Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS USM

Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS USM User Reviews

• 9 out of 10 points and recommended by Wojtek (8 reviews)
  Fast, sharp and relatively small

  Low contrast

  As far as the sharpness is concerned, it surpassed Canon 400mm f/5.6 'L' lens, especially in the frame center, see the test results on http://pikespeakphoto.com/tests/canonlens400do.html
  However, low contrast makes pictures look somewhat worse than with the f/5.6 lens. Low contrast is most pronounced at f/4. Bundled with 2x Extender one can see sharpness fall out at the frame edges (http://pikespeakphoto.com/tests/canonlens2xtele.html) more than with the f/5.6 lens.

  reviewed February 9th, 2009 (purchased for $5,000)
• 9 out of 10 points and recommended by magiclight (2 reviews)
  Light weight for it's specification and very good resolution.

  lowish contrast

  Great lightweight lens (for a 400mm f4).
  
  The resolution is very good however the contrast is lower than other L series super telephotos. This is due to the DO construction. Images taken with this lens will need a little extra local contrast addedd in raw processing.
  
  I use this lens as a walkabout hand held wildlife lens.
  
  Autofocus is very quick with my 1DS Mrk3.

  reviewed October 3rd, 2008
• 9 out of 10 points and recommended by jimjsp (1 reviews)
  light weight, compact, quick focus, hand held

  Should come with a simple lens cover

  Works great with 2x or 1.4.x. Don't mind carrying this one compared to the other super-telephotos and for me this determines if it gets used or not. I leave it on my 1DmarkII and keep my 1DsII free for my other lenses. When I first viewed my pics from this lens I immediately knew it was a keeper. If its too heavey no matter how good a lens, you always ask yourself if you are going to lug it with you. Its all about using it if you have it with you, and you just can't say anything bad about the images.

  reviewed May 14th, 2006 (purchased for $5,000)
• 9 out of 10 points and recommended by HealeyDriver (1 reviews)
  light weight (relative to other 400mm), fast autofocus (easy to track birds in flight)

  attention grabber from public

  I bought this lens to use on a photo-safari to Botswana. What a kick!... the lens was on the camera (D20) 80% of the time. Handholding was successful even at night. I used light available from a vehicle spotlight to take pictures of a leapard with its kill in a tree well past sundown. The pictures show droplets of blood on the animals as clear as if I'd used a flash. (Handheld at 1/30 sec). Keys to success: Fast lens, excellent IS, and very fast follow-focus.... This is definitely my favorite lens. I used the 1.4X (canon extender) on some daytime bird pictures, and they came out so crisp I had a hard time believing I was using an extender at all.
  
  My friends asked if I was going to submit the pictures to National Geographic, and others have requested prints to be used in their homes... (I'm not a professional, but clearly was achieving professional results with this lens.)

  reviewed February 28th, 2006 (purchased for $4,000)