Telephoto decisions

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SimonJ1

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Simon
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Hey guys I'm new here but need some help please!
I have a canon 7D and my current telephoto lens is a tamron sp 70-300mm f4-5.6 Di vc used and it's served me pretty well up til now but I feel like its not really meeting my needs now.
I like to photograph a range of things but primarily wildlife and occasionally birds.
I've been looking at 3 lenses, canon 300mm f4 L (with 1.4x extender, although I realise the 7d already has a 1.6x crop), the 400mm f5.6 L, or the 100-400mm IS f4.5-5.6 L. And I cannot decide between them. I obviously already have upto 300mm zoom with my tamron so I have zoom but would happily sell it.

Many thanks

Simon
 
Hi Simon, welcome to TP.

This is a fairly regular question that crops up, and doesn't really have a definitive answer.

Suffice to say that all 3 lenses you mention are highly capable, but each have their strengths and weaknesses depending upon exactly what you want to shoot.

As a basic guide -

300mm f4L - Excellent quality lens, very sharp. It has a good minimum focussing distance so has the added benefit of being useful for dragonflies and the like. It takes the 1.4x converter well, but this combination is not quite as good as using the 400mm f5.6 as a bare lens.

400mm f5.6L - Probably the best budget option for birding, excellent sharpness and good focussing. Suffers from a poor minimum focussing distance of around 3.5m and does not have IS

100-400mm - clearly the best option for versatility, and is sharp, although not quite as good as either of the primes. However, when I say its not as sharp, I have seen some fantastic results from this lens. Has IS as a bonus.

I'd say consider the focal length your likely to use the most and take it from there
 
They are all good choices.
I own a 100-400 and it is a very versatile lens. The only downside is that it is a little heavy for a general purpose walk around long tele. I normally use mine on a mono pod.

I have a friend who uses a 400mm F5.6 and he loves it. The only downside is that it doesn't focus real close.

Another friend owns the 300 F4 and he loves it also. He doesn't use a TC.
 
Thanks for the welcome, details and advice guys that really helps a lot.
I do generally max my 300 out, hence the need for an upgrade, so a prime would make sense already having upto 300mm in zoom. I'm just not sure whether to get a prime and replace my tamron 70-300 with a better one so I still have zoom or just go for the 100-400 because I'm sure I'll miss the versatility if I didn't have it...
Is the sharpness difference noticeable between the 100-400 and the 400?
Do you have any thoughts of my current tamron? I've never met anyone else who has one...
 
Reportedly the 400 is a bit sharper than the 100-400. I find my 100-400 more than meets my needs for web publishing and prints up to A4 (~10x8).
All most all of my "soft" pics are due to my error or atmospherics etc.
I have never used the Tamron 70-300 or know anybody who has one.
Most of the guys I shoot with use Canon or Nikon lenses, not 3rd party ones.

You may find this thread of interest - It mentions both the 100-400 and the 400

http://digital-photography-school.c...136-canon-100-400mm-f-4-5-5-6-l-usm-lens.html

and this one.

http://digital-photography-school.c...-400mm-f4-5-5-6l-usm-telephoto-canon-t2i.html
 
Another option are the Sigma offerings, 150-500 which I used for several years and is a great birding lens with an awesome OS system. Also the 50-500, the newer version with OS more expensive than the 150-500. I currently use the 120-300 f2.8 with 1.4 and 2X TC's.

Shot with the 150-500 when it visited my garden!

Img_0282c.jpg


With the Sigma 120-300 f2.8 and 2X

IMG_H2083.jpg
 
Artyman: wow to the peregrine picture! You really captured its majesty and power and I love the splash of colour in its eye! You got some great detail with the 2nd picture too.
Thanks for the tip about the sigma's, 500mm must be amazing!
I think I'm finally leaning toward the 100-400 now though, I don't think the versatility is something I can sacrifice and from the research I've done it looks like the canon is sharper than the sigma on this one so I'm fairly set on that unless there's some other wonder lens that I haven't heard of!
 
SimonJ1 said:
Artyman: wow to the peregrine picture! You really captured its majesty and power and I love the splash of colour in its eye! You got some great detail with the 2nd picture too. Thanks for the tip about the sigma's, 500mm must be amazing! I think I'm finally leaning toward the 100-400 now though, I don't think the versatility is something I can sacrifice and from the research I've done it looks like the canon is sharper than the sigma on this one so I'm fairly set on that unless there's some other wonder lens that I haven't heard of!
Click to expand...

I doubt you will be disappointed with the 100-400 it is an excellent lens for shooting wildlife. As others have said any of the three Canon options you mentioned would be good, it is just a matter of deciding which features you need/want most. As you want the versatility the 100-400 is the way to go. BTW it's a sparrowhawk not a peregrine...
 
Thank you for the confirmation Peter. Looking forward to getting it now!
And thank you for the ID check, I've never been great with birds.
 
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