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Nearly made my mind up, Need help though? (1 Viewer)

S

SheffBirdingSam

Active member
Hello all.

I can happily tell you that i have made my mind up about getting the correct lens. I am going to for a Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM lens. I had a go with one the other day and it was amazing, quick, light, and amazing IQ.

The part i am stuck on now is the camera bit.
I posted a thread earlier in the month about the 1D models but still cant make my mind up.
My dilemma is between the Canon eos 7D, Canon eos 1D III and the Canon eos IV(this will take a long time to save). I have read lots of reviews on them all.

My options are;
A canon 40D and buy a Canon 1d III or IV?
or
A canon 40d and buy a 7D?
or
A canon 7D and mark III?

From what i have seen from all the professionals they all seem to have the 1d's.

I am very stuck. Anyway help very grateful.
Sorry if you think i am repeating some of my threads i am just dealing with a of money and need to make the correct decision.

One last question? Which out of the above copes better with low light conditions?

Kind Regards,
Sam Winslow.
 
I am confused. What options are you talking about because you seem to be buying two cameras??

Options are normally A or B or C. Not A+B or B+C. You would normally only have one camera body?

If you can afford two, then maybe you should just put all your money into one?


M.
 
If you can afford it get a 1D Mk4...................

I'm also a bit confused as to why you want 2 bodies? If you do want 2 I'd get a new 7D as one and a s/h 1D as another but to be honest it'd be better to spend more on the lenses unless you have a compelling need for 2 bodies.
 
Since getting the 7d my mk3 stays at home and does the studio work,i think the 7d is the best birding camera out there .
Rob.
 
I'd say go for a 7D now unless you have to save for a long time to afford it - if so then the 40D is a very respectable and good quality body that many here used (and still use) for birding.
Also I'd be after something like a 300mm f2.8 or a 500mm f4 instead of the 1DMIV first - sure the body is fantastic, but the glass is outstanding and will last far longer :)
 
If mainly for birding I would advise on the 7d.

Having owned a 1D mk3, In my opinion the 1D range don't warrant the huge price increase.
 
Hi Sam,
Pleased you decided on your lens, the 400 prime is a cracker for birding and you wont be disappointed with the speed or quality. Good choice!
First, all the cameras you are considering are great and will give you excellent results with your lens.
Choice, depends how much you have to spend really.
40D and 7D give similar image quality results but 7D has better screen, more focusing points and higher resolution (more pixel density)
The 1D series are the ultimate in Image Quality and has all the top of the range features used by pros.
I have a 40D and its just great for my needs.

My advice,
If you aint got much cash, buy a 40D second hand for about 400 quid now, get out there and start enjoying your lens. Then, if you can save a bit you can always trade it in for a 7D latter (7D's are pretty new and will soon come down in price, also few available second hand at the moment, but in a few years..)

Whilst the 1D is a full-frame sensor camera, consider that 40D and 7D are cropped sensor cameras. This effectively increases the focal length of the lens by x1.6 (handy extra reach for shooting wildlife!)
however,
If you are ever going to use your lens with a x1.4 teleconverter you will loose autofocus on the 40D and 7D but you would maintain autofocus with any 1D series body.

Hope my ramblings help.

Paul

PS: all pretty good cameras in low light, but the 1D series will beat the cropped sensor models easily in this respect.
 
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Actually Paul the 1D series bodies are cropped as well but they are only 1.3x crops. 1Ds bodies are the FF ones.

I'll make this same point that I've made before. As I see it both the 7D and 1D's are very good all rounders but for static birds and portraiture style work the 7D is a superior tool over 1D bodies. For action and BIF's it's the reverse.

Consider which it is that you think may be more important to you and it should help with your answer.
 
Paul125 said:
If you are ever going to use your lens with a x1.4 teleconverter you will loose autofocus on the 40D and 7D but you would maintain autofocus with any 1D series body.
Click to expand...

I have the 7d and sometimes use a Kenko 1.4x Teleplus MC4 converter; I have functioning af with this (as it is non-reporting).
 
Binocularface,
With what lens?
Do you get autofocus with the 400mm f5.6 prime that Sam has? If so fine.
But, and its a BIG but, the 7D isnt designed to autofocus with lenses slower than f5.6 so if it does autofocus with this lens and a converter (via none reporting or the infamous tape the pins trick) it will not perform very well and in poorer light or for birds in flight, it simply will not focus accurately or fast enough and will often hunt.
In fact, i'd be suprised if just shooting without the converter then taking a larger crop on your PC in processing wouldn't produce an overall superior image.
In my opinion this camera and lens (7D and 400mm f5.6) are an awesome combination for birding. I dont understand why you'd turn your white stallion into a dull mule for a for a bit of extra reach.
Paul
 
Hi Paul, you could get the 40D try it if you dont like have as a second body and try for another one 1D or so, l satarted with a sony 230, with 18-55, then a sony 450 with 70-300, and now a sony 55v with 150-500 sigma, save getting the censor dirty if lens stays on plus a little canon point and shoot, really thats all you want, my mate has just got a pan tz10 and he leaves all his dslr at home and takes that out Rick Ward
 
Paul125,
I just yesterday acquired a 400mm f5.6L. My camera is a T1i/500D. With the Kenko1.4x Teleplus MC4 DGX I get autofocus and the Exif data reads f8.0 as the wide open aperture.. This was testing indoors in living room lighting. Haven't tried it on birds yet.
Also tried a 2x converter, but the autofocus just hunted.
 
jimthomson said:
Paul125,
I just yesterday acquired a 400mm f5.6L. My camera is a T1i/500D. With the Kenko1.4x Teleplus MC4 DGX I get autofocus and the Exif data reads f8.0 as the wide open aperture.. This was testing indoors in living room lighting. Haven't tried it on birds yet.
Also tried a 2x converter, but the autofocus just hunted.
Click to expand...

I'd be interested to see what the image quality is like with this setup. Also, how is the autofocus affected? I have the 400 f5.6 and a XSi/450d, so I'd be interested in this as an possible option to get more reach.
 
jimthomson said:
With the Kenko1.4x Teleplus MC4 DGX I get autofocus and the Exif data reads f8.0 as the wide open aperture.
Click to expand...
That's very strange, the MC4 is a non reporting tc which is why the Camera will attempt to AF (similar to taping the pins on a reporting tc). If the Camera actually sees f8 as the wide open aperture I find it bizarre that it will attempt to AF. I have a non reporting teleplus MC7 and the Camera cannot see that one ( thus it will attempt to AF).
I would fully expect the combo to attempt to AF with the MC4 but are you sure the Camera is reporting a wide open aperture of f8?
 
Roy C.

I just did some testing.
The 1.4x converter is a KenkoTeleplus MC4 DGX
The 2x converter is a Bower MC

On the 400mm F5.6L the 2x shows a 5.6 aperture and hunts, the 1.4 shows an 8.0 aperture in the view finder and EXIF data of F8.0 at 560mm focal length and it autofocuses

On a Sigma 150-500 the lens is 5.0 at 150, 6.3 at 500. with the 1.4x installed the camera shows 7.1 at 150 and 9.0 at 500. The lens autofocuses from 150 to about 250mm while the f is 7.1 or 8.0. When the f increase to 9.0 the autofocus hunts.

The literature that comes with the 1.4x converter says that it will autofocus a prime lens with an f 5.6 aperture and that with a zoom lens it may need to be focused manually at f 5.6.
 
Last edited:
jimthomson said:
Roy C.
I just did some testing.
The 1.4x converter is a KenkoTeleplus MC4 DGX
On the 400mm F5.6L the 2x shows a 5.6 aperture and hunts, the 1.4 shows an 8.0 aperture in the view finder and EXIF data of F8.0 at 560mm focal length and it autofocuses
Click to expand...
I understand that it will attempt to AF with the 1.4tc because it is a non reporting tc but I am astounded that the widest aperture you can dial in with the 400/5.6 is f8 - this would mean that the Camera is seeing the converter and if that is the case then it is very strange that the Camera will even attempt to AF. Non 1 series Cameras are designed to automatically switch off AF if the widest aperture is above f5.6.
Although you say you can see f8 in the view finder have you physically tried to dial-in f5.6?
Mind you if the EXIF shows 560mm then the Camera must be picking up the converter.
The whole world has been waiting for Canon to produce a non 1 series Camera that will AF at f8 and it seems like you have got one!!!!!!!!!!

EDIT: I have just been reading about this converter and it seems to it does indeed communicate with the Camera in some respects - I am guessing that it must have some sort of clever circuitry that add a stop to display the correct effective focal lengths in your viewfinder (and EXIF) while still fooling the Camera into thinking it is f5.6 - must admit I have never heard of this before, is this a fairly new product
 
Last edited:
Must admit that I'm starting to think about checking one of these TCs out - Roy's conclusion about how it functions is the only one I think makes sense.
 
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