Name: Canon 100 400mm f5.6
Brand: Canon
Availability: InStock

What do reviewers say about the Canon 100 400mm f5.6?

As of September 2026, among the 20 reviews we compiled, optical performance drew the most discussion: 94 claims from 17 of them, which we read as 45% positive, 18% neutral, 37% negative.

Synthesized from 20 reviewer sources for Canon 100 400mm f5.6. Optical performance draws the most discussion: 42 positive, 17 neutral, and 35 negative across 94 sentiment markers. The most criticism lands on build: 33% positive, 11% neutral, 56% negative across 18 claims. Opinion is split on AF for video (16 positive, 23 neutral, 14 negative claims).

What are the Canon 100 400mm f5.6 specifications?

Focal Length Mm400 mm

Max Aperturef/5.6

specs: designation

What do reviewers praise and criticize?

Optical Performance

42 pos · 17 neu · 35 neg

“The Lens down to f8 and further down to f11 on the whole this lens has well a slightly boring resolution characteristic on a full-frame camera it's basically always reasonably sharp it doesn't seem to get razor sharp at any Point even when you stop down its aperture it's simply pretty good and it's…” — Christopher Frost

Build Quality

6 pos · 2 neu · 10 neg

“I didn't have any issues with it paired with my R50 which is also a camera that isn't weather sealed now for this type of lens which is usually used for wildlife photography and outdoor stuff like that can be a deal breaker for some people and lastly really the biggest downfall with this lens is…” — FoxTailWhipz

Mount Compatibility

11 pos · 14 neu · 9 neg

“This is the Canon RF 100-400mm.” — Jan Rybář

Price & Value

19 pos · 12 neu · 14 neg

“Number one, this lens is very affordable, coming in at $649.” — Andrew Knepper

Weight & Portability

18 pos · 14 neu · 13 neg

“It's f5.6 and 100 mm and f8 at 400 mm and weighs in at 635 g which is incredibly light.” — Paul Miguel Photography

More detail — 10 additional axes

Distortion

1 pos · 3 neu · 0 neg

“some good there's some bad let's check it out and see what you get in this inexpensive lens so taking a look at vignette and distortion we can see that neither is very extreme at 100 millimeters you have a mild amount of a pincushion distortion you can see here and a little bit of vignette now your…” — Dustin Abbott

Vignetting

5 pos · 5 neu · 4 neg

“we see some noticeable pin cushion Distortion and darker Corners at f5.6 stop down to f8 or f11 though and those Corners quickly brighten up zoom into 400 MM and that Distortion is still there although not quite as pronounced again at the maximum aperture some vignetting is visible stop down to F1…” — Christopher Frost

Chromatic Aberration

1 pos · 2 neu · 3 neg

“right-handed batter and then we have the pitcher in his windup let's zoom in on his face is it sharp yeah I mean there's some wow there's actually some green fringing around the edge of his face that's what you're going to get purple fringing green fringing you may see that when you have some of…” — Jared Polin

Coma

6 pos · 7 neu · 4 neg

Bokeh

8 pos · 4 neu · 11 neg

“so just keep in mind that at f5.6 to f8 and more you will not have the best bokeh or blurry background so there will be not much separation if you will uh between your subject and the background and that's it.” — Chris Pitch

Color Rendition

2 pos · 1 neu · 0 neg

Filter Thread

2 pos · 9 neu · 1 neg

“to about 160 to 640 millimeters which will really open up so many more possibilities that you never would have had with a kit lens or with you know a wider angle lens so this lens has a 67 millimeter filter thread it once again has a pretty much fully plastic body with a metal lens mount…” — Adam Harig

Dimensions

11 pos · 6 neu · 2 neg

Handling

10 pos · 6 neu · 5 neg

“i actually quite like how it feels in the hand to be honest so there's very few actual buttons on the lens itself it's got an autofocus manual focus it's got stabilizer on stabilizer off it doesn't have any focus limiting or different is modes it's very simple pretty basic and there is a switch…” — Duade Paton

AF Noise

3 pos · 0 neu · 2 neg

What does a used Canon 100 400mm f5.6 cost?

refurbished$749

pre_owned$640

open_box$700

Prices as of Sep 21, 2026 — lowest active listing per condition.

Which reviews is this based on? (20)

Every claim above traces to these original reviews. We don't write opinions — we synthesize theirs.

📹 Pro Reviews (20)

Canon RF 100-400mm | The Best Telephoto Lens for R50, R7, R10, & R100! Adam Harig
Best Beginner Wildlife/Sports Lens? Canon 100-400mm (Quick Review) Andrew Knepper
Canon RF100-400, review with photos (close up, macro, wildlife, landscapes). Chris Pitch
Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM 'L' lens review with samples (APS-C and full-frame) Christopher Frost
Canon RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM lens review with samples Christopher Frost
Canon RF 100-400mm Review for Bird and Wildlife Photography Duade Paton
Canon RF 100-400mm F5.6-8 IS USM Definitive Review | DA Dustin Abbott
Canon RF100-400 f/5.6-8 - Long-term review for wildlife photography Fabian Fopp - Nature photography
Canon's MOST Underrated Lens! | RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM FoxTailWhipz
Canon RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 Review + 200 Sample Photos Shot with Canon R6 V Jan Rybář
Can THIS Lens be ANY Good? | Canon RF 100-400 | SURPRISING Results Jan Wegener
Canon’s CHEAPEST RF ZOOM Lens: 100-400mm f5.6-8 IS Review…is it worth it? Jared Polin
Canon RF100-400mm Lens Review - The Best Lens For The Money! Matthew Littlewood
Testing the Canon RF 100-400mm F/5.6-F/8 IS USM Lens for Wildlife Photography – In the Field Paul Miguel Photography
Canon RF 100-400 Landscape Photography Review PETER FRITZ | Life Behind Glass
The Canon RF 100-400mm F/5.6-8.0 IS USM Lens In-Depth Review Photo Feaver
Canon 400mm Prime vs 100-400mm Zoom RC Scott Photography
📸 ⚖️ Fast Glass vs Long Reach | Canon RF 70–200mm f2.8L IS USM vs RF 100–400mm f5.6–8 Royce Reviews
Canon RF 100-400mm: GREAT LENS but is f/5.6-8.0 enough? TKNORTH
The Canon 100-400mm II is a MASTERPIECE – The BEST Wildlife Lens Under $2500!!! Tomas Koeck

Canon 100 400mm f5.6