I am torn about buying a couple lenses and I was hoping for some advice. Im looking for a wildlife telephoto. I have been considering the canon 100-400l becasue of its reviews and zoom flexability. Used it a couple times and like it. However for about the same price i could go with a used canon 400mm f5.6 and canon 70-200f4 combo. Is there anything I should look at if I purchase the 4005.6 used. I know its about 5 years old but i dont think there has been much change to it forever. Was just hoping to get some opinions, thanks guys!
The 400/5.6 is a very good lens, but keep in mind that it does not have IS. Overall, the 400/5.6 and 70-200/4 will both be somewhat sharper than the 100-400. But IMHO between IS and the extra range in a single lens, the 100-400 is more versatile for wildlife.
Do a search for 'wildlife lens', '100-400' or '400/5.6', you should get a decent amount of threads that cover this very topic. If it's not the most covered discussion on this board I don't know what is
I have used the 100-400 and tried to make the best of the compromise. No more.
I now shoot the 400 5.6 and with a little homework on the how the beasties your shooting behave you will have outstanding results with no compromises in sharpness. I know it is slow and sans IS but you can more than compensate for that by using a ball head on a pod if you are shakey.
Another excellent option, in IMHO, is the 300 f/4 IS. Combined with a 1.4X Canon converter your will also be in excellent shape to celebrate success.
I should add I shoot full frame and do not enjoy the benefits of the sensor crop. That means I have to work harder and sneak up more but the occasional rewards are more than worth it.
Thanks for the replys, I agree that the best lens is the one on your camera. If im shooting mostly all primes I guess I had better do my homework and be more prepared than if I had the zoom versatility. As sharp as the 100-400 is im sure nothing is more dissapointing than coming back with a batch of good images you wish were just a little sharper. Think ill stick with the primes, time to dust off the old monopod as well.
I am not helping but I ended up with both 100-400 AND 70-200 f4 IS :-)
I purchased both 100-400 and 400f5.6 try then for 3 months and end up with 100-400 because: flexibility, smaller in my bag, IS, not shooting a lot of BIF. I resell the 400mm for the price I purchased it!
