Canon EF 400mm f/2.8

PaulGriffith · Feb 25, 2011

On our recent project, Noble, we rented one mama-jama lens (among some more standard ones) to pull off a couple of shots. The thing is mammoth, we had a lot of fun with it so I thought I would share some behind the scenes pics of it.

The Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 lens WITH a 2x Extender in place.

With Lens Hood and Extender on a T mount (for sniper perspective shots):

Prepping on the dolly:

To compare between the two, here's the same shot through a 50 mm and the 400 + extender, before any color correction:

50mm (7D 1.6 crop factor)

800mm (7D 1.6 crop factor)

Was a lot of fun, but obviously not something you use often.

sonnyboo · Feb 25, 2011

Impressive lens and shots.

CamVader · Feb 25, 2011

I have the same tripod and head.

You must have called "action" by cell phone?

PaulGriffith · Feb 25, 2011

CamVader said:
You must have called "action" by cell phone?

Actually yes haha. The walkie talkies were going out, so the AD was on the phone just off camera yelling to the actors.

For our rooftop sniper shots was the same thing, a PA was walking amongst the crowd on the phone and would call it to the actors.

Owen · Feb 25, 2011

Ive been tossing up purchasing either this or the 500mm to shoot alot of surfing on the 5ds. Any tips?

Owen

Gonzo_Entertainment · Feb 25, 2011

Those are textbook "flat" shots as well. They'll look great after grading.

PaulGriffith · Feb 25, 2011

Owen said:
Ive been tossing up purchasing either this or the 500mm to shoot alot of surfing on the 5ds. Any tips?

Make sure you get IS. It goes to jello fast with any movement and that far of a focal length. The 800 (400 with extender) was unusable with the wind shaking the camera on a tripod (very windy).

It's a nice lens for sure. Weighs like 40 pounds or something, be sure you have suport.

Owen · Feb 25, 2011

Yeh it's sitting on a satchler 20s1 so hopefully no probs with wind shake. Do you loose much image quality with an extender?

Owen

chilipie · Feb 26, 2011

Owen said:
Yeh it's sitting on a satchler 20s1 so hopefully no probs with wind shake. Do you loose much image quality with an extender?

The biggest problem with the 2x extender is that you lose two stops of light (the 1.4x loses one stop) - so your 400mm f/2.8 effectively becomes a 800mm f/5.6. There's always going to be some quality loss when using extenders, but when shooting video it really shouldn't be too noticeable.

Owen · Feb 26, 2011

Ok sweet I didn't know that thanks.

Owen

Gonzo_Entertainment · Feb 26, 2011

chilipie said:
The biggest problem with the 2x extender is that you lose two stops of light (the 1.4x loses one stop) - so your 400mm f/2.8 effectively becomes a 800mm f/5.6. There's always going to be some quality loss when using extenders, but when shooting video it really shouldn't be too noticeable.

yep, and note it was bright exterior shot. Should work fine there. I'd imagine you'd want as tight an aperature as possible too.

PaulGriffith · Feb 26, 2011

Right, the aperture changed but I didn't notice any real quality loss. If you plan on using an extender, know that they don't work with every canon lens. Might check before you purchase. I'm not in the office today, but tomorrow I'll post some frames that show the difference between the extender on and off.

Gonzo_Entertainment said:
Those are textbook "flat" shots as well. They'll look great after grading.

Thanks! We shot it all as flat as we could for this reason. You can see the final color-graded product in this thread.

PaulGriffith · Mar 1, 2011

Here are the shots I said I would post on Sunday (sorry haha).

Same camera settings, 400mm f/2.8 Lens, one without extender and one with.

Without:

With 2X Extender:

PHIL SJ · Mar 1, 2011

how much did the lens cost a day?

PaulGriffith · Mar 1, 2011

i think like $45 or something crazy cheap like that. Other rental shops wanted over $80, which still feels cheap considering the size.

Canon EF 400mm f/2.8

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