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400mm 5.6: any talk of an IS upgrade?


desmond_kidman

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Nope. There were rumors of a 200-400 f/4 IS lens, but those have died out. Would likely have been >$5k anyway.

 

The 300mm f/4 IS with 1.4 extender is an option only if you wanted IS at 5.6 at a relatively cheap price.

 

The other option, of course, is the 100-400 f/4 - 5.6 IS. You get IS at 5.6 at the long end, but the IQ will be less than 400 f/5.6.

 

If all you really want is IS at 400mm, then you would get the 400mm f/4 DO IS lens - which is pretty expensive.

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"If all you really want is IS at 400mm, then you would get the 400mm f/4 DO IS lens - which is pretty expensive."

 

Or buy the 100-400 IS (admittedly with a drop in IQ from the 400mm prime)

 

Canon seriously needs to upgrade it's current range of lenses, some of them are years out of date. The 300mm f4 IS

was Canon's first ever IS lens and is still unchanged from its original design. It needs weather/dust sealing and an

upgrade to the latest version of IS. The 70-200f2.8L IS is a fantastic lens but needs the same version of IS they gave

to the f4 version of the lens. In my opinion they need to get rid if the push/pull lenses like the 100-400 and replace

them with superior twist zooms where possible. As per the OP's original question, the 400mm f5.6 badly needs IS

and an upgrade. And, yes, the 200-400 situation needs addressed.

 

Come on Canon!

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I doubt it. In fact, all indications are that it's going to be discontinued. It's not been readily available for over a year now. I know because I've been wanting it but never had the cash at the fleeting moments when it showed up in stock.

 

It occasionally shows up in stock but only for a couple days which means they are ramping down production.

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Thanks for the great information. This would be for casual bird shooting, mostly for identification, no publication or commercial use, just to satisfy me. This is my first time to concentrate on bird images, so knowing that those who have it like it, that's good enough for me, I'll pick one up. Only if I were to become addicted to this type of photography would I get the higher speed. much more expensive 400 or 500. I don't mind buying toys, I just want to know that I'll use them.

 

Thanks again for the great answers.

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Warning! I'm speculating as I know nothing about this, but I'm applying general principles here. I would guess it unlikely that any lens manufacturer would upgrade prime lenses that weren't aimed at the professional market. I would suggest that the sales would be too small to justify such investment. However, see my first sentence!

 

Regards

 

Alan

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