Best 80-400mm & 100-400mm Lenses Compared
July 2019 Better Pictures Canon Nikon Sony Fuji LEICA All Reviews
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| Stabilized? | Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| f/max, short end | f/4.5 |
f/4.5 |
f/4.5 |
f/4.5 |
| f/max, long end | f/5.6 |
f/5.6 |
f/5.6 |
f/6.3 |
| Introduced | 2014 |
2013 |
2017 |
2017 |
| AF Speed | Instant |
Fast |
Fast |
Pretty Fast |
| Close Focus | 2.75'/0.84m |
5.7'/1.75m |
3.2'/1m |
4.9'/1.5m |
| Repro Ratio | 1:3.2 0.31× |
1:5.7 0.18× |
1:2.86 0.35× |
1:3.6 0.28× |
| Manual Focus | Direct mechanical |
Direct mechanical |
electronic |
Direct mechanical |
| Instant Manual Override? | Direct mechanical |
Direct mechanical |
not usually |
Direct mechanical |
| Filter Threads | Metal, 77mm |
plastic, 77mm |
plastic, 77mm |
plastic, 67mm |
| Sharpness | ||||
| Distortion | ||||
| Fluorite Elements? | One |
none |
none |
none |
| AF Lock Buttons | none |
none |
Three |
none |
| Build Quality | ||||
| Made in | Japan |
Japan |
Japan |
China |
| Tripod Collar | included | included | included | optional |
| Weight, actual measured, no collar | 54.7 oz. 1,550g |
55.1 oz. 1,563g |
49.1 oz. 1,393g |
39.9 oz. 1,132g |
| Price, 7/2018 | ||||
| Price, 7/2019 |
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Summary
The Canon 100-400L IS II is by far the best lens here, with the best optics, very best mechanics, the closest focusing — and it's the second from the least expensive! If you shoot Canon, this lens is clearly superior in performance and price.
The Nikon 80-400 VR also has superb optics, but is built only to consumer standards, doesn't focus very close, and is the most expensive lens here.
The Sony 100-400 GM OSS has no real manual focus; only an electronic encoder ring which rarely gives manual override, isn't built anywhere near as well as the Canon 100-400L IS II, and is the most expensive lens here. It has great optics and autofocus, but you're paying a hefty price premium for the novelty of mirrorless.
The Tamron 100-400 VC is the lowest performer here, but not by much, and it costs only a fraction of any of the other lenses and weighs less, too. It takes essentially the same pictures as the others, so it's a great choice if you're not a full-time pro shooter and price is important to you. It performs 90% as well as the others for only 42% to 32% of the price! For the thousands of dollars you'll save I doubt you'd notice, unless of course you're shooting it every day. See also Is It Worth It.
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