Canon 400mm f/5.6L

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In my opinion, the 400mm f/6L is one of the best bargains Canon has.  The lens is incredibly sharp, and fast handling.  The AF is incredibly fast and sure - especially considering its rather slow maximum aperture of 5.6.  Even without IS, the lens is easy to hand-hold (with decent technique) producing many keepers.  The price, at around $1100, makes it one of the only affordable birding lenses made by Canon.  The weight is less than the 70-200 f/2.8 L IS and the 100-400L Zoom, and is sharper than both.

There is little chatter about "good copies" or "bad copies" of this lens.  If you need a sharp 400, and can live with a maximum aperture of f/5.6, pick up this lens.  You will not be disappointed.