[murgur]

I have been using Canon S2, and now I will upgrade to a dslr. But I have a limited budget. If I buy the Canon 400mm f/5.6L, I can only buy a Canon 350d as the body. Some people say that 350d has bad ergonomics, it does not fit the hand well. Is that true?
If it is, it will be hard to hold it with such a big lens.
Or is it worth waiting to save enough money to buy Canon 20d instead of 350d?

[gatafrancesca]

Hi murgur,
I have the same equipment you are looking at. My advice is: go for them!! The 350D is a small camera, but I wouldn't think that it has bad ergonomics. In fact, with a the 400 mm lens mounted on it it's easy to handle for me (ok, I'm a women, so I can't speak for a person with bigger hands than mine). Let me tell you that the lens itself it's not so big, so I never had any problem handholding the whole set. Now I use a tripod, but I still handhold for flight shot and occasionally for everyday shots when I have no tripod at reach. While I hold th camera with my right hand, I grab the lower part of the lens at its further end with my left hand, and that's the one that really carries most of the weight (maybe my handholding technique isn't perfect, other members will know better).
Anyway, the Canon 400mm f5.6 is a great lens, you won't regret buying it and it's small and lightweight. I don't think that buying a 20D would make a huge difference in terms of handling, even though it has some nice features that the 350D hasn't, but if you are on a budget, the second one will be a great camera for you.
My final advice is: if you have any chance to do this go to a shop and compare the two cameras coupled with the lens, so you can see for yourself.
Best of luck and enjoy your new equipment!

[Roy C]

I used this lens on a 350D with no problems at all. If you find that it is to small then just add a battery grip. I now use a 30D with this lens and the extra weight of the 30D makes carrying the lens around for several hours that much tiresome.

[murgur]

Thank you very much.
Do you think it is worth paying 165 USD extra money to buy 400d instead of 350d?
Both of them lacks the spot metering, does that make a problem for bird shots?

[Roy C]

Originally Posted by murgur

Thank you very much.
Do you think it is worth paying 165 USD extra money to buy 400d instead of 350d?
Both of them lacks the spot metering, does that make a problem for bird shots?

I always found the partial metering mode ok for birds (partial is a sort of large spot covering 9% of the centre). I still mostly use partial on the 30D even though it has spot. Can't comment on the 400D v 350D as I have never used the 400D.

[baillieswells]

I have both the 350D and the 400D. I use them both, with both of them being small and light it is often more convenient to carry both each with a different lens. Saves fiddling around to change lenses while the shot you are looking for gets away.

However, to get back to your question. There is very little to choose between them. The extra 2 megapixels of the 400D doesn't show except at very large magnification. However, the sensor cleaning is a boost and the focussing is better.If I only had one, it would be the 400D. It is not that much more expensive,and has the edge over the 350D.

[murgur]

Thank you very much. I read in dpreview.com that 400d has the same AF system with 30d, so I will choose 400d instead of 350d.

[postcardcv]

I've got a 350D and a 400D... personally I'd go for a 400D if you can afford it. The AF system is a bit better, the sensor cleaning system seems to do the job, and it has a much bigger buffer (a real plus if you end up shooting RAW).

[macshark]

I use the 400 f/5.6L with a 350D. This makes a very light combo. The grip is not a problem as you need the hold the lens to stabilize with this combo. I found that holding the extended lens hood with the left hand works best when using the 400 f/5.6L.

As others pointed out, the only significant benefit of the 400D is the improved AF system. It should do a bit better when tracking moving subjects. For stationary subjects, 350D's AF system is good enough. 400D's AF system helps a lot more when using lenses with wide max aperture which is not relevant when you are using the 400 prime.