Canon 200-400 F4 Unbox and Sniff Test

This lens will run you 1 million 799 thousands pennies. Yes this is one of the most expensive lenses on the market today. The Canon 200-400mm F4 IS with built in 1.4X Teleconverter is $11,799.00.

Please keep in mind this is simply an unboxing and sniff test so there are no sample images that were taken with this lens. With that said I still think you will find it pretty interesting.

If your first thought is that this is a monster lens, well you would be correct in some ways and surprised in others. I was surprised by its size and weight, not that it was overly heavy or large but that it wasn’t what I truly expected. The lens felt fantastic in my hands and I can only imagine how great it must be to shoot.

Nikon has had two versions of their 200-400 lens but none have a revolutionary feature like the Canon. The Canon has a built in 1.4X teleconverter. That means at a simple switch of a button you can have the converter slide in or out. What is cool about the teleconverter is that it’s made out of the same glass that was used to make the elements of the lens. This is what they call “paired” and is meant to give you the best images possible.

When the converter is in place this lens on a full frame camera becomes at 280-560 F5.6. That is a huge range of options that you can get from one piece of glass. Instead of carrying around a 300, 400 and 600 you can simply carry this lens. But keep in mind that prime lenses like a 300, 400 or 600 tend to give sharper results. But maybe the tradeoff is worth it to some people.

There is another difference between the Nikon and the Canon 200-400 and that is price. The Nikon clocks in at $6,749 which is substantially less expensive than the Canon. From what I have heard though the Canon is a much sharper lens.

Speaking of sharpness, you have to keep in mind that fixed lenses will tend to create sharper results over zooms because there are no moving elements. Is this something that the normal person would be able to see in side by side comparisons, I am not sure.

Who is this lenses for you may ask? First its for anyone that can afford it. Full time photographers who make a living day in and day out shooting who want to carry a little less gear but still get amazing versatility. The natural fit for this lens seems to be sports photographers and nature photographers.

If you are interested in picking up one of these bad boys for yourself you can call Allens Camera at 215.547.2841 and tell them the Fro sent you.