metabones & canon 400/5.6 purchase question

[e10user]

Hello,

I have been following the discussions about the Metabones smart adapter and the canon 400/5.6 lens.
I now have some extra cash and am ready to buy something. Should I buy the items new or used (Ebay)?
What do I need to look out for to get the best if buying used.

Thanks,

[3dpan]

Hi John,
I know nothing about the Metabones adapter, or even the Canon lens, apart from what I've learnt from Daniel's comments.
OTOH, I've been trading on eBay for several years now and they have a very good buyer protection program.
Also, I have read somewhere that since the popularity of m4/3, and the proliferation of lens adapters for a huge range of brands, that used lens prices have gone 2X even 3X that of a few years ago. That's the asking price from "dealers". Actual auction prices don't seem to be near as high.
I don't have any specific numbers to quote on that.
So, don't be afraid to buy eBay, just have a good look at the prices.
Cheers,
Alec

[Daniel Bradley]

Hi John,
The "old" 400/5.6 is a relatively simple, trusty workhorse. If the seller can guarantee its functionality, not much can go wrong. There is always a certain risk involved, but you can also get a lemon new. There is, as with nearly every lens type made by every company, a bit of variance. There are good ones and not so good ones. The differences are VERY slight... not something you should have to worry about. Apparently Canon made a huge leap in this respect with the Mark II 100-400 zoom. They say you don't even have to test them; all good right off the shelf. Stunning lens, but twice the cost of the 400/5.6.
I got my first 400/5.6 three years ago for about €950. A couple of months ago, for fun I got a brand new one for a steal, €800.- and sold the old one after determining that the new one was somewhat sharper and had better contrast, for €750. Hard to beat that! I love it.
The new zoom is superior in that it is less prone to CA off center. New design, new glass... the 400/5.6 has been around for a LONG time! But the focus was really slow with the E-M1/Metabones. If it sensed something it was good, but if it went searching it took three times as long as the 400/5.6. Metabones firmware issue for sure.

The Metabones is a no brainer. I found firmware v2.1 to be best with the 400/5.6. I have to use 2.6 now because 2.1 won't work on the E-M1 II. I have all older versions saved and you can go back and forth at will with the Metabones. Great feature!

Have fun and feel free if you have any further questions. Takes a little work to figure out how to get the most out of it, but I think it is worth it.

Dan

[RAH]

I purchased my 400 f5.6 in 2011 for $1050 from someone on Fred Miranda forum. It was in excellent condition (just a few very minor marks on the barrel; lens was pristine). I think that is a good way to get the lens, saving about $200.


Another thing you might consider - a "matched" Canon teleconverter - the Canon EOS 1.4X Ef Extender II (L Series). It matches up very nicely with the 400 5.6 and is considerably cheaper than the MarkIII. (This is an advantage to getting the 400 5.6 - it matches fine with the older MarkII TC). I recently got one at KEH in "Like New minus" condition for $218 with caps and case. The image quality I get is better than using a Kenko DGX TC that I had pretty much given up on because it lowered IQ too much.


I should mention that I am using this equipment with a Canon 80D, not on m4/3. (The 80D enabled me to add the Canon TC because the 80D allows AF with Canon lenses at f8.)

[Daniel Bradley]

That is a good point. The difference between the 1.4x II and III Extenders is not SOOOO great, especially on the 400, but it is big with the 2x. Canon made some real progress there. The 1.4x III really shines on the 100-400 II.

[e10user]

All,

Thanks for the advice so far. I assume then I would be ok with buying a used Metabones adapter?

[Daniel Bradley]

For sure. No moving parts. No glass. Unless it has been bricked, no problem.

[e10user]

For sure. No moving parts. No glass. Unless it has been bricked, no problem.

I see an adapter in Amazon warehouse deals w/o manual and I see from the Metabones site that they have online manual info.
I went ahead and ordered it. Now to find the lens!

[Daniel Bradley]

Good luck!
There is little to know about the adapter. All you have to be careful of is loading firmware. They have very careful instructions on that. Otherwise, plug it in and go. Nothing to know, really. The bigger challenge is setting up the camera to get the most out of it and getting used to using such long lenses. A bit to learn, but learning is fun and it is worth the effort!

[e10user]

Thanks! I now have the lens and adapter. Been taking it out and learning how to use them. I take photos of the beaver marsh animals. My adapter has v2.2 firmware. My computer apparently does not have openGL 2.0 so I can't run the metabones firmware updater. The pdaf seems to work as well as it does with my comsumer grade 4/3rds zooms and the mmf adapter so I am pleased with its speed. I got the lens and the tc 1.4II for the reach.

[Daniel Bradley]

John,
If you can get to a computer that does run the Metabones update software, I would reccomend going back to v2.1 or to v2.6. I found 2.2-2.5 all to be buggy. But then, if it works, and you are getting correct exif data, just keep running it. It should show the lens as Metabones 400/5.6 or with the TC Metabones 560/8.
Have fun!
It is a great combination. Finally got a little light yesterday, and there is a bit more going on in the trees. This is with my 400/5.6 on my E-M1 II:






Full sized here
https://www.flickr.com/photos/421620...57659863679710

[Don Baldwinson]

[QUOTE=Daniel Bradley;639873]John,
If you can get to a computer that does run the Metabones update software, I would reccomend going back to v2.1 or to v2.6. I found 2.2-2.5 all to be buggy. But then, if it works, and you are getting correct exif data, just keep running it. It should show the lens as Metabones 400/5.6 or with the TC Metabones 560/8.
Have fun!
It is a great combination. Finally got a little light yesterday, and there is a bit more going on in the trees. This is with my 400/5.6 on my E-M1 II:






Gorgeous images, lighting Daniel
Don

[Daniel Bradley]

Thanks, Don.
It was my favorite kind of light, bright but overcast. Back in the old days, whenever I had to do candid po0rtraits, I would wait for such days. I hated hard shadows and still do.
Also, it is the best time of year for birds in the trees as the branches are still bare. They are just beginning to bud now, so for the next two weeks it will be fun. After that the leaves block both birds and light.

[e10user]

Thanks, Don.
It was my favorite kind of light, bright but overcast. Back in the old days, whenever I had to do candid po0rtraits, I would wait for such days. I hated hard shadows and still do.
Also, it is the best time of year for birds in the trees as the branches are still bare. They are just beginning to bud now, so for the next two weeks it will be fun. After that the leaves block both birds and light.

I love the gentle light on these birds. The colors and the details come out very nicely. Did you have enough time to focus on the birds's eye?

I have my windows 7 laptop still around so I will try that for the firmware update.

Thanks for the suggestions.

[Daniel Bradley]

Hi John. Usually not, but if I do have time I might touch up the focus a bit. I use S-AF/MF. Usually I use single point dead center, and try to get it on the eye, but the camera sometimes finds the feather texture on the shoulder more attractive and zeros in on that. But it works most of the time. On the Mark I I used single point, normal unless I was trying to pick something out of the branches, then I would use single point, small. There is no really small point on the Mark II. It is somewhere in between.
I also have my static bird set set to silent shutter at 8 fps, and fire off 3 or 4 shots. Gives you a better chance of getting a good one. Film is really cheap these days!