Description
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Key Features:
• 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 Zoom Lens
• 21 Elements in 16 Groups
• 9-blade circular aperture
• 3-mode Optical Image Stabilization
• Inner focus system, USM
• Close focus to 3.2 feet
• 77mm filter size
• Dimensions: 3.7×7.6 inches
• Weight: 3.46 pounds
What’s New and Improved
The new lens’s 21 elements in 16 groups mean the lens is slightly heavier (3.46 vs. 3.1 pounds) and larger (3.7×7.6 vs. 3.6×7.4 inches) but that’s a modest tradeoff for a new internal focusing AF system with closer minimum focus, ruggedization, and more advanced image stabilization (Canon claims 4 stops of image correction). Three image stabilization modes (standard, panning, and during exposure only) are said to provide steady handheld shots for a wide range of shooting situations.
As with its predecessor, the new lens includes one fluorite and one super UD element, which work to provide impressive contrast and resolution and reduced chromatic aberration across the entire zoom range. However, Canon has added Air Sphere Coating (ASC), which they say will significantly reduce backlit flaring and ghosting. Additional fluorine coatings on the front and rear lens surfaces are there to reduce smears and fingerprints. (To be extra careful, we always recommend a UV or Sky filter to protect the front element.)
Other useful new features include a redesigned tripod mount that can be attached and detached without removing the lens from the camera, and a new lens hood with a side window that makes it simple to adjust polarizers and other specialty filters without the need to remove the hood. Usability enhancements include a rotation-type zoom ring with adjustable zoom torque for more precise, customizable zoom performance. Finally, the zoom torque adjustment ring has been improved to allow easy setting of zoom tension.
