I am relatively new at bird photography and posting on avian forum. I am currently using Canon 7D with EF 70-300 mm 1: 4-5.6 L IS USM. I am currently thinking of upgrading to Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS USM. Advice appreciated.
Posted by Keith Bauer on December 6, 2013 at 4:50 PM
I would encourage you to take a look at the 400mm f/5.6 lens if your goal is to get to 400mm. The 400mm DO lS lens is extremely expensive and optically I believe inferior to the 400mm f/5.6 While the 400mm f/5.6 is not an IS lens, the physical size and weight render that issue nearly meaningless. For bird flight photography, the shutter speeds needed will completely negate the IS issue. The only advantage the DO lens has is that at f/4 it can handle a 1.4x convertor and still allow autofocus on your 7D.
Bill, You also might consider a 300 F2.8 - plus 1.4 (or 1.7) and 2.0 teleconverters. This fast lens can handle both, and would give then you a range that should cover most shooting conditions - from 300mm to 600 mm. It's also a workable weight for dragging around.
Sandy
Posted by Jim DeWitt on December 7, 2013 at 1:20 AM
Bill, I spent most of a day in a camera store with my 1D-X, comparing the 300mm f2.8 with the 1.4 and 2.0 teleconverters, the 400mm f4, the 400mm f5.6 and the 500mm f4. I brought along a stuffed bird and logarithmic graph paper and took about 250 photos. the 400mm f4 was the weakest of the set, less sharp even than the 300mm with the 2.0 teleconverter. I agree with Keith.
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4 repliesSandy