Updated: Canon rumours: what you need to know

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"></span><br /> <img alt="Updated: Canon rumours: what you need to know" class="aligncenter" data-mce-src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/4a02463e15470-75.jpg.jpg" src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/4a02463e15470-75.jpg.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /><br /> It seems like barely a day goes by without a new Canon rumour.<br /> Here on this continually updated Canon rumours page, you'll find the latest news and information on what camera is likely to be announced next.<br /> Got any hot tips? Let us know via our Twitter feed or via email.<br /> <h4 style="font-size: 1em;"> Canon 5D Mark III/Canon 6D rumours</h4> The 5D Mark II is more than two years old and is in need of a refresh. The APS-C format EOS 7D puts some aspects of the full frame 5D Mark II in the shade, so it's likely that any successor will take the best from the 7D and implement it into a 5D Mark III or 6D body.<br /> See our full Canon EOS 5D Mark III / 6D rumours page for everything you need to know about any impending release.<br /> <h4 style="font-size: 1em;"> Canon EOS 1Ds Mark IV rumours</h4> <strong>Update October 2011:</strong> It's here! Canon merged both the 1Ds and 1D lines to bring us the Canon EOS 1DX. Aimed at professionals, the camera will be available to buy from March next year. Read our first impressions of the new camera.<br /> It's one of the most hotly anticipated cameras, but it seems as if Canon is determined to keep us waiting for the 1Ds Mark IV.<br /> A flurry of rumours regarding the anticipated specifications of the camera has been circling for some time, but as yet nothing concrete has emerged.<br /> The 1Ds Mark III has proven difficult to buy in recent times, which led some to believe that a Mark IV release was imminent.<br /> See our full Canon EOS 1Ds Mark IV rumours page for everything you need to know, including specs, price and anticipated release date.<br /> <h4 style="font-size: 1em;"> Canon mirrorless rumours</h4> Now that Nikon has finally revealed its version of a compact system camera, it seems likely that Canon will also join the party at any given moment.<br /> However, unlike in the weeks leading up to the Nikon release, we haven't seen much in the way of credible rumours. That said, when Canon recently upgraded the Powershot S95 to the S100, a G12 upgrade failed to materialise, perhaps suggesting that a compact system camera may fill the void.<br /> <img alt="" border="0" data-mce-src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/116916520660/u/49/f/9809/c/669/s/19867ec7/kg/253-264/a2.img" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/116916520660/u/49/f/9809/c/669/s/19867ec7/kg/253-264/a2.img" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" /><img alt="" data-mce-src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/allnews/~4/p1cdxWpeoGM" height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/allnews/~4/p1cdxWpeoGM" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="1" /><br /> </div>

Updated: Canon rumours: what you need to know

It seems like barely a day goes by without a new Canon rumour. Here on this continually updated Canon rumours page, you'll find the ...

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Review: Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;"></span><br /> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 12px; font: normal normal normal 13px/19px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0.6em; padding-right: 0.6em; padding-top: 0.6em;"> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="Review: Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM" class="aligncenter" height="187" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Lenses/Canon%20EF%20400mm%20f2.8L%20IS%20II%20USM/CAN54.canon_lenses.canon400mmrgb-470-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Lenses/Canon%20EF%20400mm%20f2.8L%20IS%20II%20USM/CAN54.canon_lenses.canon400mmrgb-470-90.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="282" /></div> <h3 style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> Overview and features</h3> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Combine a 400mm full-frame prime lens with a fast maximum aperture of f/2.8 and there are two things you can be assured of – size and weight. The mighty Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;" />measures a whopping 163 x 343mm (484mm long with the lens hood fitted) and tips the scales at 3.85kg.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> It's supplied in its own custom-made hard case that, in itself, exceeds the maximum carry-on size for most airlines. Indeed, you don't fit this lens to your camera, you fit the camera to the lens. But sometimes, big really is beautiful.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> A scaled up version of the Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM super-telephoto lens, the 400mm offers the same wealth of features.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Designed for full-frame DSLR camera bodies such as the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III or Canon EOS 5D Mark II, it's also equally compatible with APS-C-sized cameras such as the Canon EOS 7D, where it has a mighty effective focal length of 640mm.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> In either case, the fast f/2.8 maximum aperture is a real bonus for freezing the action in dull lighting conditions, making the lens ideal for wildlife and sports photographers.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Headline attractions include super-fast, ring-type USM (Ultrasonic Motor) autofocus, complete with full-time manual override.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Better still, you get an additional Focus Preset mode where you can store a focus distance in memory and call it up at the touch of a button, with or without confirmation beep.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> There's also a neat Power Focus mode with its own 'Playback ring'. Turning the ring by varying amounts enables dual-speed motorised focus adjustments, ideal for use in video shooting.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> There's also a three-position focus limit switch with Full, 2.7-7m and 7m to infinity options.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> To guard against camera shake, Canon's latest 4-stop Image Stabiliser (IS) has three separate modes to choose from.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Mode 1 stabilises the image full-time, so you can view the effect through the viewfinder when composing shots. Mode 2 is for panning with the camera in either portrait or landscape orientation. Mode 3 only applies stabilisation when the shot is actually taken, and works really well when you're tracking erratically moving objects.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Rounding out the feature set on this high-end camera lens, currently selling for around £8,880, are four AF stop buttons placed at 90-degree increments around the circumference of the lens, towards its front.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> If you're not happy with their placement, you can pay to have the ring that houses them rotated by a Canon service centre.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> There's also a Kensington lock attachment for securing the lens, a beefy tripod mount and somewhat enormous lens hood.</div> <h3 style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> Build quality and handling</h3> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="Canon ef 400mm f/2.8l is usm" class="aligncenter" height="279" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Lenses/Canon%20EF%20400mm%20f2.8L%20IS%20II%20USM/CAN54.canon_lenses.canon400mmrgb-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Lenses/Canon%20EF%20400mm%20f2.8L%20IS%20II%20USM/CAN54.canon_lenses.canon400mmrgb-420-90.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="420" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM is a lens that's designed for the great outdoors and, as such, has particularly sturdy build quality along with weather seals to guard against dust and moisture.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> There's also a rubber O-ring fitted in the metal mounting plate to form an environmentally sealed fixing between lens and camera.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Construction of the barrel is based on magnesium alloy and titanium components and, heavy as this ultra high-performance super-telephoto lens is, it's still 1.5kg (28%) lighter than the first edition.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> This makes handheld shooting quite feasible, at least for short periods of time. For extended periods of shooting, a monopod makes the lens much easier to use.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Handling of the Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens is very refined with smoothly operating, high-precision controls in every area.</div> <h3 style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> Performance</h3> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="Canon ef 400mm f/2.8l is usm and 300mm f/2.8l is usm" class="aligncenter" height="302" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Lenses/Canon%20EF%20400mm%20f2.8L%20IS%20II%20USM/CAN54.canon_lenses.canon1rgb-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Lenses/Canon%20EF%20400mm%20f2.8L%20IS%20II%20USM/CAN54.canon_lenses.canon1rgb-420-90.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="420" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The use of top-quality fluorite elements aims to ensure great image quality with high resolution and contrast, along with minimal colour fringing.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Canon's SubWavelength Coating (SWC) is also employed to reduce ghosting and flare, while the outer surfaces of the front and rear elements have fluorine coatings for easy cleaning.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Optical quality is impeccable in every respect. We were massively impressed at the sharpness and contrast, even when shooting at the maximum aperture of f/2.8 under gloomy lighting.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> However, you do need to watch out for depth of field. At a focus distance of 10m with an aperture of f/2.8, DOF is only 10.2cm on a full-frame DSLR camera and a mere 6.4cm on an APS-C-sized body.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Distortion is practically zero, chromatic aberrations are negligible and peripheral illumination is excellent. The lens is also very resistant to ghosting and flare.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Given the long 400mm focal length, or an effective 640mm on Canon APS-C cameras, the 4-stop stabiliser really does have its work cut out.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> In our tests, it performed extremely well, not only enabling sharp handheld shots when needed, but working brilliantly when using the lens on a monopod.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Autofocus is similarly top-drawer, with spectacularly fast and supremely accurate performance.</div> <h3 style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> Sharpness and fringing test</h3> <h4 style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> Sharpness</h4> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> As part of our test of the Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 IS II USM we've shot our SFR Plus chart at every aperture to check for sharpness and fringing across the frame. The resulting images are then fed through the Imatest Master software.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The graph below shows the results of the test, with each of the coloured lines depicting the lenses performance at the centre of the frame (in blue), and an average of the results for the mid-range (pink) and edge (yellow) frame.</div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="Canon ef 400mm f/2.8l is ii usm sharpeness" class="aligncenter" height="258" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Lenses/Charts/Sharpness_400mm-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Lenses/Charts/Sharpness_400mm-420-90.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" title="Canon ef 400mm f/2.8l is ii usm sharpeness" width="420" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The graph shows that the Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS USM performs well across the aperture range. Despite the progressive fall towards f/22 the results for this lens are impressive with little drop in sharpness across the frame. The best results are achieved between f/2.8 and f/7.1.</div> <h4 style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> Fringing</h4> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <img alt="Canon ef 400mm f/2.8l is ii usm fringing" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Lenses/Charts/Fringing400mm-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Lenses/Charts/Fringing400mm-420-90.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" title="Canon ef 400mm f/2.8l is ii usm fringing" width="420" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> This graph shows that signs of fringing are low across the aperture range, whilst results at the middle and edge frame are higher at the centre fringing is almost non-existent.</div> <h3 style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> Sample images</h3> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <img alt="Canon ef 400mm f/2.8l is ii usm" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Lenses/Canon%20EF%20400mm%20f2.8L%20IS%20II%20USM/Animals/5dii_400mm_002-420-90.JPG" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Lenses/Canon%20EF%20400mm%20f2.8L%20IS%20II%20USM/Animals/5dii_400mm_002-420-90.JPG" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="420" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II, f/2.8, 1/1000 second</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> See the full-res image</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <img alt="Canon ef 400mm f/2.8l is ii usm" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Lenses/Canon%20EF%20400mm%20f2.8L%20IS%20II%20USM/Animals/5dii_400mm_010-420-90.JPG" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Lenses/Canon%20EF%20400mm%20f2.8L%20IS%20II%20USM/Animals/5dii_400mm_010-420-90.JPG" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="420" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II, f/8, 1/100 second</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> See the full-res image</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <img alt="Canon ef 400mm f/2.8l is ii usm" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Lenses/Canon%20EF%20400mm%20f2.8L%20IS%20II%20USM/Animals/5dii_400mm_015-420-90.JPG" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Lenses/Canon%20EF%20400mm%20f2.8L%20IS%20II%20USM/Animals/5dii_400mm_015-420-90.JPG" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="420" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II, f/2.8, 1/1600 second</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> See the full-res image</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <img alt="Canon ef 400mm f/2.8l is ii usm" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Lenses/Canon%20EF%20400mm%20f2.8L%20IS%20II%20USM/Crop%20factor/5dii_400mm_035-420-90.JPG" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Lenses/Canon%20EF%20400mm%20f2.8L%20IS%20II%20USM/Crop%20factor/5dii_400mm_035-420-90.JPG" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="420" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II, f/5.6, 1/125 second (full-frame)</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> See the full-res image</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <img alt="Canon ef 400mm f/2.8l is ii usm" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Lenses/Canon%20EF%20400mm%20f2.8L%20IS%20II%20USM/Apertures/5dii_400mm_037-420-90.JPG" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Lenses/Canon%20EF%20400mm%20f2.8L%20IS%20II%20USM/Apertures/5dii_400mm_037-420-90.JPG" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="420" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II, f/2.8</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> See the full-res image</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <img alt="Canon ef 400mm f/2.8l is ii usm" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Lenses/Canon%20EF%20400mm%20f2.8L%20IS%20II%20USM/Apertures/5dii_400mm_039-420-90.JPG" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Lenses/Canon%20EF%20400mm%20f2.8L%20IS%20II%20USM/Apertures/5dii_400mm_039-420-90.JPG" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="420" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II, f/5.6</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> See the full-res image</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <img alt="Canon ef 400mm f/2.8l is ii usm" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Lenses/Canon%20EF%20400mm%20f2.8L%20IS%20II%20USM/Apertures/5dii_400mm_041-420-90.JPG" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Lenses/Canon%20EF%20400mm%20f2.8L%20IS%20II%20USM/Apertures/5dii_400mm_041-420-90.JPG" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="420" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II, f/8</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> See the full-res image</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <img alt="Canon ef 400mm f/2.8l is ii usm" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Lenses/Canon%20EF%20400mm%20f2.8L%20IS%20II%20USM/Apertures/5dii_400mm_043-420-90.JPG" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Lenses/Canon%20EF%20400mm%20f2.8L%20IS%20II%20USM/Apertures/5dii_400mm_043-420-90.JPG" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="420" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II, f/11</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> See the full-res image</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <img alt="Canon ef 400mm f/2.8l is ii usm" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Lenses/Canon%20EF%20400mm%20f2.8L%20IS%20II%20USM/Apertures/5dii_400mm_045-420-90.JPG" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Lenses/Canon%20EF%20400mm%20f2.8L%20IS%20II%20USM/Apertures/5dii_400mm_045-420-90.JPG" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="420" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II, f/8</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> See the full-res image</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <img alt="Canon ef 400mm f/2.8l is ii usm" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Lenses/Canon%20EF%20400mm%20f2.8L%20IS%20II%20USM/Apertures/5dii_400mm_047-420-90.JPG" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PhotoRadar/Lenses/Canon%20EF%20400mm%20f2.8L%20IS%20II%20USM/Apertures/5dii_400mm_047-420-90.JPG" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="420" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II, f/8</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> See the full-res image</div> <h3 style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> Verdict</h3> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM is as good as it gets for a super-fast, super-telephoto prime lens.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> From its rugged build quality and expansive feature set to its brilliant optical performance, trick focus modes and rock-steady image stabiliser, everything comes together perfectly.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The only downsides are that it's big and heavy to use, and massively expensive to buy.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">We liked</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Superb image quality made all the more effective by excellent autofocus and image stabilisation systems.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">We disliked</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> It's very big, still heavy despite the Mark II's weight loss, and extremely expensive.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Final verdict</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Even with its disadvantages, the Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM would be a great super-telephoto lens to hire for special occasions.</div> </div> </div>

Review: Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM

Overview and features Combine a 400mm full-frame prime lens with a fast maximum aperture of f/2.8 and there are two things you can b...

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