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200-400 Arrived. Had a little play

Started Jun 16, 2013 | Discussions thread
Dave Peters Senior Member • Posts: 1,520
Re: I have the 800/5.6 for birds..:-)

I also have the 800 and the 200-400 which I am using with the 1Ds mkIII

I would be very interested in your results with the 1Dx using the 200-400 with the internal 1.4x and using AI servo focus.  I have problems with this on my 1Ds mkIII but I am thinking it may be related to the body.

I first noticed lack of sharpness in bird photos and then moved to a lens test chart which confirmed poor MTF values with internal 1.4x and AI servo mode. Switch to single shot AF, manual or use external 1.4 and everything is fine.

Interestingly, after my lamp bulb failed and I replaced with a lower wattage, I could not repeat the poor test with the test chart. The birds were in strong sunlight so maybe its related to the long debated mk III focus issues (which I never had a problem with until now). Don't understand how the external 1.4x didn't have the problem though. With the original lamp, the problem was repeatable so it wasn't a one off test error.

I don't really want to buy a 1Dx at this point in its life cycle so would probably live with the problem until the next pro AF body is released.

My tests in all other modes reveal the 200-400 to be even better than the 800 for center sharpness although both are so good that I doubt you could tell in real photos. Haven't tested edge sharpness as I have been busy with other work since the lens arrived.

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 Dave Peters's gear list:Dave Peters's gear list
Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x
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