Any chance of a new version of the Canon 100-400 IS?

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Ray - 01 Nov 2006 22:58 GMT

I've been thinking about getting a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS
USM. Has anyone heard anything about an updated version in the near
future, like maybe with second- or third-generation IS? I'd hate to
buy one now, then find out a new and improved version is coming out
soon.

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Jan Böhme - 02 Nov 2006 00:05 GMT

Ray skrev:

> I've been thinking about getting a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS
> USM. Has anyone heard anything about an updated version in the near
> future, like maybe with second- or third-generation IS? I'd hate to
> buy one now, then find out a new and improved version is coming out
> soon.

AFIK, the existing model already has second generation IS, which is
pretty decent. I'd rather expect an IS version of the 400 mm 5.6 L
prime before an update of the zoom.

Jan Böhme

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Ray - 03 Nov 2006 00:27 GMT

> Ray skrev:
>
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> pretty decent. I'd rather expect an IS version of the 400 mm 5.6 L
> prime before an update of the zoom.

Canon's website doesn't say which IS version it has, but B&H says it
has "Canon's original built-in Image Stabilizer function". But I'm
probably reading too much into that. Canon says the IS has two modes;
does that make it second generation?

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Skip - 03 Nov 2006 03:38 GMT

It does, indeed, make it second gen. The version of IS in the old 75-300
f4.5-5.6 and the 28-135 f3.5-5.6 IS didn't have a panning mode, so it was
recommended that IS be turned off during panning. 3rd gen IS sensed that
the camera was mounted on a tripod, this is the version in the long teles,
70-200 f2.8L IS, etc.

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Ray - 03 Nov 2006 22:42 GMT

> It does, indeed, make it second gen. The version of IS in the old
> 75-300 f4.5-5.6 and the 28-135 f3.5-5.6 IS didn't have a panning
> mode, so it was recommended that IS be turned off during panning.
> 3rd gen IS sensed that the camera was mounted on a tripod, this is
> the version in the long teles, 70-200 f2.8L IS, etc.

Does mounting it on a tripod disable the IS, or just switch it into a
tripod-friendly mode?

Also, is there a difference in the degree of stabilization in the three
generations? I vaguely recall seeing something about generations 1, 2,
and 3 providing two, three, and four stops of stabilization, but I
might be hallucinating.

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Skip - 04 Nov 2006 06:45 GMT

>> It does, indeed, make it second gen. The version of IS in the old
>> 75-300 f4.5-5.6 and the 28-135 f3.5-5.6 IS didn't have a panning
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> Does mounting it on a tripod disable the IS, or just switch it into a
> tripod-friendly mode?

Lack of motion sets of a sensor that disables IS.

> Also, is there a difference in the degree of stabilization in the three
> generations? I vaguely recall seeing something about generations 1, 2,
> and 3 providing two, three, and four stops of stabilization, but I
> might be hallucinating.

Yes, there is. The first two generations were advertised at 2 stops,
although most people reported getting 3 and sometimes as much as 4 stops.
That would be on the 75-300 IS, 28-135 IS and 100-400L IS. The latter was
gen 2, mainly distinguished by having a panning mode. The next couple of
generations were said by Canon to give 3 stops of compensation, and that
seemed to be echoed by users, although a few steady handed types claimed 4
for the 70-200, 300mm f2.8/f4 and 400 f2.8./f4 That group encompasses the
70-200 f2.8L IS and the long fixed focal length L lenses as the third gen
and the 400 f4 DO IS and the 70-300 f4.5-5.6 DO IS, plus the 70-300 f4.5-5.6
IS and 28-300 f3.5-5.6L IS. The 24-105 f4L IS is advertised to give 4 stops
of compensation.

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Skip Middleton
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Ray - 04 Nov 2006 23:11 GMT

>> Does mounting it on a tripod disable the IS, or just switch it
>> into a tripod-friendly mode?

> Lack of motion sets of a sensor that disables IS.

So presumably IS would still operate if you put it on a wobbly tripod.

>> Also, is there a difference in the degree of stabilization in the
>> three generations?

> Yes, there is. The first two generations were advertised at 2
> stops, although most people reported getting 3 and sometimes as
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> the 70-300 f4.5-5.6 IS and 28-300 f3.5-5.6L IS. The 24-105 f4L IS
> is advertised to give 4 stops of compensation.

Thanks for the good info.

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