Lens decision help? (1 Viewer)

Hi all,

Looking to do a bit of upgrading on a "modest" (but sadly not unlimited) budget.

Currently I have a Canon 100D ("Rebel) - yes I know, an entry level camera, but I can't upgrade everything all together. On the principle of "glass first" my question relates to lenses.

My choice is between the Canon 400mm f5.6 (non IS) and the Canon 300mm F4 IS. I also plan to include the 1.4x TC in the upgrade if I go for the 300mm.

I'm tempted by the 300+1.4 in order to have the IS capability.

Would appreciate any views on this. Will these lenses/TC combos work on the 100D because I expect to retain this camera for another 12 months or so? I have tried a 100-400mm IS mark 1 zoom on the camera, which works fine, but at the moment I'd prefer to go for a prime lens.

Thank you!

Either lens would be a good choice, they are both excellent and can deliver great results. You just need to work out which suits your needs best. The 400 f5.6 is faster focusing and the better choice for flight shots. However the 300 f4 has better close focus so is also great for butterflies and dragonflies and the extra stop can be handy in low light.

I'm not sure if you've come to a conclusion yet but FWIW here's my opinion. I've never owned the EF 400 f5.6 so I have no personal knowledge of this lens. However, I have seen many images produced by the 400/f5.6 and there is no doubt it is a very good lens. I would say that the 400 has the edge in IQ compared to the 300 f4. Canon's MTF charts for both lenses seem to bear this out.

That said, the 300 f4 (which I own) is far from shabby. Used bare, it produces sharp, contrasty images which are not far behind the 500 f4 (which I also own). Your decision must come down to what you will mostly use the lens for. If your priority is birds in flight, then it's the 400 f5.6 as it is undoubtedly sharper than the 300 +TC and it will be much faster to focus. I find the 300+TC to be a touch slow to AF. However, if like me, you don't want to be swapping lenses all the time and you have an interest not only in birds but also butterflies, dragonflies etc, then the 300 is the one to go for as it will focus down to 1.5M and produces good images.

My normal habit is to use a 400 DO during the winter months but between April and September I use the 300 +/- the TC as the situation demands.

Hope this helps,
Brian.

Thanks Posty and Brian,

No, still haven't made my mind up yet, so many thanks for the thoughts and insights. With the price of the 100-400 mk2 zoom also apparently dropping to "within reason" (according to another thread), that one may well now enter the frame as well.

I think the question "what kind of photography do you want to do?" is a good one. I'm very much a late entry (last year at age 55) into birdwatching/nature and it's fair to say I may not know the exact answer to this question at the moment.

Anyway... something to mull over as I head off on holiday!

Thanks again |=)|

Many people start off with the Canon 100-400mm as I did. It's a great lens, even more so by the look of things in its latest guise, and it does lots of things well enough to be satisfying. Great for taking on hols too if you might do some wildlife snapping.

https://twitter.com/calumetphotouk/status/613364654551597056 Decent price on a 300 f4.