Canon RF 100-400mm F5.6-8 IS USM - Lens Canon R System Cameras, Ideal Wildlife Photography, Sports, Action And Aviation.

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Yes, this lens is ultra sharp; just look at the clarity of my Sample Images, or look at these, shot hand-held wide-open from atop a mountain as basic JPGs. You can just about read license plates miles away. It's sharp corner-to corner, and this is shooting through a few miles of atmosphere. Bravo! Moving farther out on the image circle, where light rays are refracted to a stronger angle than in the center, typically brings decreased sharpness, and this lens shows a gradual decline. The RF 100-400 has less geometric distortion in the wider shared focal lengths, and the EF 70-300 has a slight advantage at the long end.

Mounting the Canon RF 2x Extender behind the RF 100-400 creates a 200-800mm f/11-16 image stabilized lens (capable of 0.18x – 0.83x maximum magnification). The AF/MF and IS switches are flush-mounted and low-profile, with just enough raised surface area available for easy use, even with gloves. As mentioned at the beginning of the review, the RF 100-500 costs more than 4x as much, a factor that will outweigh all others for some budgets. We test lenses using both real world sample images and lab tests. Our lab tests are carried out scientifically in controlled conditions using the Imatest testing suite, which consists of custom charts and analysis software that measures resolution in line widths/picture height, a measurement widely used in lens and camera testing. We find the combination of lab and real-word testing works best, as each reveals different qualities and characteristics.

No, it doesn't get to 1:1 (1.0×), but for all I do ( product shots), 1:2.4 (0.41×) is more than close enough and I prefer the longer focal lengths and ability to stop way down. Handling is refined and the oversized AF/MF and dual-mode static/panning stabilization switch are easy to operate even with gloves on. The flipside is that you can find yourself nudging the switches out of position accidentally. Autofocus range limiting is available for both the short and long sectors of focus distance. A full set of switches is on hand for AF/MF focusing, an autofocus range limiter and dual-mode optical stabilization for static and panning shots. Buttons around the forward end of the lens enable a autofocus-hold function. The zoom ring has variable friction damping, applied via a separate ‘zoom torque adjustment ring’. Pincushion distortion is pretty mild, again even with in-camera correction disabled, and it’s very consistent throughout the whole zoom range. Canon RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM: Verdict If this 1,200×900 pixel crop is about 3" (7.5cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at a large 14×21″ (35×55 cm) at this same high magnification.

Of course, with max apertures this narrow, there is little (or no) room to stop down before the impacts of diffraction begin to work against sharpness. It is a lens I've frequently recommended for those wanting a lightweight, long focal length telephoto zoom lens. A downside is that the widest available max aperture, f/5.6 in this case, cannot be used over the entire focal length range. Simply being able to autofocus an f/16 max aperture lens is a superpower of some of Canon's latest R-series cameras, including the R5 and R6. When the subject is not moving or not moving much, this lens's image stabilization system, rated for 5.5 stops of assistance, can make a huge difference in handheld image quality.

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While increased depth of field reduces the autofocus precision requirement, AF performance is reduced by the reduced amount of light reaching the imaging sensor. One-stop of shading is often used as the visibility number, though subject details provide a widely varying amount of vignetting discernibility. Image quality and autofocus speed are impressive. Optional extras include a USB Tap-in Console for applying autofocus fine-tuning and firmware updates, and a tripod mount ring. Even so, at just over a kilogram, the Tamron is only about two-thirds the weight of Nikon’s 80-400mm lens and doesn’t really need a tripod mounting ring.