Just to clear all doubts that my 7D was working well with the Canon EF 200-400 F4 IS before I travel overseas on a photographic expedition, I decided to give it another go in the field. Wanting to find out how the combination worked under field conditions and not just testing in the backyard, I headed out on a fine summer morning. I was out with the monopod mounted Canon EF 200-400 F4 IS & 7D. I was lucky to find a white faced heron preening itself on a wooden post and then a branch after a feeding session in the lake below. The heron was engrossed in preening and I was shooting under the cover of some overhanging branches in camo clothing. Being well concealed it took no notice of me and I had the opportunity to try out different settings. I use the back button for focusing. The focusing was quick and I had the image stabiliser on mode 3. I shot the heron with and without the built -in 1.4x TC engaged. The Canon EF 200-400 F4 IS lens with the gripped 7D body balanced well on the monopod with a swivelling head and it was easy to point it upwards and continue shooting even when the heron moved up to the branch. Though I can do it with the monopod head I just loosen the tripod collar on the lens screw and rotate the lens to shoot in portrait mode. The results were sharp with the colours spot on. I am now ready to go and try out the combo on some larger animals. I will be heading overseas in March and towards the end of March I should be able to report along with photos how the Canon EF 200-400 F4 IS & 7D performed in the jungle. Watch this space. I should have a separate gallery dedicated to the results.
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Many people have been asking if the Canon 7D produced soft images when coupled with the new Canon EF 200-400 f4 IS lens. Well, at first it did for me. This was my first “big lens" and though I read the manual and researched long lens technique etc before using it I was getting more soft images than sharp ones. This was not what I am used to. My 300 f4 & the 70-200 L both produce tack sharp images almost every time. Most of the images on my website are with the 70-200L & the 300f4. My Canon EF 200-400 f4 IS lens was producing some amazingly sharp images but more soft ones. I wondered, like many others, if the New Canon EF 200-400 f4 IS was too much lens for the 7D to drive. Like most people, I was under the impression that if I was getting sharp images with the lesser lenses my images should and could only go one way- super sharp. I just had to slap on the new lens and would immediately start getting images that were way better than I was getting with my old lenses. Research on the internet showed that people have used lenses like the 500 f4 with a 50D etc..Had I not spent $$$ on this new state of the art lens? So why all my images were not super sharp? Now was the time to sit back and take stock of the situation. Most of the pros use it with the 1DX, but then it is a FF camera and I am in love with the APSC body. [ Even though I am waiting for the 7D mk ii or whatever it will be called & I was not going to invest in a 1D] Realisation dawned on me that by just attaching the Canon EF 200-400 f4 IS to the 7D body was not going to get me the best results. The 7D is a very capable camera. There was no reason why the 7D should not be able to get sharp images with the Canon 200-400 f4 IS lens. I came to the conclusion that it must be operator error. Effort was required on my part. My observation is that any handling / holding error made while using the Canon EF 200-400 f4 IS is going to be magnified by this lens. You do it right and you will get the results. Make a mistake and you end up with soft images So last weekend I got the gear together to prove to myself that the 7D & Canon EF 200-400 f4 IS combo was not be be blamed for poor images. The weather was not ideal. It was dark & cloudy, with a few short fine breaks. I tried it on different subjects including bats & birds. Results are below. If I did everything deliberately and right I ended up with a series of super sharp images and if I shot in a hurry hoping it would be OK the hit rate dropped. People have likened shooting with a long lens to Rifle shooting & I agree. These days I don’t shoot in the high speed burst mode [ only use it for action] and shoot slowly and deliberately, pay attention to my stance [ I use a monopod], breathing, focusing & shutter release. Now I am getting more tack sharp shots than before and ratio of the sharp ones to the soft ones is getting better everytime I go out and shoot. Finally I have arrived at the conclusion - Yes the 7D & Canon EF 200-400 f4 IS will produce tack sharp images provided you do your part. This combination is much more capable than most new users of big lenses including myself. This lens takes some getting used to. Practice with it till you are getting the results you want. |
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