400mm lens advice

Paul Holtom

Paul Holtom

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Looking to get a longer lens for wildlife photo's and have a budget of about £650 ish, so have been looking at either a secondhand Canon lens or a Sigma. I already have a Canon 70-300mm IS 4/5.6f which I can use for closer stuff so have narrowed down my list to:

Canon EF 100-400mm 4.5-5.6 L IS USM £950.00 New
Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM £850.00 New
Sigma 80-400mm f4-5.6 EX APO DG OS £800.00 New
Sigma 120-400mm f/4.5-5.6 DG OS HSM £500.00 New
Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM £645.00 New

Of these the Sigma's are attractive on price but think I might be disapointed with the quality of the results. Of the two Canon's it would seem that the 100-400mm gets good reviews, but don't really know much about the 400mm.

So would value the views from those who have used any of the listed lenses.
 
You can pick the 100-400 up second hand for around £650 - £700, and is a fantastic lens to have, and would enable you to sell your 70-300 as it covers everything that does bar 30mm at the short end which I doubt you would miss. This would leave you with a bit of cash left over!

I can't really comment on the Sigma lenses as I've never used them :(
 
I have the Sigma 120 - 400 and it is a very very lens. Obviously its not quite in the same league as the Canon but it is bloody close.
 
I've been renting the Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM and I've been delighted with the performance and results. That would be my choice without any hesitation.
 
100-400 would be my recomendation, have one and its cracking.
 
Comparing the two Canon offerings, then it's a trade off between image quality and AF speed (400/5.6) or the flexibility of the zoom (100-400).

Personally, I chose the 400/5.6 but that's not to say it's the best for you.

Bob
 
I think the 400/5.6 is the unsung hero of Canon's range. I use one for handheld birds in flight and it is as sharp as my 500/4 but was £3000 cheaper!
 
grumpybadger said:
I think the 400/5.6 is the unsung hero of Canon's range.
Click to expand...
I agree 100%.

I think a lot of people look at the specs of this lens and are underwhelmed. No zoom, no IS, only f/5.6 ... what's the point? The point is that by paring it down to the essentials Canon have made a lens which is light, very fast to focus, very sharp, and affordable.
 
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