I am just a hobby photographer myself but have just enough knowledge to give her some lessons and get her started.


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## AlanF (Apr 22, 2016)

How much did you charge him for the lens?


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## Ozarker (Apr 22, 2016)

nc0b said:


> For BIF I get drastically better results with the 400mm f/5.6 over my 70-200mm f/2.8 IS II with 2X TC III. For that matter I sold the 2X TC. Again for BIF I prefer the prime over my 100-400mm II. For general wildlife the new zoom is great, and works well with the 1.4X TC III, unlike the prime, on a 5DsR.



I can probably see that. I just don't do any BIF anymore. When photographing aquatic birds with the 2X III TC I have had great results with the 70-200mm and extender after AFMA. I don't think I've taken a loss for what I do.


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## Ozarker (Apr 22, 2016)

AlanF said:


> How much did you charge him for the lens?



Why?


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## Ozarker (Apr 22, 2016)

candyman said:


> CanonFanBoy said:
> 
> 
> > A young man I've been mentoring bought my 70D and kit lens a while back. Well, yesterday he called me and said he'd saved up the money to buy my 400mm f/5.6L.
> ...



Good for you!


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## JohanCruyff (Apr 22, 2016)

CanonFanBoy said:


> I wish him well and have been happy to watch him learn that he doesn't have to take the road the rest of his family has taken. He just turned 18 this past month and has decided to take the high road.
> 
> You could say that photography has saved a young man from an otherwise bleak future.  That is such a good thing for boys like him.


 
"The American Dream" is still alive.


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## JohanCruyff (Apr 22, 2016)

JohanCruyff said:


> CanonFanBoy said:
> 
> 
> > I wish him well and have been happy to watch him learn that he doesn't have to take the road the rest of his family has taken. He just turned 18 this past month and has decided to take the high road.
> ...


Maybe you're from Canada.
It doesn't make any difference: it's great to see people dreaming and hoping and making things different.


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## Ozarker (Apr 22, 2016)

JohanCruyff said:


> JohanCruyff said:
> 
> 
> > CanonFanBoy said:
> ...



Mesquite, Nevada - USA


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## pierlux (Apr 22, 2016)

Hi CanonFanBoy, I remember Josh's story. I'm glad he's going ahead with photography, but most of all I'm glad to know he's going to get a job, no matter how hard it can be working in fish processing in Alaska. I wish him all the best!

And may Canon announce and deliver a new exceptional 400mm or 500mm or 600mm f/5.6 L IS to reward your commitment to Josh's cause! I'd be in for any of them!


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## Ozarker (Apr 22, 2016)

pierlux said:


> Hi CanonFanBoy, I remember Josh's story. I'm glad he's going ahead with photography, but most of all I'm glad to know he's going to get a job, no matter how hard it can be working in fish processing in Alaska. I wish him all the best!
> 
> And may Canon announce and deliver a new exceptional 400mm or 500mm or 600mm f/5.6 L IS to reward your commitment to Josh's cause! I'd be in for any of them!



I'll tell you what, that is absolutely a young man's job. They'll give him $20K for two months work with room and board. Not bad.

As far as lenses go I have my heart set on either the 400 f/2.8 or the 600 f/4... but I dream too big.  That's lottery big for me.


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## Maximilian (Apr 22, 2016)

CanonFanBoy said:


> ...
> Josh will be heading to Alaska to work fish processing and may stay there.
> ...


Hey CFB! 

Great to see that this story gets a sequel 
I was believing in that when I read part 1. 
But honestly I didn't expect Josh to be so eagerly after your equipment. Good to see so. 
But look out that he'll still leaves something for you and your hobby


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## GMCPhotographics (Apr 22, 2016)

CanonFanBoy said:


> A young man I've been mentoring bought my 70D and kit lens a while back. Well, yesterday he called me and said he'd saved up the money to buy my 400mm f/5.6L.
> 
> It is a great lens, but not one I cannot do without since I can put my Canon EF 2X III on the EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II when I need 400 mm. After AFMA I get solid photos with the extender and lens.
> 
> ...



I did a similar thing, my 2x on a 70-200 f2,8 LIS II is nearly as sharp and it's a lot easier carrying just the one lens. You gain a very good IS system and the AF is still very good. But...the af on the 400 f5.6L is a LOT faster and more accurate, so it's not a like for like swap. But times many things in photography, every thing is a balance of various personal compromises and sometimes carrying less for near equivalence is a personal choice. Ironically, I later bought a 400mm f2.8 LIS, which is arguably the heaviest of Canon's big whites...but the results are outstanding.


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## slclick (Apr 22, 2016)

Nice to see a pt 2 to this story. You're a great example and mentor CFB. Mesquite eh? I go through that tiny town a few times a year. I'll PM you the next time. Who knows?


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## pierlux (Apr 22, 2016)

CanonFanBoy said:


> pierlux said:
> 
> 
> > Hi CanonFanBoy, I remember Josh's story. I'm glad he's going ahead with photography, but most of all I'm glad to know he's going to get a job, no matter how hard it can be working in fish processing in Alaska. I wish him all the best!
> ...



Not bad. Absolutely. I wish I was 30 younger, sometimes when I watch on Discovery Channel people doing those kind of jobs it makes me think I would have liked to experience such a way of adventurous living. I guess it's because I'm comfortably sitting on a sofa.



CanonFanBoy said:


> ... I just don't do any BIF anymore.





CanonFanBoy said:


> As far as lenses go I have my heart set on either the 400 f/2.8 or the 600 f/4... but I dream too big.  That's lottery big for me.



It seems you are going to be photographing BIF again!   Here's hoping I will soon be able to do the same on the other side of the globe with a narrower lens. Should Canon not deliver in a year or so, Siggy Sport for sure, though I'd much prefer a prime.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Apr 22, 2016)

Its good to help someone out. I could never warm up to my 400mm 5.6. I like to shoot handheld, and at the time had a 40D. I could not get a fast enough shutter speed unless it was a bright sunny day. Cranking up the ISO on the 40D was not the answer. Then, the first time I tried to put the lens in my camera bag, I was frustrated. I bought out a photographers entire stock of cameras, lenses, and accessories shortly after, and ended up with a 100-400L and a 5D along with dozens of other things. The zoom was more practical to use handheld, it fit in my camera bag, and I did not have to crank up ISO and shutter speed merely to counter my hand held movement. It was not the sharpest of lenses, and eventually I sold it. Later, when there was one of the super deals, I bought a new 100-400L and the difference was notable. It was much sharper, and I loved it. I like my Version II, but it has not had as much use as I'd like.


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## Ozarker (Apr 22, 2016)

slclick said:


> Nice to see a pt 2 to this story. You're a great example and mentor CFB. Mesquite eh? I go through that tiny town a few times a year. I'll PM you the next time. Who knows?



That would be great! Yeah, Mesquite is mostly a place for people in Utah to come gamble and buy liquor.


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## slclick (Apr 22, 2016)

CanonFanBoy said:


> slclick said:
> 
> 
> > Nice to see a pt 2 to this story. You're a great example and mentor CFB. Mesquite eh? I go through that tiny town a few times a year. I'll PM you the next time. Who knows?
> ...



I-15, sometimes just gas and sometimes a 1/2 way stay on the way from SLC to SD.


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## Ozarker (Apr 22, 2016)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> I could never warm up to my 400mm 5.6.



I really couldn't either. In fact, the f/5.6 limitation at the wide end is what made me decide to get nothing narrower than f.2.8. If I can save for the EF 600mm f/4L IS II I would make an exception to my rule, though somehow I think I would get the 400 f/2.8L IS II instead. f/4 on a 600mm lens is very fast though. I think. That is years away for me anyway so no sense dreaming like that right now.

Some post that the 400mm and the 200mm with 2X extender are not a 1 to 1 comparison and I agree (on a limited basis for specific situations). But for what I do it works out very well. 1 to 1 isn't the point and I think the IS on the 70-200 more than makes up for any slower focus issues and the f/5.6. I don't shoot BIF. There just aren't that many birds out here.  And I haven't the means to travel to where they are right now.

The point is to sacrifice something for someone else and help make their life better. 

One could say I didn't sacrifice because young Josh bought the lens (at a huge discount). But the point was to help him learn that hard work has its rewards. That concept is something completely foreign to his family. Unbelievably foreign (three generations back). Josh gets it now. That will stay with him for the rest of his life.

The only reason I bring any of this up is because there might be someone on the boards hanging on to gear (and time) they don't use who can really make a difference with it by giving it up to help somebody young learn some very important concepts for living.  Even if they don't become pros one day.


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## scottkinfw (Apr 22, 2016)

CanonFanBoy said:


> A young man I've been mentoring bought my 70D and kit lens a while back. Well, yesterday he called me and said he'd saved up the money to buy my 400mm f/5.6L.
> 
> It is a great lens, but not one I cannot do without since I can put my Canon EF 2X III on the EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II when I need 400 mm. After AFMA I get solid photos with the extender and lens.
> 
> ...



Way to pay it forward. Good job. Alaska is a great place to have great kit.

sek


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## NancyP (Apr 23, 2016)

It is nice to see a lens get a good home.


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## applecider (Apr 23, 2016)

Good for you hopefully josh will get some great Alaskan images.

For your future I'd suggest the 600 ii over the 400 ii, as I find the 600 hand hold able and able to track BIF at least for short times while the 400 ii is just a little too heavy. If you are buff maybe that's not a worry.

The 100-400ii was just too good a deal for me to resist at 1599$ so I picked it up. I find it very handle able and with great image quality. With the 1 dx and 1.4 ext the hit to focus points for bif becomes noticeable and the f8 largest and need to maintain shutter speed pushes iso to 4000-6400 or more, so dawn and dusk shooting less viable than with a f 4 lens. It is used at maximum length for at least 80% of my shots.

Your needs, strengths may vary.


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## Ozarker (Apr 27, 2016)

applecider said:


> Good for you hopefully josh will get some great Alaskan images.
> 
> For your future I'd suggest the 600 ii over the 400 ii, as I find the 600 hand hold able and able to track BIF at least for short times while the 400 ii is just a little too heavy. If you are buff maybe that's not a worry.
> 
> ...



I didn't realize the 600 is lighter than the 400. Mostly I considered the 600mm over the 400mm because there is no way I would ever get both... so go long.


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## GMCPhotographics (Apr 27, 2016)

CanonFanBoy said:


> applecider said:
> 
> 
> > Good for you hopefully josh will get some great Alaskan images.
> ...



There's no right or wrong choice with the 400 II and the 600 II....just preferences and choices. They are both amazing optics and they both overlap a lot of abilities. The 400 II naturally gains that extra stop wide open. But pop a 1.4x TC on it and it's optics are very close to the native 600. Likewise with a 2x and the 600 with a 1.4x. Where the 600 II shines is it's extra native reach and that with a 2x you gain a further reach than you can realistically with the 400 II and converters. Both are amazing lenses. I've covered birds with my 400 f2.8 LIS and 1.4x along side 500 II and 600II users...and the results were very very close.


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