Canon mki v mkii 70-200 f2.8 (1 Viewer)

Has anyone got experience or thoughts regarding the main difference between old & newish 70-200 f2.8 lens/lense?
My birding has taken a twist regarding photography (alot of walking)
So before i sell 300 2.8 mki & 500 f4 mki i will need to feel comfy with new lens..crikey this is the awkward bit on what to choose..how many times this "crops" up..so far im in a quandry as to go for 400 f5.6 or 200 f2.8 with 2x on..
If i even considered Tamron new long lens or Sigma or Canon 100-400 old or new or 300 f4 with 1.4x by the time i decided all the birds would of flown..
So main question is..whats the main difference in old & newish 70-200 f2.8 is?
Happy new year everyone

Has anyone got an opinion or experience of 70-200 l is ii f2.8 used with a 2x as a birding lense?

south banker said:

Has anyone got an opinion or experience of 70-200 l is ii f2.8 used with a 2x as a birding lense?

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I have !
Used with FX bodies 5D3 or 1DX .
It's a cracking lens but even with the 2.0x is too short for all but the closest of opportunities but that's not to say I haven't captured one or two acceptable (IMO) images using it.
I found AF to be pretty hot and the image sharp.
In the Tree Sparrow shot, the bird was probably only 15-20 feet away but a 60% crop shows pretty good detail. Anything a bit further away and you are not likely to have much other than record shots of small birds although with the 7D2 it might be a different proposition altogether with the extra crop factor.
A cheaper combination is the 400mm f5.6 with the 1.4TC that would give more reach but would lack the advantages and flexibility that the zoom gives you ( and you would have to use it with a 7d2,5D3 or 1Dx to AF at f8).
Wide open the 70-200 produces lovely portraits and a nice bokeh, as well as being perfect for larger animals on safari, or sports shots. It will even work well as a macro lens as the minimum focus distance is fairly short too.

south banker said:

Has anyone got an opinion or experience of 70-200 l is ii f2.8 used with a 2x as a birding lense?

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I've occasionally used this combination. I thought I'd taken some bird pics with it but all I could find was this shot, a 70% crop, which from my notes I was happy with:



Apart from the flexibility of the 140-400mm zoom when so set up, it will AF on most Canon DSLRs (rather than the 400mm f/5.6 + 1.4x C which wont AF on anything but 1 series or a 5DIII). The 70-200mm also has the benefit of a great IS system, something I've often wished for on the 400mm f/5.6. You can get away with some really slow speeds and still retain sharpness when using it.
I've done more with the 70-200mm fitted with the 1.4xTC, which has great resolution for close birds, these were taken with that combination: