After reviewing the Canon EF 300mm f4 IS USM, I felt like it was time to take it up a notch and review a lens that is really at the top of the Canon lineup for sports and wildlife.  This lens has been engineered with the most discerning photographers in mind.  Some might even say the Canon EF 400 2.8 II is the best telephoto lens Canon has ever made.

Because this may be the "baddest" lens Canon has ever made, I vowed put this test through its paces.  From initial impressions to micro focus calibration to field work, I wanted to see if this lens really was the best.  Of course there are several other lenses which are famous for being amazing lenses in the telephoto "L" lens lineup.  Among the best are the EF 500 f4 L, the EF 600 f4 L and the EF 200-400 L.  Make no mistake, I will not let lenses in this price category and fame get by with anything!

The Canon EF 400 2.8 arrived in a hard case with a strap 

As with my other reviews, I will be holding this lens up against the modestly priced, but highly effective Sigma 150-600 C.  Since I shoot with this lens on a weekly basis, I am thoroughly familiar with all the pros and cons this lens has dealt out. Will the 400 2.8 really blow away the Sigma?  Read on to find out! 

Canon EF 400mm 2.8 L IS USM

Overall Specifications of the Lens

• Weight - 8.4 Pounds 
• Length -13.5 inches
• Image Stabilized - Mode 1 Stabilizes X and Y axis.  Mode 2 Stabilizes during horizontal and vertical panning. Provides roughly 4 stops of image stabilization.  Mode 3 detects which axes to stabilize and only stabilizes at the time the images is taken.  There is no preview.
• Lens Construction -16 Elements in 12 Groups 
• Focal Length - 400mm (prime) 
• Image Magnification - 1:5.8 
• Aperture Blades - 9
• Closest Focusing - 8.86 feet (2.7 m)
• Filter Size - 52mm (Drop In)
• Lens Hood (reverses for stowing ET-155)
• Removable Tripod Collar
• Aperture - f2.8 to f32
• MSRP - $9,999 US
• Used Price - $7,000 US?  (not readily found on the used market)

Micro-Adjusting to the Canon 7D Mark II

I think a big mistake some reviewers make is not micro-adjusting the lens to the camera.  How can you sincerely test the lens in the field without making sure the auto-focus of the camera is calibrated to the lens?  I figured this lens would be spot on when calibrated to my Canon 7D Mark II, but it was not.  I ended up making a -2 adjustment in order to get it perfectly in focus.  Below is the actual final calibration shot.

Build, Fit and Finish

Canon began manufacturing of the 400 around 2010, and it was officially released in August 2011.  It was an upgrade to it's sister lens the Canon EF 400 f2.8 L IS USM.  The latter no longer being in production.  

The first word that comes to mind when looking at the build of this lens is "WOW!"  The engineers set out to produce an astounding lens and they met their goals with breath taking precision.  From the moment I opened the box, I knew I was viewing an unusual product.

The most obvious and striking feature when viewing the lens from any distance, is the large diameter of the front elements.  This accounts for the majority of the weight of this lens and also the extreme cost.  Having a front element this large is amazing, but it is also a target for all manner of possible ways to get damaged.  The more surface area of glass on the front, the easier it is to scratch and the more front heavy it becomes.  8.4 lbs is no joke!  It weighs more than the average new born baby and lugging this around all day is likely to be taxing on the body.  

One Massive Front Element

At the rear of the lens are are myriad of buttons and switches.  There are some you would be familiar with such as the image stabilization switch and some you may not be.  Since this is the best of the best, it comes with a few more bells and whistles that are worth explaining throughout this review.  Included among the controls is a new button to me, the focus preset "Set" button.  That's right, you can set a pre-focus area and return to it over and over again.  More on that later.  As with most Canon L lenses, the manual focus ring is a good size and smooth to operate.

At the rear of the lens, is a drop in filter holder.  This allows you to drop a smaller filter into the rear of the lens.  With a massive front element, buying a filter that big would be difficult if not impossible.  I really wish all telephotos had this feature, but I can see the difficulty this would introduce into the manufacturing process.

View Showing the Drop-in Filter

So it can't all be roses, right?  Well, yes, there are a couple drawbacks on the build with this lens.  First, the lens hood is so massive that it was actually difficult for me to push the lens through the opening in my blind's camo netting.  In small spaces look to be a bit frustrated by this design.  The other obvious issue is the weight of this lens.  Because of the 8.4 lb weight, it is almost impossible to lug this 4 miles through rugged terrain.  If you are thinking about this lens as your primary wildlife lens, I would recommend against it.

Finally, when the lens arrived to me, the hood was actually stuck on the lens.  I was able to loosen it up, but eventually the little knob to tighten down the lens hood stuck in the open position.  At that point, I had to wedge a piece of cardboard between the hood and the lens to keep the lens hood from falling off.  Now, I want to ask you.  Should a $10,000.00 lens have a fault in the lens hood knob?  After researching it online, I found it was a fairly common problem with this lens and the other big Canon primes. This is not something you want to find out after spending this kind of cash on a lens.

Sharpness and Optical Quality

What you are not going to find in this review is a sharpness test pointing at some lens chart.  There are plenty of those available on the web.  What you are going to see is how this lens performs against real subjects.  My working genre in the photography world is wildlife and I specialize in bird photography.  So that is where I will concentrate my tests.  Always stick with what you know when testing a lens.  

When I began testing this lens sharpness, I knew it was going to be very sharp.  This lens is well known for its sharpness and speed of focus. Because of that, were I decided to spend all my time was comparing this lens with my Sigma 150-600.  I wanted to answer the question, "Is this lens' sharpness worth almost $10,000 US?  I honestly believe that as photographers on a budget, we owe it to ourselves to find out what makes a 10K lens a 10K lens. Even if most of us never buy this lens, we need to answer that question.

Indeed the lens was sharper than my Sigma 150-600, but I did not feel like the difference in sharpness was worth spending that kind of money.  With modern post processing software, the sharpness difference can easily be compensated for.  Don't forget, I could buy 10 of the Sigma lenses for the price of one Canon 400 2.8 II.  However, if price is not an issue for you, then you will be getting a very sharp lens with plenty of resolution.  Below is a 100% crop of a mourning dove with default sharpening applied.

Mourning Dove - 100% Crop

I could definitely see where there was more resolution provided by this lens when compared to other lenses I have photographed with.  In the above 100% crop, the beak details were quite amazing.  Below, I have a fully processed image of the mourning dove with added clarity, sharpening, contrast and noise reduction.

Mourning Dove Fully Processed

Auto-focus

Out of the gate, this lens is a thoroughbred.  It can focus faster and better than any other lens I have ever used.  This is due, for the most part, in thanks to the large front element gathering light at f2.8.  It is a light sucking hog and that is exactly what your DSLR's AF sensor is hungry for.  Having said that, for basic action, I don't think you need a lens of this caliber.  If you are making a living as a sports photographer, then a lens like this will make a difference in what is in focus and what is not.

Personally, as far as wildlife, I thought this lens was  overkill and I really don't think that is what Canon designed this lens for, specifically.  My feeling and the feeling of others was this lens was designed for fast action sports photography for the discerning professional. It is heavy and was designed to be put on a monopod at a baseball or football game.

With my backyard birds, I didn't feel like it snapped into focus any faster than my Sigma, but it did focus faster when using AI servo.  The incremental focusing done in this  mode was so fast, that it made a totally different noise as the focus motor zipped back and forth finding focus as the birds moved their heads and bodies.  Had I taken this out for birds in flight photography, I believe it would have been a stellar lens.  With the weight of this lens though, I honestly didn't feel like lugging this up to Pilot Mountain.

One of the subjects I photographed during testing was the red-bellied woodpecker.  Woodpeckers are very agile and difficult to focus on.  The 400 did a great job of keeping up with the woodpecker's bobbing head. I felt like it did a better job than my Sigma here.  Note that this time of year is terrible for photographing songbirds.  This is their time to molt, and this poor female red-bellied woodpecker has lost a great deal of her head feathers.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Image Stabilization (IS)

In case I didn't mention this several times already, let me say it again.  This lens has all the bells and whistles and so I was not surprised to see three different modes of image stabilization.  That's right, not two modes, but three modes!

• Mode 1 - This is the traditional IS mode which stabilizes both the vertical and horizontal axes.
• Mode 2- This is also a traditional IS mode which only stabilizes the vertical axis.  This is used for panning purposes.
• Mode 3 - This mode is new and will only stabilize the lens when the shutter button pressed all the way down and at the time of taking the image.  It does not "preview" the stabilization in the view finder.  This mode is more effective when shooting action.

View of Stabilizer Modes and the Unique Focus Preset Switch

My Sigma 150-600 also has the Mode 3 feature, but it is not a switch.  It is configured through the doc.  You can choose whether you want to preview the IS or let it lock it down at the moment of taking the photo.  So I can not say that this is a great win for Canon, although  with Canon it is immediately available with a switch.  So maybe a slight advantage from that perspective.

Among the other switches near the image stabilizer switches is the focus preset switches.  When the focus preset function is engaged, the photographer can focus on a particular area in the image and make it a focus preset.  This is primarily useful for sports photographers who are shooting in a particular zone on a ball field.

Uses for this Lens

Again, one of the most obvious uses of this lens is professional sports photography.  I would say that it should be exclusively used by this group, but I think that would be short sighted. 

As a secondary use, I could see this used for wildlife photography.  Specifically as a go to lens for low light, flight photography or blind photography.  I think its strengths would be best utilized in a stationary manner.  From a car, a popup blind, or on a sturdy tripod with a gimbal head you would have a killer setup.  I can see pairing this with the Canon 7D Mark II to give you a 640mm effective focal length.

However, I do not see this as a run and gun lens.  If your style is moving stealthily through the woods and using cover and concealment as you move, this lens will be heavy and with the big white lens hood, will give away your position.  If you insist on using this lens in this type of setup, consider buying a lens coat and a gym membership.  

Final Verdict

Obviously from a technical perspective this lens is going to work extremely well for you.  It has amazing auto-focus, amazing build quality and at 400 mm can handle most of your wildlife and sports photography needs.  However, and this is a BIG however; is this lens the best choice for you?

Big features make for a heavy and expensive lens.  There is a reason that many photographers opt for the 300 2.8 instead of the 400 and that is simply the raw economy of the matter.  On the used market, I can pick up a Canon EF 300mm 2.8 IS for only $5,000. Furthermore, since the 300 is so sharp, I can put a 1.4x teleconverter on the lens.  For a few hundred dollars more, I have an f4, 420mm effective focal length.  Or, how about a 2x teleconverter giving you a whopping 600mm effective focal length. 

There are also other third party options which also bear mentioning here.  How about the Sigma 120-300 2.8?  A sharp and more versatile lens which also supports using a teleconverter.  This lens is only $3,313 US.  With the money saved, you can take a trip to Alaska to photograph brown bears and eagles.

It used to be that the major manufacturers were the only companies that frankly could make the glass needed by semi-pros or pros, but those days no longer exist.  Today, the 3rd party lens making world is growing rapidly and producing some astounding glass. They are turning the heads of even the most discerning professional.  Finally, I think Canon needs to understand the changing world of photography.  No longer do professional photographers make the money they need to purchase a lens for $10,000.  We are expected to do a whole lot more with a whole lot less money.  The days of newspapers owning a couple 400mm 2.8 lenses are gone along with the large staffs of in house photojournalists.  

Having said all that. You are in control of your own destiny.  If you have the extra money, than by all means go for it.  Buy that EF 400mm lens!  You will not be disappointed.

Quick Summary

• Great build quality
• Image stabilized
• f2.8 aperture makes shooting in lower light easier
• Sharpness is excellent
• Best in class auto-focus.
• Extremely expensive at $9,999.00 US
• Large, clunky lens hood with a problematic tightening knob.
• White color could draw unwanted attention from your subject
• Focusing ring was great when hand holding, but slips when resting on a bean bag
• Weight makes it difficult to use in run and gun wildlife photography

Check out the accompanying video for this review!

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In the previous article, I mainly examined the use of the AF Configuration Tool, which is part of the menu system of the 7D II. These cases are a very important feature when using AI Servo. In this post, I will look at the remaining features of the 7D II's auto-focus and how they are best used for wildlife or general nature photography.

AF Area 

Canon now supports seven options for selecting various groupings of AF points.  Along with these new options, the 7D II has a new AF group selection lever.  This lever surrounds the joy stick on the back of the camera, but the lever has to be enabled as the group selection lever in the button settings. Below is a view of the new AF group selector switch.

To Configure the AF Group Lever to Scroll Through the AF Areas:

1. Navigate on the Menu to Custom Function III - Display/Operation
2. Enable Direct AF Area Selection

Single Point Spot

Single point spot has been around for several generations of camera bodies.  You can really think of it as a more precise version of single point.  In essence, it uses a very small point within the outer AF point rectangle.  This is useful for photographing a subject where getting a precise part of the image in focus is very difficult .  For example, if you were photographing a still bison portrait, you could use this feature to focus on the eye only and not have to worry so much about getting the eye lashes in focus.
In practice, I and most other wildlife or general nature photographers do not use this feature.  I am not saying it can't be used, but it has a very unique application and should not be used with AI Servo.


Single Point

Single point has been around since the invention of auto focus.  Essentially, you just move this point around the view finder, and place it over the area you want to be in focus and half press the shutter button to focus.  This is an important tool in my photography and accounts for probably 95% of my AF needs.  I use this when photographing landscapes, static subjects of any kind and macro.  However, most of the time I use manual focus when photographing static subjects and use live view to zoom in and focus for critical applications.

To use this feature, you must understand how to navigate the AF Rectangle around the view finder.  There are several ways to do this, but the best way to do it is as follows:

1. Press the AF mode button on the top right of the camera body and immediately release it.  This puts you in a mode to actually select and AF point.
2. While looking through the view finder, move the joy stick on the back of the camera, and watch the AF rectangle move from point to point.  
3. Find the point which will allow the best focusing for your subject. For example, always focus on the eye when taking a portrait.

It is also important to note that this is the only way to use the center AF point when using an f8 lens.  It must be on the center point when using this feature. It is fine to use this mode in AI Servo continuous focus mode.

AF Point Expansion (4 Surrounding Points)

This AF group was part of the original 7D and one which I find useful from time to time.  I have used this successfully when photographing birds in flight, and it is one of my go to options to this day. It is good for slower moving birds and birds which are dipping into tree line. 

Essentially, when using this group, the center point is still the main AF point, but if the photographer gets sloppy or the subjects moves, the AF system will hand off to one of the surrounding points so the subject is kept in focus. Canon calls these extra points "assist points."  Note that as you move this focus point around, you can see the surrounding points move with it.  


AF Point Expansion (8 Surrounding Points)

This is the same type of AF group as the 4 point expansion.  The only real difference is that it contains 8 points to which it can hand off to when needed.  This was not included in the original 7D, but it is one in which I may test.  I could see using this mode when photographing birds against a blue sky for example.  I do not think this would be a particularly good mode for mammals in a wooded area however. 

Note: You may also have trouble with the AF locking onto other parts of the animal that you do not want in focus.  Canon literature does state that this mode resists grabbing the background inadvertently.


Zone AF

This is an AF feature which uses 15 AF points which can be moved to essentially 9 different locations on the view finder.  Zones are really best to use when you have a faster and more erratic subject.  Use this when you simply cannot hold the AF point on the subject.  At least it will lock on to part of the subject and with enough depth of field you will be in pretty good shape.

Large Zone AF

Large zone AF takes clusters of auto focus points and arranges them in three possible zones (left, center and right).  Using large zone, the camera will focus automatically on the closest subject in the zone.  This might be undesirable if you are in an area with many distracting objects in the foreground or at the same level as the subject.  This is also new with the 7D Mark II.  

All AF Points

In this mode, the subject is determined by the entire view finder.  Holding the shutter button half way down will cause AF to search for the subject and then the AF point will appear over the subject.  The problem with this mode is that you are leaving the subject finding and tracking to the camera body.  As you can guess this might, for example, track the foot of a bird and not his head.  This mode is best used when you have a solid background such as a blue sky and depth of field is not a real issue. 

I use this mode when I have a ridiculously erratic subject such as a swallow or a chimney swift.

Which Mode is Best for You?

Without a doubt, I recommend starting with "single point" and mastering its use.  For most subjects this is going to work fine.  Only use the more advanced zone features when you have no other alternative or you have a very shaky hand when shooting flight shots or rapidly moving mammals.  If you are photographing very erratic subjects and you simply cannot get them in focus, try one of the group modes.

I hope you enjoyed this third posting on the Canon EOS 7D Mark II!

There is no doubt, that the Canon 7D Mark II's auto-focus system is a huge leap from the previous Canon 7D.  In this article, I will attempt to unravel the complexity of this system by gathering expert sources as well as my own experiences with the new system.  Particularly, part 1 will look at the basic configuration of the AF points and the AF cases.  This, of course, will be written from a nature photographers perspective.  


65 AF Points
The most obvious improvement I first noticed is the expansion from 19 AF points in the Canon 7D to 65 in the Mark II.  As shown in the image below, this gives the photographer almost edge to edge AF point coverage.  All 65 of these images are cross type on lenses which have an aperture of 5.6.  What this amounts to is the camera uses both vertical and horizontal planes to find focus on the subject.

Of course having 65 AF points, all cross type is a welcome addition, but what does this mean in practicality?  If the photographer is using one of the popular Sigma and Tamron 150-600mm lenses, they cannot reliably use cross type auto focus above 400mm.  At that point, the lens becomes a 6.3 lens and not a 5.6 lens.  So for wildlife photographers on a budget, cross type points may not be that big of a gain. If, however, the photographer is using lenses such as the Canon EF 100-400 II or the Canon EF 400mm 5.6, they can take full advantage of the entire grid of AF points in regard to cross point functionality.

Center Point AF
The center AF point, as with most professional bodies, has two additional properties which make it very useful for the wildlife photographer.  First, if the photographer is shooting at f8, the camera still maintains AF when using the center point.  Secondly, if the user is using a 2.8 lens, then he can benefit from the high precision diagonal cross type.  For most wildlife photographers reading this article, the high precision point, will not be an important feature as most do not own longer 2.8 lenses, but having a camera that can still reliably auto-focus at f8 is a huge advantage.  With this feature, one can use a teleconverter on his 400mm 5.6 lens and effectively be able to shoot at f8, 560mm.

The AF Configuration Tool
With the 7D Mark II, Canon has introduced a new configuration tool in the menu.  This tool allows the photographer to move through six different "cases" to better tailor the camera to handle certain auto-focus conditions.  Please note, that these cases only apply to AF when you have the camera set to AI Servo.  In other words this is for action shooting only.  Below each case will be examined and explained.


Case 1: Versatile multi purpose setting
As I expected, this case is best used when I have no idea what conditions I will be shooting in.  In essence, it is a general setting from which to start.  This is the setting I am currently using for all my songbird setup photography.  It is fast enough to handle a bird jumping from perch to perch as well as basic flight such as a slower moving great egret.

In this case, the tracking sensitivity, acceleration/deceleration tracking and AF pt auto switching are all set to 0 by default.  This provides a balanced approach to shooting moving subjects.  My personal feeling is to start here first and only change cases when the subject you are shooting demands the change.

Case 2: Continue to track subjects, ignoring possible obstacles

Use this case when you are shooting wildlife in and around other obstacles.  This is often a problem when photographing birds in flight that dip down through trees or bushes.  Because the tracking sensitivity, accel./decel tracking and AF pt auto switching are all set to a lower value, your auto-focus will not change focus as quickly to other obstacles in front of or behind your subject.

But, it is not just birds in flight that cause this type of scenario in wildlife photography.  Even photographing elk or backyard birds, sometimes it is best to not have the AF too jumpy and moving from subject to subject in the scene.  Sometimes we lose focus for a second and we don't want the AF to grab the background or some tree.  Case 2 is something I am currently experimenting with in my photography.

Case 3: Instantly focus on subjects suddenly entering AF points
This is almost the opposite of case 2.  In this case, we want the AF to jump to the subject as it enters the view finder.  

To me, this case, is a bit too jittery for most uses.  I know that there are situations out there where this might be the best solution, but I will most likely stay clear of this case for the most part.  Primarily in wildlife photography, we are trying to track the subject throughout its entire movement and not changing focus from one subject to another.  This case has souped up tracking sensitivity to force the AF to move to the new subject when  it is encountered.

Case 4: For subjects that accelerate or decelerate quickly
This case might become useful in scenarios where you are tracking raptors as they turn quickly and dive for example. I could also see this being useful when tracking a predator running after its prey.  I have not used this setting in the real world yet, so more to come on that in the future.

Case 5: For erratic subjects moving quickly in any direction

This case differs from the others in that it was specifically designed by Canon to work with AF focus modes such as center point expand and zone.  It increased the AF point switching so even if I were to move my tracking point off from the subject, the AF system will hand off to another point within the zone.  Although I have not used this case, I could see this being something which might be effective for older or beginning photographers who might find it very difficult to hold the AF point on the subject.  

One concern I have with this mode, is the potential to switch points of from the subject.  I may try to work with this case a later point in time, so stay tuned.

Case 6: For subjects that change speed and move erratically

Here, we have a balanced approach to extremely erratic subjects.  To me this would have to be a very unusual type of subject.  Canon uses the example of photographing a Kayak moving through the rapids.  It is changing direction and speed constantly so this option was recommended.  

In the wildlife world, the only scenario I can really think of is a case where a predator is chasing its prey around in circles and has sudden shifts in direction and speed.  Although this mode might be best in this scenario, I don't think I would have time to switch to this mode in time to photograph the action.  I think this one has better application in the sports world.

What other Professional Photographers are Saying about AF Tracking

As is state earlier, I wanted to gather more information than just my own experiences or what the Canon documentation specifies.

Martin Bailey - Martin is a professional nature photographer based out of Japan and I respect his opinion as being his own and not that of Canon or some other sponsor.  Martin, in the end, did not use any of the cases but rather changed the tracking, accel/decel and AF pt auto switching manually. He ended up using the setting he used on his 1DX for best results.  Here are his settings below:

"For both the snow monkeys running towards me, and birds in flight, both subjects moving erratically, I found these settings to work the best. I have Tracking sensitivity set to -2, Accel./decel. tracking set to 1 and for AF pt auto switching I’ve been moving between 0 and 1 depending on the subject, depending on how accurately it’s working in a given situation.With erratically moving subjects it’s important for the AF points to switch around quickly, so it’s tempting to increase the AF pt auto switching sensitivity, but as you increase the sensitivity, the focus often switches to an unwanted part of the scene too readily, so I found myself with AF pt auto switching set to zero most of the time." - Martin Bailey

Art Morris - Art, who up until recently was a Canon explorer of light, worked with the 7D II for several months and this is the setting he like best for birds in flight:

• Tracking sensitivity: -2
• Acceleration/Deceleration tracking: +2
• AF pt auto switching: +2

This looks like a much more radical approach to AF, but you can't argue with Art's success. My recommendation is try it and see what you think.

Grant Atkinson - Grant is a Canon Explorer of Light and instead of using the default cases, he creates his own menu for the settings and essentially creates his own cases. Below are his settings:

• Tracking sensitivity:  Grant doesn't have one setting for all scenarios, but he adjusts it as the conditions warrant it.  For example, if he notices that his lens is grabbing the background, he will turn his sensitivity down.  I got the feeling, although he did not state this, that he starts out at 0. He did say that in his opinion this was the most important setting in the cases.
• Acceleration/Deceleration tracking: Leaves it a 0 for subjects that are moving at a standard speed.  Turns it up for erratic animals.
• AF pt auto-switching - I got the feeling from his thoughts on this that he didn't use this too much.

Grant was definitely not someone who seemed to not have a "set it and forget it" attitude when it comes to auto focus settings.  I did find his videos informative, but I thought that he was largely just regurgitating Canon's literature.  

I thought that these three photographers give us a good cross section of what the pros are doing out there when it comes to the AF cases.

I hope you enjoyed this article on the Canon EOS 7D Mark II's AF.  In part 2, I will examine the various AF modes and when to use them.