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Affordable prime for BIF (1 Viewer)

screw4pils

Well-known member
Hey guys!

I currently own a Canon 1D Mark IV camera and for birding I usually use my 150-600 Tamron and occasionally my 70-200 2.8 Tamron at the feeder.

I really want to add a prime for BIF shoots and for general use.

Of course my biggest problem is budget, more specifically the lack of it :)

So the big white glasses (500 f4, 600 f4, 300 2.8, 400 2.8) are out of my league and even the 400 f5.6 is a little bit too much right now. What's more is that I have a hard time here in Hungary where I currently stay because the market is pretty small and it is generally not easy to find good quality glass.

Anyway, I had my eyes on older third party lenses like the Tokina AT-X 300 f4 AF or the 400 f5.6
Is there anyone out there with any experience with these lenses? As I see one can get decent copies from Japan for around 2-300 USD which is a pretty good price IMO. There are also 300 f4 Canon L lenses for 4-500 USD which is doable for me if I wait a little bit.

I'd like to know a few opinions and if there is any other older primes that worth a try.

Thanks a lot in advance,
Ben
 
Hi Ben
I use a canon 400mm f5.6 prime on a 7Dii. I shoot lots of BIF mostly in Spain where the light is good. It does not have IS but this is not an issue for BIF but can be for static birds in low light.

I find the main benefits of this lens are
Quick and sharp focus
Light weight
Simple and tough construction which means second hand it is a good buy

A 300mm f4 will not be long enough, a 400mm always leaves you wanting more

The 400mm f5.6 are sold regularly on here for as little as £500. I bought mine new about 4 years ago but would buy second hand if I was wanting one now. If it doesn't suit your needs you can sell and recover your money. You will lose a lot more money on any new lens you buy. You will also get much more for your money on a budget second hand.

There are some photos taken with the lens on my gallery but not posted for a while but can send you some more recent ones if you want

Karl
 
Save until you can afford the Canon 400mm! Buying an older, inferior lens will just cause frustration and you will be throwing money away. Second hand lenses are an option, as is renting for a special occasion.
Good luck, you will still crave a 'big white'!
 
Hi Ben
I use a canon 400mm f5.6 prime on a 7Dii. I shoot lots of BIF mostly in Spain where the light is good. It does not have IS but this is not an issue for BIF but can be for static birds in low light.

I find the main benefits of this lens are
Quick and sharp focus
Light weight
Simple and tough construction which means second hand it is a good buy

A 300mm f4 will not be long enough, a 400mm always leaves you wanting more

The 400mm f5.6 are sold regularly on here for as little as £500. I bought mine new about 4 years ago but would buy second hand if I was wanting one now. If it doesn't suit your needs you can sell and recover your money. You will lose a lot more money on any new lens you buy. You will also get much more for your money on a budget second hand.

There are some photos taken with the lens on my gallery but not posted for a while but can send you some more recent ones if you want

Karl


Hello Karl,

Thanks for your reply. If you could send me some photos here is my e-mail address: [email protected]

Thanks in advance,
Ben
 
Save until you can afford the Canon 400mm! Buying an older, inferior lens will just cause frustration and you will be throwing money away. Second hand lenses are an option, as is renting for a special occasion.
Good luck, you will still crave a 'big white'!

Hi nc_killie,

You are probably right. I already have a huge craving for the 500 f4, but I'll most likely try to get a decent 400 f5.6 - I will just have to hide it from my wife :)

Thanks,
Ben
 
I don't think there's a better big lens than the 400mm f5.6 it's a steal . I wouldn't be without mine .
Clive
 

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Bence?

Please do yourself a favour and make sure it is at least a Canon EF 400mm f/5.6.
It is a fantastic lens for wildlife, but no IS makes it a little harder to use hand held at lower shutter speeds.

From a fellow Hungarian on the opposite end of the world.
 
I know you said prime but these are with the Sigma 100-400, just for your info the last duck was taken at 290mm but the lens had the Sigma 1.4 converter on it.
 

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[...] There are also 300 f4 Canon L lenses for 4-500 USD which is doable for me if I wait a little bit.

I'd like to know a few opinions and if there is any other older primes that worth a try.

The general consensus seems to be that the Canon 400mm is "the" lens for a Canonian shooting BIF with fast AF, handholding. Just look at the splendid shots shown above by mid glam sam. - I have an older Sigma 400mm APO macro, an inexpensive nice lens (Euro 90 or so) and optically not much behind the Canon 400mm. But the AF is slow, shooting BIF wasn't successful.

When I had to decide what to buy for BIF with my Canon 450D, the Canon 400mm was by far the most attractive option. But at that point I had already seen that BIF means thousands of clicks per birding day. I feared a "mean time before failure" for a Canon DSLR - circa 130,000 clicks until a shutter breaks - and repair costs of Euro 150 or so would make BIF shooting too expensive for me in the long run.

My solution was to buy a Nikon V2 + CX70-300, as it is very capable for BIF and has an electronic shutter.
 
Thank you guys for all the tips. I went with the 400 f5.6 Canon L lens, and I am not disappointed. The image quality and the AF speed is outstanding in my opinion. I also added a Kenko 1.4x and with the 1D IV body they work great.

I'm now considering to add a Sigma 120-300 f2.8 - but I see mixed opinions about this older construction lens.
 
Bence?

Please do yourself a favour and make sure it is at least a Canon EF 400mm f/5.6.
It is a fantastic lens for wildlife, but no IS makes it a little harder to use hand held at lower shutter speeds.

From a fellow Hungarian on the opposite end of the world.

Yes, I bought the 400mm :) Btw I liked your site on Facebook, amazing photos, I hope I'll have a chance to visit Australia at some point.

Bence
 
The non DG version of the sigma is no longer serviced by them,so if it goes wrong you may have problems.


Cheers.


Steve.
 
Yes, I bought the 400mm :) Btw I liked your site on Facebook, amazing photos, I hope I'll have a chance to visit Australia at some point.

Bence

Thanks Bence
Let me know if you do head down this way.
May be able to catch up, perhaps show you some really nice stuff.
Cheers
Akos
 
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