New Canon 200-400mm f/4L IS 1.4xTC Lens & Canon 270EXii

[rpcrowe]

Canon seems to have hit on a great idea! The new 200-400mm f/4L IS 1/4x TC lens is just what I would love to have. I would happily forsake my 300mm f/4L IS and 400mm f/5.6L lenses and add another thousand U.S. dollars to the pot to get this new lens...

However, I doubt that three grand will pay for this new lens.

But, just think of it! Wouldn't it be great to have a lens that is 200mm to 400mm with a constant f/4 aperture but, then be able to increase this to a 280-560mm f/5.6 with IS which would still focus on a 1.6x camera.

AND... taking the crop factor into consideration, the lens could have a total equivalent (with the 1.4x TC option) of 448-896mm with an f/5.6 aperture and IS. Talk about getting right up close to a sparrow's eyeball!

I wonder about the cost (Actually I shudder to think about it!) and weight (Would I need a camera bearer or a set of wheels?)

BTW: Adding slave capability to the existing mini 270EX flash is a nice option. Imagine, having a small slave you can carry around in your shirt pocket or to be able to use that same unit as fill flash and be able to carry it around all day on your camera without even noticing the weight. Too bad they didn't do it right in the first place!

[Colin Southern]

Hi Richard,

I'll be keeping a close eye on it (I always get excited about things like this!)

[Black Pearl]

Saw that the other day - looks like a fascinating lens and a very good idea.

I bet the price is on the far side of hideous.

[inkista]

I think it's really cool, but I could never afford one. Given that the Nikkor 200-400 f/4 VR is in the neighborhood of $7000, I'd be really surprised if this baby's under $6k.

My needs are modest--I was just hoping the 100-400L would get an IS update.... and that the newbies would get an EF-S 35mm f/1.8 USM. (sigh).

Oh, well, at least the 600D got a flash master in the pop-up.