The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Zeiss Otus 100mm F1.4 and the Canon 400mm f5.6L USM for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison
Size of a lens is an important deciding factor when comparing two lenses.Canon 400mm f5.6L USM is the longer of the two lenses at 257mm. The Zeiss Otus 100mm F1.4 with a length of 129mm is 128mm shorter. On the other hand, the Zeiss Otus 100mm F1.4 has a larger diameter of 101mm compared to Canon 400mm f5.6L USM's 90mm diameter.
Weight of a lens is as important as its external dimensions, especially if you are planning to hand hold your camera and lens combination for longer periods. Canon 400mm f5.6L USM weighs 1250g, 11% (155g) lighter than the Zeiss Otus 100mm F1.4's weight of 1405g.
Below you can find the dimension and weight table of the 'Telephoto Prime Lenses in Canon EF Mount for size comparison purposes.
Telephoto Prime Lenses in Canon EF Mount for Size Comparison
Lens Mounts
Both Zeiss Otus 100mm F1.4 and Canon 400mm f5.6L USM has the same Canon EF lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Canon EF lenses are Canon 1D X III, Canon 6D MII and Canon 5D MIV.
Zeiss Otus 100mm F1.4 is also available in Nikon F (FX) mount.
Focal Range
Zeiss Otus 100mm F1.4 is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 100mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.6x crop, it provides an 35mm (FF) equivalent of 160mm.
Canon 400mm f5.6L USM is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 400mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.6x crop, it provides an 35mm (FF) equivalent of 640mm.