Canon’s RF 100-400 F5.6-8 IS USM Lens

[Sea-n-Ease]

Has anyone used this lens on an Alaskan or other scenic cruise with a full frame body?   Wondering if photo quality is still decent on the long reaches.  I realize it’s a budget lens, but I’m hoping to lighten my camera load and leave my better (but HEAVIER) lens at home. 

[piper28]

Everything I've seen says that's a pretty good lens for something that's not in an L lens, and whenever I get around to moving to a mirrorless camera, I'll probably pick that one up as a pretty good option.  Anything better is going to be a lot heavier and more expensive.

 

That said, as an only lens?  100 seems a bit long for the short end to me.

 

Personally, since I haven't moved to mirrorless yet, on my crop camera, I'm planning on bringing my 18-135 and a sigma 150-600 lens that I picked up recently.  Although the sigma lens definitely makes carrying things a lot more complicated.

[quack2]

I used my 100-400 5.6-8 with my R5 and my R7 (crop sensor) a couple of weeks ago in Alaska.  Chose to leave my big, heavy 150-600 at home.  Pretty happy with the results.  I wish it was faster, but then it would be heavier and more expensive.

 

I also brought my 24-240 for landscape/glacier face shots.  Between the two lenses and my iphone, I felt I was pretty well covered.

 

Pictures below were all taken with R5 and 100-400.  Cropped and minor sharpening adjustments.  Very grey day out out of Seward.

[bronzey214]

I had the original R and a 100-300 EF lens w/ the adapter for my first alaska cruise. I would say it was... adequate. I took my 100-500 lens the last time and loved it. Keep in mind the 100-400 is not as weather resistant. It all depends on how you look at the trip. Is it "once in a lifetime"? Do you want those memorable shots?

[Bellanina]

On 7/12/2023 at 4:20 PM, Sea-n-Ease said:

Has anyone used this lens on an Alaskan or other scenic cruise with a full frame body?   Wondering if photo quality is still decent on the long reaches.  I realize it’s a budget lens, but I’m hoping to lighten my camera load and leave my better (but HEAVIER) lens at home. 

Why not test it out and rent a lens from an online source like Borrowlenses.com?  Just be sure to buy the insurance- saved me a lot of worry when i dropped an expensive lense onto pavement in Italy.  

[piper28]

Renting one, or perhaps buying it then selling it, is definitely a pretty reasonable option.  Lenses retain enough value, that the buy/sell option isn't necessarily that bad of one, and the rental on a lens like the 100-400 isn't too bad.

 

I know before buying the 150-600 that I took, I considered potentially renting it for the trip.  I think for my trip length, it would have been about $150-$200 to do that?  After looking at prices for used versions, I figured that I could buy one new, then sell it after the trip if I decided I wanted to, plus have it for a while before to get used to it.  Now that I've taken the trip, I do need to decide whether I want to keep it or go ahead and sell it though.  I'm finding that to be a tough decision.

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

I purchased one years ago ... was a bit slow IMO if you wanted to keep your ISO low  ... was fun for a season ... then I sold it for something much better.