Sample Photos with Canon 400 f5.6 lens
This is a small collection of sample photos taken with a Canon 400mm f/5.6 prime lens. There's nothing spectacular about the subject matter, but I wanted to shoot most of the photos right around my home to give you an idea of how this lens would perform for you in a familiar environment.
This first photo is from a trip to Acadia National Park. Taken with my Canon 400mm set at f5.6, this photo of a seagull shows the desirable blur in the background you get when the lens aperture is wide open. I cropped it to a square format so that you could get in a little closer and see the detail you can achieve using this lens.
Here are more sample photos taken with the Canon 400mm f5.6 lens. This ragged looking cardinal below is a frequent visitor to my bird feeder. The oldest known cardinal in the wild lived to be over 15 years old and it wouldn't surprise me if this old geezer was pushing that record.
Canon 5D Mark III - ISO 3200 - 1/320 second at f 5.6 - Canon 400mm f5.6 LensAll of these bird feeder photos were taken at a distance of about 21 feet or 6.5 meters. At that distance these small birds did not come close to feeling up the frame, so the photos were cropped tighter.
Canon 5D Mark III - ISO 1600 - 1/320 second at f 5.6 - Canon 400mm f5.6 LensShare sample photos taken with the Canon 400mm f/5.6 lens
Please feel free to share this page, called "sample photos with Canon 400 f5.6 lens" or any of the photos on it. I only ask that you put a link back to this page or the Canon Camera Geek Home page. If you have any questions about cameras, Canon accessories or lenses you can use the Ask the Geek link on the left, up above.
Canon 5D Mark III - ISO 1600 - 1/400 second at f 5.6 - Canon 400mm f5.6 LensThis male cardinal is braver than his female counterpart, who rarely comes to the feeder. She often chooses to stay a safe distance in a nearby pine tree.
Bird photography takes patience and lots of glass. The Canon 400mm f5.6 is an affordable alternative to the Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS II which was the upgrade I eventually went with. The super fast Canon 400mm f/2.8 lenses cost 10 times as much.
Wildlife and Nature photos with the Canon 400mm f/5.6
The Canon 400mm lens is known for being a good lens for bird and wildlife photography, so I'd be remiss if I didn't include a few photos in that genre as well.
Many photographers, including myself, have become so accustomed to using zoom lenses, it is actually a refreshing exercise to use a "prime lens" to change your routine. It is light in weight and takes the same 77mm filters that the 24-105 lens does.
This lens is one of the accessories where I think it is a good idea to stick with the Canon name. I do recommend NON-camera accessories in certain instances, such as batteries, battery grips and others
Don't shoot birds with a gun. Shoot them with your Canon!
Bruce Lovelace is the publisher of Canon Camera Geek. Read more about him on the About Page. He also publishes how to articles and camera gear reviews at the Photography Tips website.
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