Canon 100-400 L

[deetheturk]

Hi guys,

I purchased the canon 100-400l lens a couple of years ago but never really put it through its paces due to work commitments (no excuse ) its only recently ive started to play with it and i find it to be quite soft. Has anyone else found this or am i doing something wrong?

Cheers David...

[Donald]

David

I think it would help if you were to post up some sample images.

Are you satisfied that all other factors (e.g. sharpening) have been properly addressed and are not possible explanations?

[Jim B.]

Hi David,

I agree with Donald. If you could post an image with EXIF data it would help.

I've owned this lens for 6 years and get very good results.
One thing I can tell you, don't put a uv filter on it. The 100-400 doesn't play well with filters.

[deetheturk]

Hi Donald

That sounds like a plan but like i said ive only started playing with it and deleted everything i'd taken doh! The next images i take i will post,keeping in mind although i have had the gear for a while i'm still rather new to this so prob down to not sharpening properly

[deetheturk]

Hi Jim,


I have a filter on the lens so will remove it and give it a try.
Cheers for the advice guys

[deetheturk]

Hi Donald and Jim,

Thanks again for your advice, i removed the filter and tried some sharpening and hey ho what a difference

[Donald]

Now try it with the filter back on and the sharpening being done. If it's a good filter, it shouldn't make any visible difference.

[Jim B.]

Dave,

You're welcome.
I'll add that you also want to have good long lens technique if you haven't used a telephoto that size.
Enjoy, it's a great lens!

[deetheturk]

Hi Donald,

Its a crap filter,on closer inspection its from China maybe invest in a hoya, hindsight is a great thing

[Donald]

Its a crap filter,on closer inspection its from China

Ah hah! The answer is revealed.

[kashifalijugnoo]

The EF 100–400mm f/4.5–5.6L IS USM is a professional EF mount telephoto zoom lens introduced by Canon Inc. in September 1998. It is a high performance tele-photo lens ideal for sports and wildlife photography which has received high ratings from purchasers at Amazon.com[1] and B&H Photo Video. Photographers using APS-C cameras must apply a crop factor of 1.6x, giving the lens a field of view equivalent to a 160–640mm lens.
This lens is compatible with the Canon Extender EF tele-converters on newer EOS bodies. Auto-focus works with the 1.4× Extender (and only with cameras that can autofocus at f/8) and image stabilizer (IS) works with both 1.4× and 2× Extenders.

[Colin Southern]

The EF 100–400mm f/4.5–5.6L IS USM is a professional EF mount telephoto zoom lens introduced by Canon Inc. in September 1998. It is a high performance tele-photo lens ideal for sports and wildlife photography which has received high ratings from purchasers at Amazon.com[1] and B&H Photo Video. Photographers using APS-C cameras must apply a crop factor of 1.6x, giving the lens a field of view equivalent to a 160–640mm lens.
This lens is compatible with the Canon Extender EF tele-converters on newer EOS bodies. Auto-focus works with the 1.4× Extender (and only with cameras that can autofocus at f/8) and image stabilizer (IS) works with both 1.4× and 2× Extenders.

And your point is ... ?