Canon EF 500mm lens
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| Simply magnificent! 13/07/2010 This is probably the best lens for wildlife photographers (and sports photographers as well). Tack sharp even in widest aperture (f/4), fast and accurate autofocus, "creamy" background (BOKEH) are some of it's "achievements". This is a lens which gives you the ability to take a photo af any situation no matter how unpredictable or fast that might be in absolutely stunning quality. The image stabilizer system helps tremendeously in low light conditions, while the focus pre-set feature is a welcomed luxury, especially for sports photographers. There is literally no image degradation when used with a 1.4 X teleconverter. You lose one stop (f/5.6) but still retain the autofocus ability, the sharpness, clarity and overall image quality....things though get noticeably worse when used with a 2X teleconverter. Although some people claim that they can handhold this lens (even for short periods of time) the truth is that you certainly need a good tripod or a monopod to support it's weight (the lens itself weighs almost 4kg). A good tripod (carbon fibre Gitzo model), combined with a Wimberley II head provide the ultimate support system. The lens and camera body are balanced in panning and tilt axis...which means that the whole system can be moved with the tip of your finger...it becomes literally weightless!!! In summary this lens is an optical and mechanical masterpiece...no wonder why numerous of pro sports and wildlife photographers (among them myself) have added it to their "arsenal" By Theodore Mattas Greece | ||||||
| Love it 13/06/2009 I love this lens.It is fast focusing,and always produces sharp results even with a Canon 1.4x extender attached. It's big and heavy-ish if you are not use to super telephoto lenses,but stick it on a decent tripod and a gimbal type head and it is perfect. By Mr. J. E. Willson UK | ||||||
| Unbelievable quality, portable size 01/09/2010 I saved for 6 years for this lens, and when it came time to purchase, I debated for months whether to get this or save a little more for the 600. After trying out the 600 for myself, I quickly discovered that it was just too much bulk for me. I immediately bought the 500. After my first shoot with it, I knew it was worth every dime. Image quality is unbelievable. Sharp as a tack wide open and stopped down, autofocus is superb, takes the 1.4 teleconverter beautifully, and the best part about it is that I can pack it up with me nearly anywhere. It fits in my Pelican 1510 for air/car travel. It also fits in numerous larger backpacks on the market unlike the 600. I can also sling it out my car window (not easy to do for a little car like mine) and shoot from the vehicle. I LOVE this lens. With it, I am opening a whole new chapter of my wildlife and bird photography. I predominantly use it on a Wimberley head on either a monopod or tripod. I cannot handhold this lens. I know some people can, but I cannot. If you have back problems or are not strong in the arms and especially the upper back, I'd highly advise getting a monopod and the Wimberley head. If you are on the fence about whether this lens is worth it or not, just go ahead and tip on over the fence. It is! The only thing I'd caution potential buyers about is that you should also be prepared to invest another $1,000 at least in support equipment (Wimberley head + Wimberley flash bracket if you use flash + good tripod legs + good monopod + lens plate/replacement foot + optional lenscoat cover). You should further invest in good accidental damage and theft insurance. By E. Martin Miami, FL USA | ||||||
| What an upgrade from the 100-400mm 31/05/2010 I purchased this lense as an upgrade from the 100-400mm zoom lense I had been using for bird photography. I now use the 500mm lense in combination with a 1.4x extender for most of my shots (with a 7D camera). Autofocus works great, even with the extender, and the improvement in picture quality over the zoom lense is obvious and very satisfying. It is a big lense, but I am getting used to tracking birds using a monopod. I recommend the lense without hesitation. By Jon F. Lutz | ||||||
| So good it feels like I'm cheating 18/04/2010 I only got deep into bird and wildlife last summer when I purchased Canon's EF 400mm f/5.6L. That's a fine lens and I thought that the image quality was very good, but I longed for more "reach" and a faster aperture that would autofocus with my 1.4 teleconverter. A professional photographer freind let me handle his EF 600mm f/4L and his EF 500mm f/4.5L (both are older models) and the added length and weight of the 600mm focused me totally on the 500mm for my bag. My friend is using his 600mm on a full-frame camera while I'm using my 500mm on a 1.6 crop-sensor Canon 7D. On that sensor the 500mm gives a field of view equivalent to 800mm (1.6X500). When I add my 1.4TC II the equivalent focal length is 1,120mm!!! That's amazing power for a lens that will fit in my LowPro backback. For stunning pictures at all shutter speeds and shooting over an extended periods of time, a stout tripod and gimbal is suggested. I'm using the eight-ply, carbon fiber Induro C414 tripod with an Arca-Swiss Z1 ballhead and the Wimberley Sidekick half-gimbal. This setup is extremely stable and you can turn off the lens' IS. I leave it in mode 2 for panning. That said, this lens yields very sharp images when handheld. The IS is truly effective. To see it, just focus on something stationary without pushing the shutter button to activate the IS. You'll see the image moving and shaking, then push the shutter button and the subject almost "locks" into place, as if it's on the tripod. Yes, there's still small movement, but at 1/1000th to 1/2000th shutter speeds typical in bird photography, everything is sharp. (Remember the old rule, for every 100mm of focal length you need 1/100th second of shutter speed, so the minimum with this lens would be 1/500th, even when shooting something that's not moving. (Factor in a crop-sensor that might be 1/800th second). At those speeds the IS gives very clear results. The auto focuse of this lens is really fast and mostly "snaps" instantly into focus. You DO need to be aware of the subject distance and move the switch for a close subject and remember to move it back for a distant subject. Be aware of your camera's AF mode. For instance, for birds in flight I use 9 sensors in a square box in the middle of the sensor. For birds in the bush, I use single point in order to look past twigs and such. For things like a passing boat or car it hardly matters which mode your camera is in. When used with my 1.4TC II, the AF snaps seemingly just as quickly. My Flickr site is [...] Cut and paste if you want to see examples, Tagged "EF 500mm f/4L IS" I see much superior image quality to my EF 400mm f/5.6L. A big part of this is the effective focal length over 1,000mm when used on a crop-sensor camera and with the 1.4TC, which gives you a frame-filling subject. I still need to crop many of my bird images, but it's mainly for compositional values. This lens is large and does attract a crow (probably the biggest negative) but it gets the job done. By David C. Stephens Colorado | ||||||
