Bear watching 100-400 or 400 prime and 70-200

[beeje25]

for my 30th birthday treat to my self next year I'm going to treat my self to a small trip to finland to go bear watching most of the time will be in hides so its only the trek to and from lodge and hide to think about. My question is would you go for a single lens in the bag like the 100-400 F4.5-5.6 L or take a prime lens like the 400mm F2.8 and a 70-200 f2.8 to fill in the bits in between.

 

[tijuana taxi]

Maybe the 70-200 with a 2X TC would suit your purposes, the 400mm is hell of a weight and not as versatile given the Bears will no doubt vary in distance

 

[Diverkeith]

70-200 with the 2 x TC is a better option for the hike unless you balance a backpack well .... only thing is with the 2 x TC you lose 2 stops as well ... so light may be a consideration

 

[squishy]

If you can manage the weight and know what you're doing with huge long lenses, I'd take the 400 f/2.8 and 70-200 f/2.8 any day.
The 400 f/2.8 is heavy though (I mean seriously heavy, even more than the 600 f/4), and you're gonna need to support it properly.
If you're gonna have a daily hike, my personal choice (baring in mind I don't know details about how far away the bares will be etc.) would be a 300mm f/2.8L IS, a 70-200 f/2.8 and a 1.4x and 2x converter (for the 300 f/2.8, since it seems to take them so well).
Or maybe the new sigma 120-300 OS, high quality, fast aperture and a flexible zoom in one lens, could be a winner.


I love my 100-400L, but if you have the option of a more expensive prime and zoom combo, it's no contest IMHO.

Maybe consider hiring a second body as well, so you don't miss any opportunities while changing lenses?

 

[beeje25]

thank you for all the reply's. Adam I didn't even think of the 300mm with a converter and its half the weight of the 400mm thank you.

 

[D3S]

Can't speak for Finland but in Alaska last year my Sigma 120-300 was spot on; the shot below was at 120mm (and without a hide)...and on the full size version you can see the four of us sat down in front of him! Have a great, safe trip.

Grizzly Bear in the wild at Hallo Bay, Katmai National Park, Alaska

 

[DemiLion]

Or maybe the new sigma 120-300 OS, high quality, fast aperture and a flexible zoom in one lens, could be a winner.

^This.

It converts beautifully to a 168-420/4 with hardly any IQ loss and it takes a decent x2 well to make a 240-600/5.6.

 

[dinners]

its only the trek to and from lodge and hide to think about.

If the walk in isn't too much of an issue (implied) and it's going to be a really speacial trip for you - I'd be inclined to carry whatever you think will give you the best images. Nothing worse than hindsight.