Canon Announces the Updated EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens

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Ideal for wildlife or outdoor sports photographers, the new Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM is an impressive update of the original version of this L-series lens, which was first introduced in 1998.

The biggest change in this new version is the upgrade from a push-pull zoom to a rotation-type zoom ring. Not only does this prevent dust from getting sucked into the lens barrel, but it also prevents lens creep and maintains balance throughout the zoom range. There is an improved zoom torque adjustment ring that allows you to set the zoom tension easily to your liking.

Upgraded Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) provides up to four steps of shutter-speed compensation, utilizing three different modes: standard, panning, and during exposure only.

Autofocus accuracy and speed also see improvements, with an inner-focusing system, ring USM, a high-speed CPU, and optimized AF algorithms, providing sharp images at all focusing distances from 3.2' to infinity.

Quality imagery is realized due, in part, to a new Air Sphere Coating (ASC), which helps to reduce backlit flaring and ghosting, as well as one fluorite and one super UD lens element to correct for chromatic aberration. Fluorine coating on both the front and rear lens surfaces helps to reduce fingerprint smears.

The lens includes a hood, the ET-83D, with a built-in side window, allowing you to adjust filters without removing the hood from the lens. Also, a newly designed tripod mount attaches and detaches without removing the lens from the camera body.

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The previous version of this lens had an 8-blade diaphragm, and this update adds one more blade, for even smoother out-of-focus areas.

The new version of the lens is slightly heavier, and just a touch larger than its predecessor, but that should be overshadowed easily by the updated features and functionality.