converter or zoom lens.

[j0hnnyg1]

Hi All
Im new to this site and very impressed with all the advice i see being given.
Can anyone give me some advice on witch way to go?
I have a canon 40D and a 24-105 1:4L lens im not sure if to buy a converter or a zoom lens to photograph wildlife, doe's a good converter work well?
Thanks

 

[wack61]

I don't think a convertor will work well on that lens, a 1.4x loses one stop of light a 2x loses 2 stops

so with a 2x on you'll be getting a 210mm f/8 lens, the AF won't work at F/8

210mm isn't long enough to shoot wildlife so i'd say your best bet would be a longer lens, what sort of money did you have to spend

 

[j0hnnyg1]

Hi thanks for that info
Ok then its got to be a longer lens i quess, budget is arond £600, Canon lens is the best but what about other brands? are they worth buying?
Thanks
John

 

[SpikeK6]

I posted the same question a while back, and got told to buy the longer lens.
I was thinking of the 70 200 with a converter but in the end went for the 100 400 and never regretted it.

For your budget you could get a new sigma 120 400 but your a little short for a second hand 100 400mm. You could always keep saving though.

There are lots of lens out there that will do wild life its just a case of finding the one that suits your needs for your budget.

Spike

 

[j0hnnyg1]

Thanks again
Ok yes i think that does sound best 120 400, if i needed to would a converter fit that lens?
Thanks for your advice
john

 

[wack61]

I'd say save another £200-£300 and look in the classifieds for a Canon 100-400mm L

 

[artyman]

If you hunt around you should be able to get a Sigma 150-500 secondhand which is an excellent wildlife lens for around your budget. Sigma have just announced a new 50-500 so keep an eye on prices for the Sigma 120-400 and Sigma 150-500. This was shot with the 150-500

 

[HoppyUK]

Thanks again
Ok yes i think that does sound best 120 400, if i needed to would a converter fit that lens?
Thanks for your advice
john

I would say save a bit more and go for the Canon 100-400L. You can use a telecon and probably get acceptable results, but you'll lose AF. 40D (and most other cameras this side of £3k) will not AF at higher f/numbers than f/5.6.

TBH, high quality long lens photography gets very expensive past 400mm.