Ok, this may have been as close as I'd EVER come to owning a lens of this proportion, short of a huge lottery type windfall!!! The local camera store has a 600 f/4L IS used for $7500.00, and I decided to go into the shop to get a mount on my 7D...I'm extremely impressed!!!
It's heavy but definitely able to be maneuvered fairly well with some practice and good technique. Hand hold-able in shooting position for a couple minutes and a bit of rest in between. I guess I'll beef up with a 15lb potato sack in the shooting position if I ever bring myself to buying one!!! Needless to say, it took my "lens-lust" to a whole new level.
I shot these through the windows and didn't have very much more to "target" in the 5 minutes I was having my lense-gasm!!!
Go for it, Reno.....that lens is some sweet deal compared to 600 MkII.
No doubt, 600 f/4 IS Mk I is the hardest one to shoot hand-held because of its sheer weight and length....very few people can do it in a genuine fashion, for extended periods of time. Therefore, a sturdy pod/head is a neccessity.
All around, I think 500 f/4 is a more practical lens, and a bit cheaper too. That one I am sure you could use handheld for an hour or two.
Offer $7000. Current eBay prices are at about $6550 in [M-] condition. The hands-on and no-shipping purchase from a local brick and mortar shop is worth something, but not $1000.
P.S. I agree with Peter about the 500/4L IS, it's a pleasure for hand hold shooting. Average eBay price in [M-] condition, $5620, $4440 in [E] condition.
jcolwell wrote:
P.S. I agree with Peter about the 500/4L IS, it's a pleasure for hand hold shooting. Average eBay price in [M-] condition, $5620, $4440 in [E] condition.
I gotta call you on this one. I track 500/4 prices and under $4500 is something you see once in a blue moon - hardly average price for one in Excellent condition. I think maybe you are including the older (and much cheaper) 500/4.5L in your average.
PetKal wrote:
All around, I think 500 f/4 is a more practical lens, and a bit cheaper too. That one I am sure you could use handheld for an hour or two.
vachss wrote:
I gotta call you on this one. I track 500/4 prices and under $4500 is something you see once in a blue moon - hardly average price for one in Excellent condition. I think maybe you are including the older (and much cheaper) 500/4.5L in your average.
You can call me any time. Here's the current Lens$db data for 500/4L IS in [E] to [E+] condition, most recent sale in July 2011.
=AVERAGE(4499,4500,4159,4505,4500,4350,4451,4550)
vachss wrote:
I think maybe you are including the older (and much cheaper) 500/4.5L in your average.
big country wrote:
jcolwell, do you go back on check feedback to make sure these low selling items were legit?
I generally don't check feedback. These were not 'low selling items'. These are typical multi-bid auction prices from sellers with good feedback. There are also many sales with much higher Buy It Now prices that I generally do not record. You might have to be patient to get one, but they're out there. I have a fairly accurate bogus detector, and all of these sales seemed OK to me. YMMV.
I've detracted sufficiently from the OP's thread. If you want more info about Lens$db, then please read the documentation at the site cited above.
What is the obsession with "hand holding" all about? These are large lenses. A 500mm or 600mm is usually shot using a sturdy tripod and a Wimberely head. I know this because I went on a trip with three very well known nature/wildlife photographers and each of them shot this way. That was enough evidence for me. Your technique may differ...but I would suggest you should consider a good sturdy tripod and a nice head.
I am just saying...there seems to be tripod-phobia on this forum.
gdsf2 wrote:
What is the obsession with "hand holding" all about? These are large lenses. A 500mm or 600mm is usually shot using a sturdy tripod and a Wimberely head. I know this because I went on a trip with three very well known nature/wildlife photographers and each of them shot this way. That was enough evidence for me. Your technique may differ...but I would suggest you should consider a good sturdy tripod and a nice head.
I am just saying...there seems to be tripod-phobia on this forum.
Jerry
I don't think any 500/4 user will argue that tripods don't improve results. I'd even bet that the most ardent 500-hand-holders own a good tripod/head system. It's just that the ability to shoot without a tripod greatly increases mobility and the range of shots to which we have access. I might hike a couple of miles over relatively level terrain with the 500 and its full support system. With just the bare lens, however, I can hike much further along rougher trails, much more easily track flying birds (and also, travel by air with only carry-on luggage).
Canon's image stabilization system really changed the rules of the game for long lens users. Why not take advantage of it?
You used a filter on that lens!
