Best Lens for Wildlife Photography – Canon Review

When I first began photographing wildlife, I shot with a Canon 70-300mm lens, but soon became frustrated as many of my subjects tended to be too far away to photograph with this particular lens. Now that I have invested in the Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L II IS USM lens, I am now able to capture so much more, anything from fast moving birds to resting Elephant Seals, and tends to be my go-to lens for wildlife photography.

General Lens Design & Quality

The lens comes in a white metallic finish and is fully weather sealed, perfect for shooting in fog, light rain, and dust - the conditions I always seem to be photographing wildlife in. The quality of this lens is fantastic, and I find it to be extremely durable, which is great for someone like me who tends crawl through brush, or sand a lot. 

The weight of the lens is 3.5 lbs, and may take a little practice to shooting with by means of hand-holding, if not using a tripod or monopod.  The rotation-type zoom ring allows for a bit more precise composition and fantastic balance when shooting by means of  hand-holding vs the older model of 100-400mm lens. Due to an upgraded USM ring-type drive, the lens has a really fast and very quiet auto focus operation, which has enabled me to capture more detail in the expressions of my wildlife subjects. In the Super-Technical Camera Review by DPreview, you can find the lens specifications, image samples, and more.

Overall, I highly recommend this lens to those who love to photograph all types of wildlife, big and small, fast and slow, as I believe it to be a great all-purpose addition to your photo kit as well as a wise investment.