Canon has posted a video showing its massive EF 200-400mm F4L IS USM Extender 1.4 X reduced to its component parts.
The Canon 200-400mm is an impressive lens. This hefty telephoto uses no fewer than 33 elements arranged in 24 groups, including Fluorite and Ultra-Low Dispersion glass, and features a built-in 1.4X teleconverter. Canon's stop-motion video is rather charming, and makes a nice change from the computer-generated exploded imagery that we're used to seeing.
Good to watch a video showing the major pieces of this impressive lens. Amazing number of pieces in it, an engineering marvel.
Its a very nice lens with an extremely hefty price-tag that took a very long time to deliberate over. A near perfect lens for sideline sports shooting and for my uses as a wildlife lens, it really delivers flexibility that isn't possible with one long telephoto prime and external TC 's. Had the Sigma 150-600 Sport been available at that time, it would have been a very economical contender. The IQ from the Canon 200-400 is excellent. Not quite as good as the Mark II primes, but still exceptionally good. When it comes to getting 'the shot', the flexibility of the zoom plus instantly switchable TC allowed photos and video others couldn't get as easily.
I'm thinking about mounting this lens on my Pentax Q as a walk around setup to take photos of the interiors of churches on my trip to Europe. Would it be wide enough?
I’m curious how this lens design compares with the conventional alternatives of straight 200-560 mm zoom of similar quality with a similar aperture range (3.5-5.6?) or a straight 200-400 mm f/4 zoom and 1.4× teleconverter.
A conventional 200-560 mm zoom would need fewer elements, and might get better quality from single-stage magnification in the 400 to 560 mm range. It would also be slightly more straightforward to use.
A straight 200-400 mm f/4 zoom could be smaller and lighter when used without a teleconverter, but with the inconvenience of needing to unmount the lens before adding a teleconverter.
Canon’s design requires a long distance between the rear element of the basic 200-400 mm zoom and the sensor, and a teleconverter that works within this space.
Canon’s lens is said to be optically excellent, but then it should be given the price. I would like to find out what an expert on lens design thinks of Canon’s approach.
Chris, the point of the lens is speed. You'll find the lens on sidelines for sports because of how useful the range is and the quality of the optics. At a football game or Olympic event, flicking a switch to extend your reach at 400mm is huge. Teleconverters are great, but having one integrated into the lens makes life so much easier - you never forget it or have to put it on.
Kevin, thanks for your reply; I went away and forgot to follow up until I found a notification that you had responded. If speed is critical, I can understand that being able to switch a TC in or out, rather than having to unmount the lens, is a big time-saver. But surely a conventional 200-560 mm zoom would be even quicker than having to juggle both zoom and TC switch?
115 parts, i counted. That's crazy. Videos really show the value you're getting, altho there are still huge markups on these lenses....at least you know a lot goes into them.
The Nikon high-speed crop is a wonderful idea! Yes, it comes with tradeoffs, but often you don´t need all the resolution but need more speed and reach. I miss that on my Canons!
It should be 200 - 500mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x. :) Then it would be more favorable, in my opinion. ;) ... So it seems that this lens shall receive an upgrade within a few years. Especially when considering the new patents taken by Canon for 200-600mm and 1000mm f/5.6 lenses. :o
You do realize you can still stick this on a crop sensor camera. It's not like Nikon sells any serious DX format telephoto lenses (the most reach you can get is 300mm). The only thing this has over Nikon is the built-in 1.4x extender. Nikon's is an add-on extra.
But high speed crop also loses about a stop of light gathering (same light per unit area, half the area), so an extender user can push the ISO up a stop and have the same noise, shutter speed, etc.
High speed crop isn't really something you can build into a lens. It's great for some circumstances but doesn't replace or supersede what this lens does.
Its just a different compromise. Perhaps you feel that throwing away half the sensor data is a good solution. I'm guessing many photographers would prefer the increased detail from using the whole sensor rather than get hung up over the element count - otherwise there would be no demand for this lens.
I´m just saying that it´s better to have in-camera high speed crop than to have not. 1.) You can switch it off if you have it but don´t need it. But you can´t switch it on if you don´t have it but need it. 2.) It doesn´t weigh ANYthing and it costs...well I don´t know. 3.) The main advantage is: It boosts FPS and buffer, if implemented in a smart way. This comes in handy in situations where you usually don´t need all the resolution but need FPS and buffer (sports). (A Canon user just trying to be fair)
Are you guys really that stupid or are you just acting? @Ran Plett You said: "By that logic, why not just walk around with a 40mm pancake lens and crop into a 2000mm equiv. image?" If I got a 20 Mpx FF body and crop to APS-C there are still 10 Mpx left, which is plenty for most demands. Nobody ever talked about cropping to 2000mm equiv. "What if you want the extra reach AND the ability to crop?" It´s as silly as complaining that instead of 1 option you got 2 options-- just because 3 options isn´t available. @Quisquis "Why are we talking about "high speed crop" as if it isn't just an in camera crop of the frame? Because it shoots faster?" Bingo! At least the Nikons do...And the buffer will host twice as much frames, just as your memory cards will. Ideal for sports. Sometimes reading before talking also saves time and space!
I mean, it's a nice feature to have, but I'd take a lens over an extra few frames a second and losing half my sensor data.
Note that the context of this conversation isn't about adding high speed crop on top of the lens, but rather we're talking about how the OP would use that as a solution instead of the lens.
If I need the reach and speed, I've got a high fps crop sensor body to shoot that soccer game.
Again, I agree with you that it's a nice add on feature to have, I just don't see it as being the better solution to what this lens is trying to solve like it was put forward as by the OP.
I wasn´t reacting to the OP, I was reacting to the very replies on my defense of the advantages of a crop mode (or at least to what I thought were replies to my posts, that is). And yes, you can purchase an extra body for APS-C if you want to. Instead I prefer to have the APS-C body built in as an extra option and save the money for another lens...
Not exactly. It was rather a response to Bombastic, who wrote "Last I checked, crops don't come for free either." I could have adressed that more clearly...
You start off asking if we're stupid or just acting. Well that's really kind of you, but no, neither of the two. I don't think anyone here thinks high speed crop is a bad thing, and I think most people are responding to the OP's rather asinine comment and facepalm. I'd much rather have the ability to capture every detail with my FF sensor and if I feel the need to crop afterward then I do. If my lens isn't long enough, then a crop mode would be nice as well. The agency that I work for requires a minimum of 16Mpx. It sounds like the OP would rather be shooting m4/3 with something like an Oly 300 prime. It's a nice lens but the m4/3 sensor isn't so hot. That or a Panny 100-400mm which does give you a nice range, but the IQ is weak. A FF Canon 200-400 f4 plus built in extender is a very ideal lens and I would have one if I could justify the cost (shoot mostly wide).
Beautiful cat photo you have there on your fb page. I can see why you wouldn't be interested in this lens now. You probably just need to call your cat and have it sit on your lap. Shoot it with a wide angle lens and crop all you want. You just need what, 600 x 800px?
I've used both the 200-400/1.4x and the Sigma 120-300/2.8. The 200-400 is by far the better lens - better optically and faster AF. The 120-300 also does very poorly with extenders - including losing more AF points than the 200-400 at the same resultant aperture.
I have the original 120-300/2.8 OS and the 200-400 IS. My 120-300 is a freakishly sharp copy, but the 200-400 is definitely better in AF and the built in TC means the lens is extremely versatile. Before the 200-400 I used the 120-300 on a 1D4 as a 'poor man's' 200-400. Now the 200-400/1Dx(2) is a near unbeatable combo whilst on safari.
If you need a zoom and can't afford the 200-400 I'd recommend the 120-300 Sport or the 100-400 II. There is an embarrassment of great lens choices today.
Taken with the 1D4 and Sigma 120-300/2.8 OS in declining light. We were on a rubber zodiac slowly motoring by after the light had declined to the point where we had head back to the ship. ISO 5000 wasn't ideal for the time but I needed the faster shutter because of zodiac's bobbing and the how low the light level was.
Canon's largest aperture zoom lens ever made at 100mm. Still, the 70-200 f2.8 costs 1/5th the price and the 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 even less both achieving 70% of that diameter (1 stop less light).
I think this lens's flexibility is what sets it apart looking pretty reasonable and focusing well at 600mm f5.6 with the teleconverter all the way down to 200mm f4. These values compare to a Sigma or Tameron 150-600 f5-6.3 which is about a half stop slower but easier to frame up close going to 150.
I think this then is the point separating ownership between people who take pictures from purpose built professional-only intent.
Sigma's still got the largest aperture ilc af zoom built at 200-500 f2.8 (179mm). Only eclipsed by the mythical canon 1200mm f5.6 prime.
i worked for a video production company and i did such stuff as CGI in maya, it´s a mess to do stop motion when you see every dust spot and fingerprint.
so as nice as it looks the dust gives me the creeps. no way i could have presented that to my former boss.
they should have done most of it as stop motion but do the lens elements as CGI. im pretty sure canon has full CAD models of this lens so they could have done it 100% animated easily. but i see the reason why they wanted classic stop motion.
it´s just that the dirty lens elements don´t look good.
Apple is the same. It would be absolutely unacceptable to have dust and prints all over their marketing materials. At least, I don't understand why they wouldn't Photoshop the few specs of dust out given that it's stop-motion.
I think there is even lens coating damage visible at 1:06.
They could have used CGI to market a perfect CAD model. But they chose to use pure photography to market a photography tool to photographers. I guess they assumed that photographers are more impressed with photographs than CGI.
The imperfections are what makes it clear to me that I'm looking at the real interior of a real lens. And that's what I want to see, not a CAD model of what it should look like.
Maybe they would have used CGI if they were marketing a luxury item, where they are selling the illusion of perfection.
A lot of lenses were released in 2013, for a growing number of camera systems. As well as additions to established mounts this year also saw newer systems grow substantially as 'road map' lenses became a reality. We've shot with a lot of this year's most interesting lenses and reviewed some, but we want to know your opinion. What was this year's best lens? We've whittled the selection down to 10, but now it's over to you. Click through for a look at the lenses, and a chance to cast your vote.
Just posted: Our quick review of the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x: the world's first SLR zoom with a built-in switchable teleconverter. It's been two years in the making, but when Canon offered to show us a production version of its professional super-telezoom, we couldn't help but be intrigued. In this review we've teamed up with DxOMark to bring you full optical test data of this unique lens, backed up by some quick real-world examples. So how does it perform? Click through to find out.
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