Hi All,
I am looking for some advice on whether i should use the Canon 400mm f5.6 lens with 1.4 extender II to get the additional reach, Would i lose the IQ ? I am using Canon 7D.
Considering the present Black Friday deals, would it make sense to sell the above combo and buy a Nikon D500 with 200-500 mm lens. My primary use case is bird photography.
Any help is apprecitated.
I think it depends on how much you are invested in Canon. I use the 7D2 and various lens including a 500 f4 prime. If all I had in Canon was the original 7D and the 400 5.6 lens, I would already be using the Nikon D500 and the 200/500 or one of the Sigma 150-600. You will find that the 400 5.6 does not play well with a teleconverter, at least that has been my experience. Honestly if I was starting basically from scratch I would be all in with Nikon moving forward.
You may want to look into whether your camera will autofocus with the 1.4. I believe, but I'm not sure that the original 7D would not autofocus with an F8
combination. The 400 is already F5.6, and when the 1.4 is added the minimum aperture is F8. I know I cannot use that combo with the 6D for instance.
deepz wrote:
Hi All,
I am looking for some advice on whether i should use the Canon 400mm f5.6 lens with 1.4 extender II to get the additional reach, Would i lose the IQ ? I am using Canon 7D.
Considering the present Black Friday deals, would it make sense to sell the above combo and buy a Nikon D500 with 200-500 mm lens. My primary use case is bird photography.
Any help is apprecitated.
regards,
Deepak Sibal
Hi Deepak,
Firstly, since you have not mentioned, which 1.4X TC, I assume you are talking abt the Canon 1.4X TCIII. As far as my knowledge goes, it WON'T af with 7D+400f5.6 combo at f8. But 80D and 7DMkII would.Some of the 3rd party 1.4X TC does.I had ( and still have it),the Kenko 1.4X TC (newer version), which would AF with both my 500D and 70D +400f5.6. I had the lens for about 2.5 Years or so.BTW, the bare lens is sort of best for BIF, no complains on that front.
Now coming to your 'loss of IQ' part......Yes some of the IQ was lost in my case, and as per the web....it is natural.More frustrating was the loss of AF ( acuity & reliability), esp. in low light. Along with came the hardest part of taming the NON-IS combo at the increased focal length, even in normal light.
To answer your last part of the question....I have been using the D7200 + 200-500 combo for the some time now. Till now been satisfied, even with BIF. With D500, it should be even better.
The other viable option is to get the 7D MKII + 100-400MKII. In that case you can add the newer 1.4X TC and still AF @ f8.
Thank you so much.. all your point are valid. I was considering to use the 1.4x TCII adaptor. I am now thinking either I should switch to Nikon for the above combo or should I wait for the canon 200-600 which may come out next year though it's just a rumor.
Three things:
1) The 400 f/5.6 IQ is barely affected by the 1.4x TC, even wide open, it’s a great lens
2) 7D won’t AF at all with a Canon TC, you might get by with say a specific Kenko TC, but AF won’t be great, you really need a 1 series or 5D3/4 IMO with this combo.
3) D500 will blow the original 7D out of the water in so many ways it’s not funny. The IQ (for a cropper) and AF are superb. The 200-500 has excellent IQ but will not AF as fast as the 400 f/5.6 overall, but will suffice for most action and BIF in general given how fast the D500 AF works. If Nikon or Sigma made a 400 f/5.6 prime I would recommend in a heartbeat to get the D500. I got one with the 200-500 anyway, and couldn’t be happier. It’s AF is about as good as the 1DX/5D4 IMO.
deepz wrote:
Thank you for your thoughts.
Any idea about the Canon 200-600 lens, can we expect that anytime next year ?
I think that rumour is a long shot. It was mostly based on a patent that once properly analyzed looks like it is for a video lens with internal zooming and more for broadcast type of work. Something very large and very expensive.
That patent was tied in with rumours of a non-L telephoto zoom lens that may still have some truth to it but it won't be that 200-600 from the patent. The new patent that showed up for a 28-550 variable aperture lens sounds more like a non-L super zoom that the rumours are talking about: http://www.canonrumors.com/patent-ef-s-15-300mm-ef-28-550mm-optical-formulas/
But I highly doubt a lens with that huge zoom range and variable aperture is going to compete with the Nikon 200-500 or the Sigma/Tamron 150-600 in AF and IQ.
At this point in time I would go for the D500/200-500 as the best value/performance for a bird centric body/lens on the market today.
Never tried the Nikon gear, but what about upgrading the 7D-->7D II and picking up a 1.4x tc? I believe then you'd have AF at f/8. Another option might be the 80D (if it indeed has AF at f/8).
Hi,
just to let you know i have a 7Dmk2 with a 400mm f5.6 & 1.4 mk2 extender ,in good light i get some very usable shots . I love the weight of the 400mm prime ,its easy to hand hold
Attached image was using the combo 7Dmk2 with a 400mm f5.6 & 1.4 mk2 extender .Kingfisher is about 12-14 meters away from me.
Hi,
just to let you know i have a 7Dmk2 with a 400mm f5.6 & 1.4 mk2 extender ,in good light i get some very usable shots . I love the weight of the 400mm prime ,its easy to hand hold
Attached image was using the combo 7Dmk2 with a 400mm f5.6 & 1.4 mk2 extender .Kingfisher is about 12-14 meters away from me.
