Canon EF 500mm f/4 L IS USM Lens

Great lens

I've only owned this for a short period of time and the images are what I have expected from Canon "L" glass. This particular lens is much easier for me to hand hold and shoot compared to my original 400 f2.8 non-IS version (which I still have going on 25+ years)... 5 lbs doesn't sound like much, but over the course of a 3 day air show, it is.

Disclaimer... I don't work for Canon. This review comes from my many years of owning Canon "L" glass going back to the original FD manual focus line. Even though I bought this lens is used, I know the build quality of their line. Granted, no lens or camera is perfect... I've always been of the mindset that, you get what you pay for.

If you need this type of lens, you can't go wrong.

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Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: pre-owned • Sold by: t.tm.m

Way to big and heavy for me

This lens would probably be a workhorse for a professional wildlife photographer. But I only get to go to places with real wildlife once a year for a few days. The lens is huge and it is heavy. It's much more suited to a professional photographer or at least a hobbyist that lives in areas where wildlife photography can be enjoyed several times a month.

I sold mine after one usage here in Dallas. Now, if I lived in the mountains of Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, etc. I would have loved it. Read full review

More powerful than a Bazooka!

Awesome lens. Works well with 2x extender making it 1000mm. The auto focus works well with the extender and since its a f4 with the extender it becomes an f8. Very sharp images.

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: pre-owned • Sold by: hiro_hiro_1986

This came better than described! Absolutely gorgeous lens! As nervous as I was about buying from over seas, and having my lens stuck in customs( an ea

This came better than described! Absolutely gorgeous lens! As nervous as I was about buying from over seas, and having my lens stuck in customs( an easy random customs check) she helped me get the paperwork I needed and was very easy to get ahold of! Thank you!!!! Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: pre-owned • Sold by: martake53

Beautiful colors and sharp focus

While I've only had the Canon EF 500mm f/4 lens for about a week now, my first photographs with it have turned out excellent results. I am very pleased with the sharpness of the photos and vibrant colors.Read full review

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Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: pre-owned • Sold by: parkwaycamera

Amateur take Big lense plunge

Like many others, I faced the dilemma of going beyond the 400mm barrier. My 400mm f5.6L was OK and the new 100-400 IS-2 even better but neither would let you really reach with a 2X extender. I knew bird and wild life photography would always be a smaller percentage of my photos and it was hard to justify spending 10K on a new IS-2 lense. Used IS-2 lenses were hard to come by and very expensive making their value over a new lense marginal and at the risk of no warrantee and uncertainty as to why it was for sale. I finally elected to purchase an older 2009 500mm f/4 IS lense as it was at half the cost of a new 500 IS-2. This lense was in perfect condition and appeared new. My test photos have been excellent and at 2x still fully satisfactory. The contrast is excellent and it is very sharp wide open at F/4. While the newer IS-2 lense is probably sharper, this is Much Better than either of my past 400mm lenses. If I were a professional, I would have the IS-2 version. As a serious amateur, I am very happy with the older version. I will have to be convinced the new version is better, though it probably is. I really appreciate the fast AF and the crisp detail this lense gives at 500mm, 700mm, and even 1000mm. Additionally, this works well both hand held and with a monopod and fits in a carry on case that gives me much greater security when traveling.Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: pre-owned • Sold by: montereypark

Great for wildlife and landscapes

The question of durable leets just a lens with as many elements it has you don't want to drop it. Sharp image I wouldn't pay that much for a lens that wasn't sharp. Value, that's in the mind of who's buying. I wouldn't buy Canon if their products were not top notch.Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: discountgrab

Older doesn’t mean it isn’t still superb.

One of the best lens made. It was the gold standard for many years. Couldn’t afford the newer version, but this one still works great.

Great lens! Extremely happy I bought it!!!

It's a Canon L glass lens so of course it's awesome! A little bigger than I'm used to, but the pictures I'm getting make up for that.

Great Wildlife Lens

A 500mm lens at f/4 is great for wildlife. The autofocus is fast and pictures are sharp. This is a lens to be used on a tripod, it is too heavy to hand hold. With the image stabilizer on you might be able to get a quick shot hand holding, but anything else requires a good solid tripod.Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: pre-owned • Sold by: thecameraoutlet