First shots with Canon 400mm F5.6L USM lens

[Ollie]

Well it arrived today and I couldn't wait to try it out so set off for a walk around my village and shown below are the results.

Bear in mind that that it was a dull morning here in Lincolnshire and also that I purposefully went for shots with this lens that the Bigma (Sigma 50-500mm lens) would not have coped with either because the bird was to distant or the light to bad. All the shots have been cropped to some extent some more than others

I am not pulling the Bigma down in any way, it's still a great lens but I just wanted to see if the Canon 400mm F5.6L USM lens coped any better. My conclusion was that the Canon lens peformed slightly better in the fact that the images were sharper in the first place enabling me to crop without losing much in quality.

I realise in a perfect photo there would be no need to crop but I haven't taken one yet.

First image a male Blackbird taken at ISO 800 F6.3 1/500 sec


Another Blackbird female this time taken at ISO 400 f6.3 1/80sec


A male Chaffinch taken at ISO 400 f6.3 1/250sec


A Great Tit and yes I have blown the white on the cheek, forgot in my excitement to adjust for the exposure, taken at ISO 800 f7.1 1/160sec


Finally a Tree Sparrow taken at ISO 800 f7.1 1/125sec


They are not the best photos you will view but I was happy with them for a first outing with this lens under not ideal conditions.

Thanks for looking
Roger

[HARIMAU1610]

Lovely Sharp Pictures :-) Im also getting used to the 400 lens. Im sure they will get better and better......How have you found it compared to the Bigma?

Harimau

[matt_xyz]

they look pretty good to me Roger. Presumably these were taken with a tripod as you have some fairly slow shutter speeds?

Matt

[Ollie]

Originally Posted by HARIMAU1610

Lovely Sharp Pictures :-) Im also getting used to the 400 lens. Im sure they will get better and better......How have you found it compared to the Bigma?

Harimau

Thanks Harimau,
To be fair I can't really say it's better than the Bigma yet as today was the first time I have used it, but it definitely looks promising. I am sure the shots are a touch sharper than with the Bigma.
Roger

[Ollie]

Originally Posted by matt_xyz

they look pretty good to me Roger. Presumably these were taken with a tripod as you have some fairly slow shutter speeds?

Matt

Thanks Matt, yes I did use a tripod it was very overcast and I thought I would give it a go on the tripod before I tried hand holding. I am pleased with the results so far just hoping for some brighter days next week to give it a good trial and have a go at hand holding
Roger

[mrs fish]

I love the blackbird shots, it is nice to see the surrounding plants as well as the birds

[glsammy]

It'll be interesting to see how you get on with it. As you know, I've considered buying this lens, so I'm glad you're going to run my trials for me!
What we should do Roger is get out together, me with old Bigma and you with the 400mm. That way we can compare and get a real idea of the differences..
Just name the day/place!!

[Ollie]

Originally Posted by glsammy

It'll be interesting to see how you get on with it. As you know, I've considered buying this lens, so I'm glad you're going to run my trials for me!
What we should do Roger is get out together, me with old Bigma and you with the 400mm. That way we can compare and get a real idea of the differences..
Just name the day/place!!

I'm up for that Graham, I've got next Monday off 19th Feb but after that it won't be until the following Monday 26th Feb. Whisby near Lincoln would be good for me, it's roughly half way for us both. Time I met up with you in the flesh anyway, sure we can sort something out. I agree the only way to compare is to get both lenses together under the same conditions.

The images I posted apart from the Blackbirds have been heavily cropped. I have tried cropping the Bigma images like this but they just won't stand it, they degrade in quality too much. Not that the Canon cropped ones are brilliant but I was a very long way off from these birds, further than I would have attempted with the Bigma. Best if you can get close enough to not have to crop at all but this rarely happens.

Roger

[Ollie]

Originally Posted by mrs fish

I love the blackbird shots, it is nice to see the surrounding plants as well as the birds

Thanks mrs fish your comments are appreciated
Roger

[FungiJohn]

Some very nice images Roger. I think we will see many more excellent images from you using this lens

Originally Posted by glsammy

It'll be interesting to see how you get on with it. As you know, I've considered buying this lens, so I'm glad you're going to run my trials for me!
What we should do Roger is get out together, me with old Bigma and you with the 400mm. That way we can compare and get a real idea of the differences..
Just name the day/place!!

Now, that sounds like an interesting suggestion I'll keep out of the way until I fully master my Bigma ... I'd be asking too many silly questions