Keith Reeder
Watch the birdie...
Well, that was somewhat inconclusive...
No birds around - or at any rate nothing worth pointing a camera at when the light was so bad that I sometimes struggled to get over 1/100 at 1250 ISO and f/2.8, but some early thoughts pending a proper trip out.
Build quality is stellar - no other way to put it. The lens hood is rather light plastic though, and given the price of a replacement (something like £150!), I'll be taking good care of it!
The image stablilisation is fantastic. I'm a big fan of IS/OS/VR, and although I've always been happy enough with the IS in the 100-400mm, the Siggy's is much, much better - I can completely believe it's 4 stops' worth.
The lens is hefty (at a bit over 6 lbs, twice the weight of the 100-400mm), but it's balanced on the 7D + grip, and definitely "doable" handheld, especially without a TC: it works nicely, suspended from my Op/Tech sling strap with neoprene shoulder pad, and comes to the eye quickly and without any problem. I don't see that using it like this for extended periods in the field will be problematic.
Sharp, sharp, sharp! It's unquestionably sharper than my 100-400mm (which most people seem to regard as a pretty good 'un) by a worthwhile amount: even at f/2.8, the stuff I shot instead of birds is grin-inducingly sharp. I'm very happy about the sharpness.
Contrast and colour are also really nice - definitely different to the 100-400mm, with a "quality" look to them. Liking this very much too.
It probably goes without saying that the bokeh at wider apertures is nice, but I'll say it anyway.
So all the IQ stuff is bang on, then.
AF is really fast and accurate at 300mm (without a TC): I didn't get the sense that it's going to get me umpteen images I wouldn't otherwise achieve, but it's better than the 100-400mm, as you'd expect. How much so is open to more testing.
Now then: there are a couple of things I need to come back to...
AF with a TC (I started with my non-reporting Kenko 1.5x, moving later to the reporting Kenko 1.4x) was good, and - I think - better at 450mm/420mm than the 100-400mm, but not night-and-day better (I didn't expect it to be massively better though, so this isn't a problem).
I did however get a couple of Error 01s (Lens/camera communication problem) with the Kenko TCs in the loop - both times when I was waving the lens about trying to keep up with ducking-and-diving gulls and pigeons - which makes me think that the heft of the lens is a bit much for these TCs when things are getting hectic.
No problems with just the camera and lens though, and I've tried to reproduce it back in the house with my Canon 1.4x, and it hasn't happened - I might think about picking up a Sigma 1.4x though. I'll also double check that all the screws on the Kenkos are good and tight, and that the contacts are good and clean.
The only other "revelation" of the day is that while the zoom dial is butter smooth, its placement on the lens (just where your hand is when shooting handheld) means it is very easy to zoom out without realising, and because the "throw" from 300mm down to 120mm is quite short (which is a good thing, of course) I did find unintentionally myself at the wider end once or twice. This isn't helped by the fact that the dial goes clockwise (as you look at it) from wide to full zoom.
I'll get used to it, but I might put an elastic band on the body to make this less likely.
All in all I think I've got a winner here, and I'll give it a proper shake-down at the weekend.
No birds around - or at any rate nothing worth pointing a camera at when the light was so bad that I sometimes struggled to get over 1/100 at 1250 ISO and f/2.8, but some early thoughts pending a proper trip out.
Build quality is stellar - no other way to put it. The lens hood is rather light plastic though, and given the price of a replacement (something like £150!), I'll be taking good care of it!
The image stablilisation is fantastic. I'm a big fan of IS/OS/VR, and although I've always been happy enough with the IS in the 100-400mm, the Siggy's is much, much better - I can completely believe it's 4 stops' worth.
The lens is hefty (at a bit over 6 lbs, twice the weight of the 100-400mm), but it's balanced on the 7D + grip, and definitely "doable" handheld, especially without a TC: it works nicely, suspended from my Op/Tech sling strap with neoprene shoulder pad, and comes to the eye quickly and without any problem. I don't see that using it like this for extended periods in the field will be problematic.
Sharp, sharp, sharp! It's unquestionably sharper than my 100-400mm (which most people seem to regard as a pretty good 'un) by a worthwhile amount: even at f/2.8, the stuff I shot instead of birds is grin-inducingly sharp. I'm very happy about the sharpness.
Contrast and colour are also really nice - definitely different to the 100-400mm, with a "quality" look to them. Liking this very much too.
It probably goes without saying that the bokeh at wider apertures is nice, but I'll say it anyway.
So all the IQ stuff is bang on, then.
AF is really fast and accurate at 300mm (without a TC): I didn't get the sense that it's going to get me umpteen images I wouldn't otherwise achieve, but it's better than the 100-400mm, as you'd expect. How much so is open to more testing.
Now then: there are a couple of things I need to come back to...
AF with a TC (I started with my non-reporting Kenko 1.5x, moving later to the reporting Kenko 1.4x) was good, and - I think - better at 450mm/420mm than the 100-400mm, but not night-and-day better (I didn't expect it to be massively better though, so this isn't a problem).
I did however get a couple of Error 01s (Lens/camera communication problem) with the Kenko TCs in the loop - both times when I was waving the lens about trying to keep up with ducking-and-diving gulls and pigeons - which makes me think that the heft of the lens is a bit much for these TCs when things are getting hectic.
No problems with just the camera and lens though, and I've tried to reproduce it back in the house with my Canon 1.4x, and it hasn't happened - I might think about picking up a Sigma 1.4x though. I'll also double check that all the screws on the Kenkos are good and tight, and that the contacts are good and clean.
The only other "revelation" of the day is that while the zoom dial is butter smooth, its placement on the lens (just where your hand is when shooting handheld) means it is very easy to zoom out without realising, and because the "throw" from 300mm down to 120mm is quite short (which is a good thing, of course) I did find unintentionally myself at the wider end once or twice. This isn't helped by the fact that the dial goes clockwise (as you look at it) from wide to full zoom.
I'll get used to it, but I might put an elastic band on the body to make this less likely.
All in all I think I've got a winner here, and I'll give it a proper shake-down at the weekend.
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