Choosing between 300 4 L IS or 400 5.6 on 7D

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DBSAM
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p.1 #1 · Choosing between 300 4 L IS or 400 5.6 on 7D

I want to shoot birds and wildlife in the yard and nature hikes. I already have a 70-200 IS 4.0L and a 1.4x II teleconverter. I also have the 180 L 3.5 Macro.

Opinions, please...

Thanks,
David

Jan 09, 2013 at 03:59 AM

RogerC11
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p.1 #2 · Choosing between 300 4 L IS or 400 5.6 on 7D

400, you already have 320 on the 70-200 with the 1.4. Wildlife benefits from as much reach as you can get.

Jan 09, 2013 at 04:46 AM

Lars Johnsson
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p.1 #3 · Choosing between 300 4 L IS or 400 5.6 on 7D

The 400/5,6

Jan 09, 2013 at 06:12 AM

StillFingerz
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p.1 #4 · Choosing between 300 4 L IS or 400 5.6 on 7D

Agree with the above, get the 400 f5.6L.

I have both the 70-200 f4L IS and 300f4L IS and while the 300 is nice I wish I'd have picked up the 400 instead just for the reach. Saying that tho, I use the 300 IS a lot, the 300 with extension tubes for close-up shooting is amazing.

The 70-200 with 1.4x T/C gets you 320 and AF/IQ are still decent...get the 400

Jerry

Jan 09, 2013 at 07:39 AM

danb121
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p.1 #5 · Choosing between 300 4 L IS or 400 5.6 on 7D

It's a shame that the 400 isn't f/4 or doesn't have IS

Jan 09, 2013 at 07:44 AM

carrg1954
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p.1 #6 · Choosing between 300 4 L IS or 400 5.6 on 7D

having a 70-200 f4is,300 f4 non is, and 400 5.6, without reservation get a 400.
it is great bang for buck

Jan 09, 2013 at 07:47 AM

Ian.Dobinson
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p.1 #7 · Choosing between 300 4 L IS or 400 5.6 on 7D

StillFingerz wrote:

The 70-200 with 1.4x T/C gets you 320 and AF/IQ are still decent...get the 400

Jerry

Jerry my friend I think you need to go back to school

Jan 09, 2013 at 08:52 AM

rebelshooter
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p.1 #8 · Choosing between 300 4 L IS or 400 5.6 on 7D

RogerC11 wrote:
400, you already have 320 on the 70-200 with the 1.4. Wildlife benefits from as much reach as you can get.

Ian, it is not just Jerry that needs a remedial math class

Jan 09, 2013 at 09:17 AM

Ian.Dobinson
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p.1 #9 · Choosing between 300 4 L IS or 400 5.6 on 7D

rebelshooter wrote:
RogerC11 wrote:
400, you already have 320 on the 70-200 with the 1.4. Wildlife benefits from as much reach as you can get.

Ian, it is not just Jerry that needs a remedial math class

Perhaps we need the FM summer school

Jan 09, 2013 at 09:46 AM

StillFingerz
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p.1 #10 · Choosing between 300 4 L IS or 400 5.6 on 7D

Ian.Dobinson wrote:
rebelshooter wrote:
RogerC11 wrote:
400, you already have 320 on the 70-200 with the 1.4. Wildlife benefits from as much reach as you can get.

Ian, it is not just Jerry that needs a remedial math class

Perhaps we need the FM summer school

It seems I've crop on the brain, not crap mind you but crop, did I say crop, yes crop

I really need a full frame digital body before I go completely nutters

So, 200 x 1.4 gets ya...ready...280...so I was off by 40mm
So ok on a cropper you get 200 x 1.4 x 1.6...lets see, hmmm...gets calculator out cause it's 240am and I'm friggin tired, don't ask why I'm awake....calculating...drinking some water, clears throat...448mm

Damn I'm good

Get the 400...please

Edited on Jan 09, 2013 at 02:34 PM · View previous versions

Jan 09, 2013 at 10:48 AM

DBSAM
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p.1 #11 · Choosing between 300 4 L IS or 400 5.6 on 7D

So far the 400/5.6...
They are both the virtually the same price .

I really thought most responses would be the "300" on a 7d due to the 1.6x crop factor.

So for wildlife the effective 640 of the 400 (400x1.6) wins out over the 300x1.6=420 IS and one stop faster?

That is of course before considering the my 1.4x mark II

Jan 09, 2013 at 10:50 AM

cputeq
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p.1 #12 · Choosing between 300 4 L IS or 400 5.6 on 7D

DBSAM wrote:
So far the 400/5.6...
They are both the virtually the same price .

I really thought most responses would be the "300" on a 7d due to the 1.6x crop factor.

So for wildlife the effective 640 of the 400 (400x1.6) wins out over the 300x1.6=420 IS and one stop faster?

That is of course before considering the my 1.4x mark II

I have a 600mm f/5.6 Minolta I use with an Olympus OM-D, which is a 2x camera. Effective 1200mm. It's still way too short for small birds unless I'm in a blind (and if they get closer than 29 feet or so (the MFD) I'm actually too close

Point being, unless you're shooting massive birds, like ostriches, or you know you'll be shooting in a blind or somewhere else where you'll be well within the MFD of the 400 (something like 12 feet?), you're going to want the 400mm, even on crop.

If you actually do get too close, just make a birdy portrait - those also look great.

Jan 09, 2013 at 11:14 AM

DBSAM
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p.1 #13 · Choosing between 300 4 L IS or 400 5.6 on 7D

What tripod would you recommend for taking on a nature walk and use with the 400?

Jan 09, 2013 at 02:20 PM

StillFingerz
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p.1 #14 · Choosing between 300 4 L IS or 400 5.6 on 7D

Light weight tripod = carbon fiber
Prices range from about $50 - $1000+, with and without ball, pistol, gimbal head
Check B&H, Adorama, Amazon, etc.

Jan 09, 2013 at 02:36 PM

RogerC11
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p.1 #15 · Choosing between 300 4 L IS or 400 5.6 on 7D

Perhaps we need the FM summer school

280 jeez what a dum dum!

Jan 09, 2013 at 03:03 PM

ClausC
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p.1 #16 · Choosing between 300 4 L IS or 400 5.6 on 7D

DBSAM wrote:
What tripod would you recommend for taking on a nature walk and use with the 400?

None, you really don't need it.

the 400/5.6 is a wonderfull lens, my 300/4 IS was never a serious contender.

Jan 09, 2013 at 03:07 PM

ChrisRD
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p.1 #17 · Choosing between 300 4 L IS or 400 5.6 on 7D

As others have said...I'd go with the 400/5.6 if you're mostly photographing birds and smaller wildlife. Even that will be short on many occasions...even on a 7D (unless you're using blinds/bait/feeders).

Just make sure to keep your shutter speeds high when handholding that combo...particularly if you're going to be cropping heavily.

Jan 09, 2013 at 04:28 PM

convergent
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p.1 #18 · Choosing between 300 4 L IS or 400 5.6 on 7D

If you need something, get a good monopod and work on technique vs. getting a big tripod to haul around.

Jan 09, 2013 at 04:34 PM

Imagemaster
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p.1 #19 · Choosing between 300 4 L IS or 400 5.6 on 7D

danb121 wrote:
It's a shame that the 400 isn't f/4 or doesn't have IS

It has both. It is called the 400 f4 DO.

Jan 09, 2013 at 04:42 PM

ClausC
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p.1 #20 · Choosing between 300 4 L IS or 400 5.6 on 7D

Imagemaster wrote:
danb121 wrote:
It's a shame that the 400 isn't f/4 or doesn't have IS

It has both. It is called the 400 f4 DO.

or the 300/2.8 IS + TC1.4

Jan 09, 2013 at 04:46 PM

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