Adorama has updated their page for the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II — it now says “Now Shipping” (instead of “Pre-order”). It’s priced at $2199.00. Free expedited shipping.

We don’t know if this means the item is truly in-stock, or if it means that they’re expecting stock imminently. Several retailers told us the first batch was last Thursday and insufficient to fill all pre-orders. A second batch is due near the end of this coming week. This Adorama status change looks like a good sign. (If you’re desperate for one, order to get in the queue, then ask their customer support for an estimated ship date.)

It’s important to delay cancelling other pre-orders until after you have a confirmed ship date. One reader mentioned a bad experience regarding BuyDig. The store was showing “In Stock” on this lens early last week. Turns out that wasn’t true, and he unfortunately already cancelled his B&H pre-order.

Authorized Canon USA dealer Profeel via eBay has let us know they have exactly eight copies unreserved in their first allocation of the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II. It’s available for $2199.00 via their eBay storefront.

UPDATE: 8 became 10 as some pre-orders cancelled, freeing up inventory. The 10 that were available to ship on Thursday have now SOLD OUT. Any orders now are for second allocation, TBD.

The first batch is scheduled to ship out on Thursday, December 11th (barring any weather-related issues), so this is your chance to guarantee a copy of this lens on launch day. From what we’re hearing from several different retailers, it looks like supply is much tighter on this lens compared to other recent releases (7D Mark II, 16-35 f/4L IS). As a result, we are expecting that many stores’ pre-orders will not be filled and shipped immediately.

Canon finally announced the highly anticipated EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II at a hefty $2199 USD introductory price tag, representing a 65% premium over our street price of $1329.99 AR for the Mark I version of the lens.

The new lens comes in two inches longer and 3 ounces heavier than its predecessor, but now sporting 4-stop IS (vs. the 2-stop IS of the original). The newly published MTF charts for the lens look quite impressive. Another thing is for certain, that annoying push-pull zoom is gone!

Pre-order at B&H, Adorama, or Amazon, or Profeel.