7:40 AM
Artama
Weighing a hefty 3.6kg (8lb) in the red corner, this challenger packs 25 elements in 20 groups and measures 36.6cm (14.5”) in length. Like other new Canon super telephoto lenses, it is weather sealed and features ring-type ultrasonic motors with full-time manual focus override.
Precisely on the February 7, 2011 development announcement of the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4 L IS USM Ext 1.4x Lens. I was personally excited – a Canon EF 200-400mm f/4 L IS USM Lens had long been on my most-wanted Canon lens list. Finally, I would not have to envy the Nikon DSLR owners and their Nikon 200-400mm f/4G AF-S VR II Lens. My excitement was tempered when, on Nov 15, 2011, Canon announced that this lens had been delayed until an unknown future date. Probably none of us expected the official product announcement to be another 18 months away at that point.
I was confident that, when the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4 L IS USM Ext 1.4x Lens finally arrived, it was going to be another incredible addition to the big white Canon telephoto lens family. And this lens has not let us down. Producing very impressive image quality even with a wide open aperture, this lens has very accurate AF, an 4-stop-rated image stabilization, best-available build quality and - a GREAT focal length range. That last part is something I've never been able to say about a Canon great white EF lens as this is Canon's first great white EF zoom lens (note that the FD 150-600mm f/5.6 L was Canon's first great white zoom lens). This lens' negative attributes are easy to discern – the price tag and the size/weight.
Causing great excitement among Canon photographers was the February 7, 2011 development announcement of the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4 L IS USM Ext 1.4x Lens. I was personally excited – a Canon EF 200-400mm f/4 L IS USM Lens had long been on my most-wanted Canon lens list. Finally, I would not have to envy the Nikon DSLR owners and their Nikon 200-400mm f/4G AF-S VR II Lens. My excitement was tempered when, on Nov 15, 2011, Canon announced that this lens had been delayed until an unknown future date. Probably none of us expected the official product announcement to be another 18 months away at that point.
I was confident that, when the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4 L IS USM Ext 1.4x Lens finally arrived, it was going to be another incredible addition to the big white Canon telephoto lens family. And this lens has not let us down. Producing very impressive image quality even with a wide open aperture, this lens has very accurate AF, an 4-stop-rated image stabilization, best-available build quality and - a GREAT focal length range. That last part is something I've never been able to say about a Canon great white EF lens as this is Canon's first great white EF zoom lens (note that the FD 150-600mm f/5.6 L was Canon's first great white zoom lens). This lens' negative attributes are easy to discern – the price tag and the size/weight.
Since I typically start my own lens selection by determining the focal length or focal length range (FLR) that I need, I also typically start my lens reviews with the same. And any discussion about the FLR of the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4 L IS USM Extender 1.4x Lens requires a look at the bulge on the side of this lens.
Housed in that bulge is a dedicated, optimized, 1.4x extender (teleconverter). The large, lockable lever allows that extender's elements/groups to be included in or removed from the lens' active optical path as desired.
Throwing the lever is as quick and easy as the illustration above makes it look (click on or mouseover the labels below the image). The extender switch is lightly spring-loaded to prevent an in-between setting from being used. A dampened "thunk" can be heard as it springs into place. Resistance on the lever is just right.
If you are watching through the viewfinder while slowly moving the lever, you will see what looks like a double exposure move across the viewfinder. If you move the lever more quickly, you see the viewfinder dim modestly. An f/5.6 max aperture presents a darker viewfinder image than an f/4 max aperture.
The built-in extender is a great feature. Swapping a conventional extender in and out of use on a super-telephoto lens takes far more time, effort and inconvenience than throwing a switch. A subject can easily be gone in the time it takes to install a conventional extender. The inconvenience of installation is often enough that it does not get done.
The built-in design is also far less risky to your gear. It is not unusual to hear of extenders (or lenses) being dropped during field installation, a process that really could use three or four hands. Extender installing/removing can also allow dust and moisture into the camera and lens - removing dust from a large stack of photos can take days.
Another significant advantage of a built-in extender is that it can be optically tuned specifically for the lens it is designed for use in, giving it a potentially strong optical quality advantage. I'll talk more about the optical effects of the built-in extender below.
While this design is new to many (most) of us, it is not the first Canon lens to incorporate a built-in extender. The Canon EF 200-400mm f/4 L IS USM Ext 1.4x Lens has inherited the built-in 1.4x extender concept from the rare Canon FD 1200mm f/5.6 L Lens (see picture on PBase.com). The 200-400 L is the first "EF" lens to receive a built-in, switch on/off extender.
With the extender locked out of the active lens groups, this is a 200-400mm lens with a modestly wide f/4 max aperture across the entire range. The throw of a lever moves the extender lens elements/groups into the optical path and this lens becomes a 280-560mm Lens with an f/5.6 max aperture across the focal length range. Combined, this becomes a 200-560mm f/4-5.6 lens with an incredible range of mostly-outdoor uses.
If you are shooting with an APS-C format body, you can multiply the numbers in that table by a factor of 1.6x to get the full frame AOV (Angle of View) equivalency. Those results are some very big numbers.
Keep in mind that, unless you have a Canon EOS 5D Mark III or a 1-Series DSLR, you will lose autofocus functionality when the maximum aperture reaches f/8. No Canon EOS DSLR will autofocus with an f/11 max aperture lens combo mounted.
Also remember that flipping the extender into place while using a wide open aperture means that an exposure setting adjustment must also be made (the camera takes care of this in auto modes).
Two more things Canon wants you to know. First, with any EOS bodies introduced prior to the EOS-1D X, EOS-5D Mark III, EOS 6D and EOS Rebel T4i (650D): Switching the lens’ extender lever in either direction should only be performed when Live View or Video mode is off (LCD monitor not active) and when camera is inactive (not when pressing shutter button half-way, Image Stabilization active, writing to memory card and so on).
And second, moving the extender lever on the lens is possible during LCD monitor operation with those SLR models listed above or subsequently introduced EOS cameras. Users should still make sure that the camera is momentarily inactive (not writing to memory card, etc.) before moving the lever.
When the 200-400 L IS lens was first introduced, I received many questions from people wanting to know if this was the LONG-rumored replacement for the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM Lens. That it is not. While the 200-400 L is a significant upgrade from the 100-400 L in nearly all ways, these two lenses are not in the same class – in size, weight, image quality - or price.
Zooming out to 100mm, the 100-400L has the wide-end angle of view advantage and matches the sans-extender 400mm long end. The 100-400 L also accepts extenders, so the two lenses compete in this regard at the long end of the FLR. But, with its native f/4 aperture at 400mm, the 200-400 L allows twice as much light into the lens as the 100-400 L's native f/5.6 aperture at 400mm. Thus, with-extender combinations also have 1-stop wider apertures on the 200-400. That extra stop can be huge – and can make the difference between active AF and MF-only with some cameras including all review-time-current Canon APS-C format DSLRs.
You could buy a pile of 100-400 L lenses for the price of one 200-400 L lens. A large number of 100-400 L lenses will fit into the case of one 200-400 L lens. It takes many 100-400 L lenses to make the weight of one 200-400 L lens.
The image quality of the 200-400 L is at a completely different level of excellence.
In addition to the focusing system of the 200-400mm f/4L, three distinct optical stabilizer modes are also available for rendering sharp imagery, albeit by minimizing the appearance of camera shake that becomes increasingly noticeable when working with lenses of this length as well as in dimly lit conditions. The three modes are selectable via a switch on the side of the lens, and all provide support to account for up to four shutter-speed steps of camera shake, which allows greater handholding potential with this lens.
The first mode is the standard stabilizer mode, which will correct for vibrations from all directions and is most suited for working with stationary or slow-moving subjects. The second mode is a more dynamic type of stabilizer that corrects for vertical shake during lateral panning shots and for horizontal shake when panning vertically. The third stabilizer mode functions the same as the second one does; however, it will only provide these benefits at the point of exposure—this allows for better tracking of more irregularly and fast-moving subjects, since there is no lag for the stabilization system to perform constantly. The other two stabilization modes will produce a stabilized image in the viewfinder to aid more careful compositions. Image stabilization can also be completely disengaged for instances where it can possibly be counterproductive, such as when working with your camera mounted on a tripod.
Both the focusing and stabilization mechanisms work together to benefit the most crucially designed aspect of this lens: its optical construction. One fluorite and four UD (Ultra Low Dispersion) elements are integrated into the lens’s makeup to provide an effective reduction in chromatic aberration and color fringing throughout the entire zoom range, leading to imagery with notable clarity, sharpness and resolution. Additionally, lens coatings have been applied to select elements to further improve image quality by reducing flare, ghosting and surface reflections to render images with vivid contrast and color neutrality.
This optimized optical design improves imaging performance throughout the zoom range, and when the 1.4x extender is in place, giving way to an effective focal-length range of 280-560mm. This bit of extra reach was especially crucial when photographing smaller targets from greater distances. By being able to toggle between having the extender locked in or out of place, you could use the 400mm setting to generally frame your shot, then quickly flip to 1.4x prior to releasing the shutter. When working from the native focal-length range—200-400mm—the constant f/4.0 maximum aperture provides consistent performance for lower light and selective-focus control. When the extender is seated, the maximum aperture is narrowed to an effective f/5.6. The diaphragm is constructed from nine rounded blades to form a nearly circular aperture, which helps to render out-of-focus backgrounds with a pleasing quality and out-of-focus highlights that take on an aesthetic circular shape.
Overall impressions
Canon has a reputation for designing spectacularly good telephoto lenses, and from the lab test results and a few handheld shots of static subjects, it's clear that the 200-400mm is exceptionally good. On full frame it's near-flawless, and there's practically no perceptible sharpness penalty for using the extender. On the more resolution-hungry APS-C format it also performs exceptionally well, suggesting it has plenty in reserve for any upcoming higher resolution sensors. This is pretty stunning stuff for a zoom.
Equally important for this kind of lens, of course, are the autofocus and image stabilisation systems. While shooting with it for an hour in one of the less-interesting parts of West London isn't an ideal way test these things, we can say that AF with static subjects is very fast and extremely accurate, while the IS system is good enough to allow you to compose shots with this monstrous lens hand-held. We can't assess how well continuous AF will work, of course, but there's no reason to believe it will be any worse than Canon's other professional super-telephotos.
The question, of course, is whether all this can justify Canon's asking price. We've got to be honest here - we're not professional sports or wildlife photographers, and therefore not best-placed to judge the value proposition of the 200-400mm, or how it compares to other top-end telephotos in real-world use. Of course it is also the kind of lens that very few individual photographers will buy for themselves; instead it's more likely to be purchased by agencies, for whom the value proposition is entirely about the saleable shots it can bring in.
In this regard the Canon's capabilities make it unique among top-end super-telephoto zooms. For example the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 200-400mm f/4G ED VR II doesn't have the built-in extender (but is half the price), and the Sigma APO 300-800mm F5.6 EX DG HSM is even larger and heavier, but lacks image stabilisation or weathersealing. This doesn't excuse the 200-400mm's price, but it does go some way to explaining why Canon feels justified in asking it. From my point of view, the absolutely stellar optics and innovative design earn the lens our top award.
0 comments:
Post a Comment