APS-H of FF

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I've now got my dream lens for birding but still need more reach. The question is: Which combination is better?

1) 1D MKIV + 600mm = 780mm equivalent.
2) 5D MKIII + 600mm with crop.
3) 5D MKIII + 600mm + 1.4TC.

I own a 5D MKIII but am tempted to buy a 1D MKIV. Which combination will give the best resolution/I.Q. Any ideas will be much appreciated.
 
If it's more reach you're looking for why not consider a 7D

600mm x 1.6 = 960mm equivalent
 
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Thanks for the reply but the 7D can't handle higher ISO. I see you have a MKIV, can you AF @ F/8?
 
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Options 1 & 2 are essentially the same, its still a 600mm lens the crop factor of the body means it effectively gives the same image as cropping.

If using it for wildlife..
Option 4 - new camo gear (scent masking) + a stalking course - you cant beat getting closer to your target.
 
There's a member on here with the username 'Buckas' who shoots wildlife, and has similar kit to you. He seems to prefer the 5d3 over the 1d4 despite the loss. Try a search on his posts, you'll probably find some useful information
 
Options 1 & 2 are essentially the same, its still a 600mm lens the crop factor of the body means it effectively gives the same image as cropping.

If using it for wildlife..
Option 4 - new camo gear (scent masking) + a stalking course - you cant beat getting closer to your target.

Thanks for the reply. I agree that the best way is to get closer but I'm getting a bit long in the tooth for crawling through undergrowth. A camo armchair and a couple of Sherpas would be the ideal. Going back to option 1 or 2 - lens wise essentially the same but different sensors - hence the question. (Shouldn't have put in option 3)
 
There's a member on here with the username 'Buckas' who shoots wildlife, and has similar kit to you. He seems to prefer the 5d3 over the 1d4 despite the loss. Try a search on his posts, you'll probably find some useful information

Thanks for the tip.
 
Options 1 & 2 are essentially the same, its still a 600mm lens the crop factor of the body means it effectively gives the same image as cropping.

If using it for wildlife..
Option 4 - new camo gear (scent masking) + a stalking course - you cant beat getting closer to your target.

you dont need to waste money on stalking courses just use your head/brain;)
 
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I've now got my dream lens for birding but still need more reach. The question is: Which combination is better?

1) 1D MKIV + 600mm = 780mm equivalent.
2) 5D MKIII + 600mm with crop.
3) 5D MKIII + 600mm + 1.4TC.

I own a 5D MKIII but am tempted to buy a 1D MKIV. Which combination will give the best resolution/I.Q. Any ideas will be much appreciated.

let me share my personal preferences.
I have the 500mm F4 lens and it had been used on various body before.
from 1D4 to 1Dx to 7D and back to???
i shoot mainly birds and we know birds are generally small in size.
so i was thinking that the further the reach,the better the details and the lesser u need to crop it to retain the details.
this holds true to a certain extend.why do i say so?
because ISO performance plays an important role too especially if u need to crop it.
i started off with the 1D4 and was pretty happy with the results on most of my shots(but i still try to limit my shots to ISO 800 if i know iam gonna crop it). later on,i got the 1Dx. no doubt the noise performance is the best among all,i still lack of the reach and most of the time i need to crop the images. personally i won't go beyond ISO 1600-3200 for the 1Dx because i know iam going to crop it later on.
now back to the mentality that i need further reach and wasn't too impress with 1Dx performance especially for that kind of price paid, i changed to 7D.
i knew it has the worst ISO performance among all but thought that the further reach could help me reduce my crop. yes,it has the reach i wanted. but the ISO iam limiting to 400-640 as slight cropping starts to shows some noise. then my brain starts to wake up one fine day.
i told myself that i should get back the 1D4 because it has the most balance performance in terms of ISO and IQ vs the reach. so now iam still sticking to the 1D4.
therefore,i would like to share that base on my personal experience, reach is not always the best choice and FF with better noise control is also not always the best choice.
if you can get really close to the animals especially smaller ones like birds without cropping too much and u can guarantee u can always shoot at ISO below 1600,i guess 5D3(similar to 1Dx) should suffice.
otherwise if you are concern of the reach and the noise,1D4 is the most balanced.
personally i feel that reach is never enough for wildlife especially birds.
u can debate that adding a TC to a FF,but a 1.3x and 1.6x can also add TC and u get even longer reach.
i do have the 1.4x and 2x TC.

P.S: but then,there are still many beautiful shots using 7D and FF out there.
These are just my personal preferences.
 
@ Turbonetics

Thanks for the great reply - exactly what I was after. So basically there is no perfect solution, just experience and a balance of what is required.
 
I agree with Turbonetics - on my 5D2 and 7D Their image quality at 400mm was essentially the same (after cropping the 5D2 to fill the frame the same) at ISO 400 and the 5D2 was better from then on - of course the moon does not tax the AF system like a bird does...
 
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