A must for serious wildlife photographers

Years ago I had built up quite the Minolta collection - complete with a 100mm-400mm lens that I loved. Alas, the age of digital came upon us and I was forced to switch over. Given the cost of that, the zoom lens I went with for years was the Tamron 28-300 which had worked great for what I needed at the time but after starting my own photo business 300mm wasn't enough anymore.

Biting the bullet, I invested in the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM Lens and it was the best investment I could have made for a lens. The IS system has been greatly improved since Canon first introduced it and it works perfectly at even 400mm! The biggest problem I had was getting used to the 'push and pull' format of this lens versus the 'twist' zoom of the Tamron.

While I cannot speak as to how this lens would work for sports photographers, I can say as a wildlife photographer, this has been a life saver on many occasions including at zoos when it's necessary to get between people's heads (and not by hitting them with it though it can be a tempting thought!).

The quality of the pictures is also sharper with this lens as it is made by Canon for use with their cameras. I have noticed a big improvement with the clarity - not enough for a normal photographer, but as someone who has to make large prints, it's noticeable to me.

As with most lenses, it allows the photographer to switch between auto and manual focus which is very helpful as there are many times when it has trouble focusing on something if it's sitting around twigs or in brush.

Is this a lens for the amateur or hobbyist photographer? Probably not unless you have the extra money to spend. I do, however, recommend it for the serious/professional wildlife/animal photographer or even a birder.