# 400 f/2.8L II IS: Took the plunge...



## bdunbar79 (Aug 27, 2014)

Well, it's time to upgrade again. I sold my 300 f/2.8L I IS and 400 f/2.8L I IS lenses (because I don't really need the 300 anymore) and bought a 400 f/2.8L II IS for sports all next year. 

Anyone using this lens currently? I was really amazed how much lighter it felt vs. the version I and I'm also expecting slightly faster AF with the 1Dx. It'll arrive about September 2, just in time for my first weekend of sports this fall, 9/6-9/7. 

Thanks for any input.


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## neuroanatomist (Aug 27, 2014)

Congrats and enjoy!

I haven't used the 400 II, but my 600 II is a joy to use and delivers excellent results.


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## Click (Aug 27, 2014)

Congrats for your new acquisition. The 400 f/2.8L II IS is a great piece of glass.


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## Deleted member 91053 (Aug 27, 2014)

Any Canon 400 F2.8 is a great piece of glass if it suits your needs.
I used to have the original EF 400 F2.8 L (a mere lightweight at 6.1 kilos), yes it was an old battered lens but the images were top notch!
The current model is less than 4 kilos and has updated optics - if 400mm is your bag then you will be very happy!
I note you use a 1DX, given it's iso capabilities, I would suggest turning off the IS as auto-focus and tracking will be even faster - if that's possible! Since January I have used IS on one of my lenses only once and then it was only to stabilize the image in the viewfinder, even with my Canon 800 F5.6 I find IS to be more of a hazard than a help most of the time with the 1DX.


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## rdalrt (Aug 27, 2014)

I just got my 400 2.8 IS II a couple weeks ago. Upgraded from the 400 2.8 IS I as well. The weight savings is remarkable.

I also grabbed a Benro CF monopod to replace my trusty 681B. Total weight savings from the old combo to new is exactly 4 lbs. Makes a big difference running the sidelines.

And the AF of the new lens with the 1DX is lightning. Not that the v1 was a slouch, but the new one is faster. Faster with the 1.4x III as well.

You will be happy with the upgrade. I sure am.


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## expatinasia (Aug 27, 2014)

Congratulations, bdunbar79. You are going to love this lens.

It is my favourite piece of glass and is ideal for most sports. It is also works very well with both extenders. Not as portable as your 300 f/2.8 ii but it is imho the best lens for (most) sports you can buy (though I still have not tried the 200-400 1.4X at an event yet).

Enjoy.


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## Dylan777 (Aug 27, 2014)

One word for 400mm f2.8 IS II = "SUPER". AF is FAST. Truely designed for sports.

It works very well with 1.4x TC III, still 95% compared to bare. IQ drops quite a bit with 2x TC III at wide open in Ai servo only(still good in One shot mode). Sharpness improve when step down to f7-8 in Ai servo.

See photos here with 1DX + 400mm f2.8 IS II + 2x TC III: http://dylannguyen.smugmug.com/Sports/Surfing#!/

Congrats


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## bdunbar79 (Aug 27, 2014)

Thanks so much for all of the input guys, I really appreciate it.

My back and abs couldn't take running the sidelines with the version 1 anymore and I noticed it AF'd slower than my 300. I did also notice the IS making the AF jumpy at times. I'm glad I made the right decision. Thanks guys, great forum.


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## Tabor Warren Photography (Aug 27, 2014)

First of all, I took by the title of your post that you dropped your 400L in the water.

Secondly, congratulations! What a great lens! I look forward to viewing pictures.

Cheers,
-Tabor


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## scottkinfw (Aug 27, 2014)

Nice pics Dylan!

Too bad I'm saving for the 1DX and Africa (plus, maybe something cool from next round of Canon announcements).

sek



Dylan777 said:


> One word for 400mm f2.8 IS II = "SUPER". AF is FAST. Truely designed for sports.
> 
> It works very well with 1.4x TC III, still 95% compared to bare. IQ drops quite a bit with 2x TC III at wide open in Ai servo only(still good in One shot mode). Sharpness improve when step down to f7-8 in Ai servo.
> 
> ...


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## SoullessPolack (Aug 27, 2014)

Awesome lens!! I've used it once, and it was amazing. Very high keeper rate, very fast autofocus. Great for shooting sports even when it begins to get dark, although I hope you have enough $$$ in the bank for a monopod 



 neuroanatomist said:


> Congrats and enjoy!
> 
> I haven't used the 400 II, but my 600 II is a joy to use and delivers excellent results.



I'm sorry, but this made me laugh out loud as to how it would sound with other lenses!
Person A: I just bought a Canon 35mm!
Person B: I haven't used the 35mm, but my 50mm is a joy to use and delivers excellent results.

There's no relevance there. They are different and separate products. Good performance on one is not the reason the other has good performance. They just both happen to be good performers.


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## GMCPhotographics (Aug 27, 2014)

Dylan777 said:


> One word for 400mm f2.8 IS II = "SUPER". AF is FAST. Truely designed for sports.
> 
> It works very well with 1.4x TC III, still 95% compared to bare. IQ drops quite a bit with 2x TC III at wide open in Ai servo only(still good in One shot mode). Sharpness improve when step down to f7-8 in Ai servo.
> 
> ...



My mkI 400 f2.8 LIS behaves pretty much the same...but I've noticed that it's AF inaccuracy which shows softness with my 2x converter and not the lens resolving capability. If I focus using live view...I get amazing sharpness from it.






100% crop from this image:


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## Maiaibing (Aug 27, 2014)

bdunbar79 said:


> I sold my 300 f/2.8L I IS and 400 f/2.8L I IS lenses (because I don't really need the 300 anymore) and bought a 400 f/2.8L II IS for sports all next year.



May I ask what was your rationale? I would never have gone from the 400 f/2.8L mrk I to II myself.

I did this with the 300mm f/2.8 L and while its nice in many ways - weight, handling, faster IS etc - it was really a luxury upgrade as IQ differences are so negligible that I doubt anyone who has not owned both would be able to spot the difference.

I don't regret my upgrade as I can easily afford it and splash a little extra on my hobby. But for a working tool I would not even have considered it.


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## YuengLinger (Aug 27, 2014)

Dylan777 said:


> One word for 400mm f2.8 IS II = "SUPER". AF is FAST. Truely designed for sports.
> 
> It works very well with 1.4x TC III, still 95% compared to bare. IQ drops quite a bit with 2x TC III at wide open in Ai servo only(still good in One shot mode). Sharpness improve when step down to f7-8 in Ai servo.
> 
> ...



Beautiful shots. I'm sure the surfers would love #17 and #70 especially. Do you ever share the images with them?

Now here is a dream lens.


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## eml58 (Aug 27, 2014)

Bdunbar you are going to simply Love that Lens, I had both the Mk 1 then the Mk II, both superb lenses, the biggest advantage with the MK II is the weight loss over the MK I.

I did sell my 400MK II and at times I've regretted it, that f/2.8 is just amazingly useful, I now use the 200-400f/4 and although it suits my wildlife well, I've compensate for the loss of the 400f/2.8 II by always having the 300f/2.8 II with me & hope I'm close enough to use it when needed in low light.

Great Lens, reasonably sure you'll have no regrets, have fun look forward to seeing some Images.


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## Menace (Aug 27, 2014)

Congrats - you'll LOVE it. 

There is no way I could hand hold the previous version but its so much easier with the II - even with the 1.4x III attached. 

Really looking forward to seeing some of your shots soon as you get this beauty.

Well done again


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## Northstar (Aug 27, 2014)

Maiaibing said:


> bdunbar79 said:
> 
> 
> > I sold my 300 f/2.8L I IS and 400 f/2.8L I IS lenses (because I don't really need the 300 anymore) and bought a 400 f/2.8L II IS for sports all next year.
> ...



Did you notice faster/better AF on your 300 i to 300 ii upgrade?


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## Northstar (Aug 27, 2014)

bdunbar79 said:


> Well, it's time to upgrade again. I sold my 300 f/2.8L I IS and 400 f/2.8L I IS lenses (because I don't really need the 300 anymore) and bought a 400 f/2.8L II IS for sports all next year.
> 
> Anyone using this lens currently? I was really amazed how much lighter it felt vs. the version I and I'm also expecting slightly faster AF with the 1Dx. It'll arrive about September 2, just in time for my first weekend of sports this fall, 9/6-9/7.
> 
> Thanks for any input.



Congrats Bdun! I'm curious, did you consider the 200-400 for about the same price?


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## Maiaibing (Aug 27, 2014)

Northstar said:


> Did you notice faster/better AF on your 300 i to 300 ii upgrade?



No. I have read some claims of this - but none convincing. I shoot lots and lots of moving subjects with the 300mm and have exactly the same keeper rate as before. I take three and almost always at least one will be spot on.

If you look at the old reviews of the mrk.I lens they already considered the AF as being "lighting fast" etc. That's hyperbole, but it was - and is - impressively fast for all the glass that needs to move around.

If you use an extender it may however be different due to Canon's new extenders.


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## scyrene (Aug 27, 2014)

johnf3f said:


> Any Canon 400 F2.8 is a great piece of glass if it suits your needs.
> I used to have the original EF 400 F2.8 L (a mere lightweight at 6.1 kilos), yes it was an old battered lens but the images were top notch!
> The current model is less than 4 kilos and has updated optics - if 400mm is your bag then you will be very happy!
> I note you use a 1DX, given it's iso capabilities, I would suggest turning off the IS as auto-focus and tracking will be even faster - if that's possible! Since January I have used IS on one of my lenses only once and then it was only to stabilize the image in the viewfinder, even with my Canon 800 F5.6 I find IS to be more of a hazard than a help most of the time with the 1DX.



This is very interesting. I've never heard that before. Does anyone else find IS interferes with AF? Is this just a 1Dx issue?


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## Dylan777 (Aug 27, 2014)

scottkinfw said:


> Nice pics Dylan!
> 
> Too bad I'm saving for the 1DX and Africa (plus, maybe something cool from next round of Canon announcements).
> 
> sek



Look forward to see your safari photos Scott


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## Dylan777 (Aug 27, 2014)

GMCPhotographics said:


> Dylan777 said:
> 
> 
> > One word for 400mm f2.8 IS II = "SUPER". AF is FAST. Truely designed for sports.
> ...



Since I'm shooting a lot with moving subject, I haven't try liveview yet. Will give it a try later. Thanks


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## Dylan777 (Aug 27, 2014)

YuengLinger said:


> Dylan777 said:
> 
> 
> > One word for 400mm f2.8 IS II = "SUPER". AF is FAST. Truely designed for sports.
> ...


Thank you YuengLinger for your comment.

The link I shared in this thread, that was my 1st time shooting surfers. I haven't share any of photos with them...not yet at least


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## bdunbar79 (Aug 27, 2014)

Maiaibing said:


> bdunbar79 said:
> 
> 
> > I sold my 300 f/2.8L I IS and 400 f/2.8L I IS lenses (because I don't really need the 300 anymore) and bought a 400 f/2.8L II IS for sports all next year.
> ...



That's just it. It's going to be a working tool for me, and I could not handle the excess weight running around at football games and track meets anymore. The was my first consideration. The second was that I don't need my 300 anymore. I want to use the 400 and 70-200 combo. I had to crop too many times with a 300 lens on FF. Those two things coupled together made the price worth it to me.

As for Northstar's question, I absolutely considered the 200-400 lens. However, many of my venues require f/2.8 to keep the ISO down low enough (some places just to get to 5000) so I didn't purchase that. I do agree, however, for daytime/sufficient light, it could potentially eliminate even using a 2nd camera and shorter lens if you can get back away from the end zone and can shoot at 200. That would be an excellent point. But there are just too many night games/events for me right now.

Again, thanks everyone for the comments/contributions. I will be able to produce photos the weekend of 9/6-9/7.


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## Northstar (Aug 28, 2014)

Maiaibing said:


> Northstar said:
> 
> 
> > Did you notice faster/better AF on your 300 i to 300 ii upgrade?
> ...



good to hear your opinion...thanks.


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## Northstar (Aug 28, 2014)

bdunbar79 said:


> Maiaibing said:
> 
> 
> > bdunbar79 said:
> ...




bdun...as you know...I totally understand the 2.8 need for sports photography! i get it. 200-400 is an awesome range, but it's no good if it requires you to shoot at iso 12,800 or 16,000 ISO versus ISO 6400.


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## TexPhoto (Aug 29, 2014)

Very Cool. I have the 400mm f2.8 IS and love it. But I have been bidding like crazy on the few VII lenses that have popped up on eBay. I even won an auction at $8900, but the seller refused to ship claiming the auction had a reserve of $10500, but it did not. 

Anyway good luck with it. Post a lot of photos for us.


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## bdunbar79 (Aug 29, 2014)

TexPhoto said:


> Very Cool. I have the 400mm f2.8 IS and love it. But I have been bidding like crazy on the few VII lenses that have popped up on eBay. I even won an auction at $8900, but the seller refused to ship claiming the auction had a reserve of $10500, but it did not.
> 
> Anyway good luck with it. Post a lot of photos for us.



Thanks for the information. I had trouble on amazon believe it or not. They kept clearing the order because it was over $10k and making me reset my password. So I went to B&H Photo and it went through seamlessly. I have had trouble in the past on ebay and PayPal with large $$ purchases as well.

Not that you should ever do this, but if you needed to, B&H allows big purchases to be spread across multiple cards/accounts. Something to keep in mind!


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## mackguyver (Aug 29, 2014)

johnf3f said:


> I note you use a 1DX, given it's iso capabilities, I would suggest turning off the IS as auto-focus and tracking will be even faster - if that's possible! Since January I have used IS on one of my lenses only once and then it was only to stabilize the image in the viewfinder, even with my Canon 800 F5.6 I find IS to be more of a hazard than a help most of the time with the 1DX.


Mode 3 on the new lenses accomplishes essentially the same thing.

bdunbar79, congrats on the new lens. I'm sure your back & arms will thank you for the upgrade. Also, I'd upgrade your extenders to Mk III if you haven't already. They are faster to focus and use AFMA with the Mk II lenses. The IQ improvement in the 1.4x is nice in terms of CA, but bigger in the 2x in terms of sharpness and contrast.


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## bdunbar79 (Aug 29, 2014)

mackguyver said:


> johnf3f said:
> 
> 
> > I note you use a 1DX, given it's iso capabilities, I would suggest turning off the IS as auto-focus and tracking will be even faster - if that's possible! Since January I have used IS on one of my lenses only once and then it was only to stabilize the image in the viewfinder, even with my Canon 800 F5.6 I find IS to be more of a hazard than a help most of the time with the 1DX.
> ...



Ok, the 2x III? Thanks.


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## Deleted member 91053 (Aug 29, 2014)

scyrene said:


> johnf3f said:
> 
> 
> > Any Canon 400 F2.8 is a great piece of glass if it suits your needs.
> ...



I think my statement "I find IS to be more of a hazard than a help most of the time with the 1DX" probably wasn't the best way to put it! Basically what I have found is that all my IS lenses focus a touch quicker and seem to track better with the IS off. This was on a 5Dc, 1D4 and 1DX. The difference that the 1DX makes is that IS is needed far less due to it's ISO capabilities.
For reference I don't have any Mk2 lenses so I don't have the "Mode 3" that has been mentioned. My IS lenses are the 24-105, 70-200 F2.8, 300 F2.8 and 800 F5.6 - the 800 F5.6 shows the most noticeable improvement. The difference is not night and day but it just locks on that bit quicker and seems to hold on to the subject a little better.
I am not knocking IS, far from it, it is just that now it is something I keep in reserve for when it is really needed.


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## scyrene (Aug 29, 2014)

johnf3f said:


> scyrene said:
> 
> 
> > johnf3f said:
> ...



Ooh, okay. I've never turned it off on the big lens, but AF speed isn't usually paramount for me. Thanks for clarification!


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## Deleted member 91053 (Aug 30, 2014)

scyrene said:


> johnf3f said:
> 
> 
> > scyrene said:
> ...



Just try it and see - after all it costs nothing and you can always turn it back on!


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## scyrene (Aug 30, 2014)

johnf3f said:


> scyrene said:
> 
> 
> > johnf3f said:
> ...



Haha I'll have to now! Although generally I'm shooting perched birds, rather than in flight. But I'll see


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## Skulker (Aug 30, 2014)

I would love to have the 400 as well as the 300. I have seen some great results from it and the MK11 id definitely lighter than the MK1. Hope you get on well with it. I wonder if I should have got the 400 so I will looking at your results.




and to take part in the hijack ;D 


I tend to turn off IS if I'm panning fast, stuff like close in birds in flight or planes, and more so with a TC. In that case I up the ISO. I know someone who swears by mode 3 IS. I do use it sometimes, for high shutter speed shots, but don't find it the be all and end all.


I expect IS was off for this shot, but I do know I left it on accidentally some of the time. But hey if I can't tell is it really that important? This was ISO 1000, 1/500 sec, F5.6, 300mm f2.8 MK11 with x2TC on the 1Dx. Its almost full frame and a bit softer than I'm happy with. But I think that was my panning speed not the IS.




Red Arrows by Tom W W, on Flickr


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## Hjalmarg1 (Aug 31, 2014)

bdunbar79 said:


> Well, it's time to upgrade again. I sold my 300 f/2.8L I IS and 400 f/2.8L I IS lenses (because I don't really need the 300 anymore) and bought a 400 f/2.8L II IS for sports all next year.
> 
> Anyone using this lens currently? I was really amazed how much lighter it felt vs. the version I and I'm also expecting slightly faster AF with the 1Dx. It'll arrive about September 2, just in time for my first weekend of sports this fall, 9/6-9/7.
> 
> Thanks for any input.



Congratulations! Enjoy and share some pictures


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## bdunbar79 (Sep 5, 2014)

Thanks everyone. Turns out I will have a football game Saturday night and a 36-hole golf tournament Sunday, all college sports. I will post some photos just for fun in the 1Dx photo section. Again, thanks for this wonderful discussion!


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## wsgroves (Sep 5, 2014)

Good luck BD on your new lens. I am sure it will be awesome.


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## Dylan777 (Sep 5, 2014)

bdunbar79 said:


> Thanks everyone. Turns out I will have a football game Saturday night and a 36-hole golf tournament Sunday, all college sports. I will post some photos just for fun in the 1Dx photo section. Again, thanks for this wonderful discussion!



bdunbar79,
If you don't shoot 1200mm @ f8, then 400mm f2.8 IS II is the ultimate lens. I took over 5k photos with this lens. All I can say is WOW. Even with 1.4x and 2x III TC.

*Off topic*: I tried the 600mm f4 with x2 TC III today. In Ai servo, IQ wasn't what I expected @ f8. I missed a lot of shots with smaller apertures in Ai servo(photographer error???). In Single mode, f8 is quite good to shoot bird. F11 seems to be much better.

The 600mm worked quite well with 1.4x TC III(840mm f5.6) in Ai servo. At f6 to f8 sharpness improved. The 400mm + x2 TC III provide same IQ as 600mm + 1.4x(slightly better, by a hair when 100% zoom in raw. No dif after PP).

600mm bare.....well it's SUPER ;D


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## wsmith96 (Sep 5, 2014)

Congratulations on your purchase! Post some pics when you get a chance.


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