The much awaited and much leaked Canon 200-400mm f/4L IS 1.4x is now up for preorder to be available by next month. This lens offers incredible performance with a first ever built in tele-converter for additional zoom coverage. This one of a kind lens has a starting price of $11,799 so get your checkbooks ready.

Professional 200-400mm f/4 zoom lens Built-in 1.4x extender

Up to four-stop Image Stabilizer

Weather-sealed, magnesium-alloy construction

Fast USM autofocus with Power Focus for EOS Movies

Instinctive focus controls for enhanced handling

There is also a great, extensive review by wildlife photographer Andy Rouse available at: 

http://www.andyrouse.co.uk/index.php?page_id=174

That goes into extensive detail of his 6 month journey with the lens.

Press Release: 

Canon U.S.A. Announces The Availability Of The Versatile EF 200-400mm F/4L IS USM Extender 1.4X Super-Telephoto Zoom Lens

Award-Winning Photographer Shares First-Hand Experiences with the EF 200-400mm F/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x lens

MELVILLE, N.Y., May 14, 2013 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, today announced a dynamic new super-telephoto zoom lens, the EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x. Designed for use with all Canon EOS Digital SLR cameras, the new L-series lens has an integrated 1.4x focal length extender and high-performance Image Stabilization technology, offering exceptional shooting flexibility and range, ideal for sports or wildlife photography.

The new EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x zoom lens features an optically matched built-in 1.4x extender that increases the maximum focal length to 560mm, simultaneously preserving image quality and enabling the seamless capture of distant, moving subjects. With a simple switch, photographers can easily increase zoom range, which is extremely useful when it's difficult to change lenses quickly, and helps protect delicate equipment like a DSLR camera's image sensor in environments with dust, high humidity or other extreme environmental factors.

Peter Read Miller, an award-winning sports photographer and Canon Explorer of Light, recently used the new lens while shooting various worldwide sporting competitions.

"I had the opportunity recently to use Canon's new 200-400 lens at a number of sporting events," said Miller. "I found it to be incredibly versatile, replacing several different prime lenses that I would usually carry. The zoom allows me to control my framing; the autofocus has speed equal to or faster than most fixed focal length telephoto lenses and the ability to engage the 1.4 extender without taking my eye away from the camera is a unique feature not found in any other telephoto lens available today."

To help deliver beautiful, soft, image backgrounds, the lens features a 9-blade circular aperture. The lens also utilizes inner focusing, ring USM, a high-speed CPU and optimized AF algorithms for fast and accurate autofocusing. Quiet and smooth focus shifts - essential for filmmaking - are made possible with Canon's Power Focus mode.

Using advanced optical materials such as fluorite crystal and UD glass, the new lens provides excellent correction of chromatic aberration throughout the entire zoom range, and delivers high-quality images with high levels of resolution, color fidelity and contrast. With three image stabilization modes, (standard, panning, and during exposure only) and stabilization effective up to four shutter speed steps, the new EF 200-400mm lens provides excellent results for a wide range of subjects and shooting scenarios. The new lens also includes dust- and water-resistant construction designed for extended usage under harsh conditions.

"The EF 200-400 along with the Canon EOS-1D X camera body is my new 'go-to' combination for shooting sports," concluded Miller.

The EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x zoom lens is expected to be available at the end of May for an estimated retail price of $11,799.00.

For more information about Canon's new EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x lens, and a full list of product specifications, visit www.usa.canon.com.