p.2 #1 · Surf Photography from Beach which lens???
400 5.6 for sure if you're interested in daytime sports, birds, surf etc. There is nothing else even close to it in its price range for sharpness, contrast, focusing speed, and the ability to take a 1.4 converter well. That lense alone was the reason I decided to go the Canon route instead of Nikon. The only 400 that Nikon makes is a 2.8 IS, and that sells for about $6000. For daytime surfing you don't need 2.8, and IS is not used. The 400 5.6 is perfect for about $1000.
Even though I now have a 600, the 400 5.6 is still one of my favorites. I love it for it's portability. Sometimes I just through it in a backpack with the XT and the 10-22 and go for an early morning bike ride, and I'm ready for just about anything. That's something yI'll never do with the 600. And the 400 5.6 weighs just about the same as the 70-200 2.8.
Remember also that for surfing, you will almost always want more reach than what you have. If you think you can just get a 300 and put a 1.4 converter on it to match the 400, in practice you'll generally want that same 1.4 converter on the 400 for an effective 560. Even with the 600, I find myself using the 1.4 about half the time.
p.2 #2 · Surf Photography from Beach which lens???
Thanks for the advice it does sound like 400mm is the recommendation, reading the other threads would the 400 prime be better than the 100-400 for surf photography in relation to focusing and sharpness. Also I am a little concerned about getting sand in the 100-400 due to zoom should I worry?
p.2 #3 · Surf Photography from Beach which lens???
Gavin Sim wrote:
Thanks for the advice it does sound like 400mm is the recommendation, reading the other threads would the 400 prime be better than the 100-400 for surf photography in relation to focusing and sharpness. Also I am a little concerned about getting sand in the 100-400 due to zoom should I worry?
I have never owned the 100-400 zoom, but spent countless hours reading opinions about how it compares to the prime. There are always those who will show great pictures taken with the zoom and indicate what a fine lens it is. But when reading opinions from others who have actually used both lenses, the following opinions seem nearly unanimous and uniquivical:
1. The focusing on the prime is a whole lot faster.
2. When not using the 1.4 converter, the prime is definitely sharper and has better contrast than the zoom.
3. When using the converter, the difference between the prime and the zoom is even more apparent in respect to sharpness, contrast, and focusing. And if my memory serves me correct, I believe others have had difficulty in getting the 1.4 converter to work properly when focusing the zoom.
Daniella over on DPreview, who does bird photograph that would be a credit to National Geographic, has written about this. You might do a search and read what she has to say about the 400 5.6 prime with the 1.4 converter. But really, save your time. I've already done all that and went nuts for months before I decided on the prime. After all the reading and all the research, the bottom line is what I've mentioned above. Having owned the prime and taken thousands of surfing-kitesurfing photos in the past year, my original opinion of the prime has only been reinforced.
