Which lens would you go for ?

[MeadsMan]

Hello All, I maybe in a position to have a bit of a spend up soon,I really would like a longer and hopefully better quality lens,than the one I have.{A Canon 75-300 mm usm 111 } . The camera body I currently use is a 400D,I wont be upgrading that for a few years.I am thinking along these lines.The Canon 100 -400 F5.6 zoom,nicknamed the pump I believe,It sounds like a nice lens,is there two versions of this lens ? I was also wondering about Canons 400mm f5.6 prime lens,will this focus close enough on small tits ect to get a full frame image ,without a need to crop ? I have heard only good things about this lens regarding sharpness.Another lens I am considering is Sigmas 500mm zoom,The nicknamed Bigma,there are two versions of this it seems,which is the better,is only one of them an APO ? At f 6.3 it sounds a bit slow aperture wise,I am not mad on going above a 400 iso setting.I do do a lot of stalking work,I am likely to place the chosen lens on a mono pod most of the time.I believe all the lenses mentioned so far fall into the £6 to 800 bracket ? My last choice,not impossible...but if I am honest a little unlikely,is the Sigma 120-300 2.8,I love the sound of this lens,it would seem very versatile.I would most likey add the 1.4 and 2 x converters to this,wich in pheory would give me three fast telephoto lenses,which all in there prime version are far far out of my price bracket.What concerns me with the sigmas,are they going to be up to simular if not as good standards as Canons own lenses ? And of course adding the converters to the 120 to 300,we know will reduce quality some.I would like to hear your opinions.With thanks Mark.

[GerryNick2]

All of the lenses you mention would be a very good choice. To narrow it down you need to decide whether you want the versatility of a zoom or the enhanced image quality you are likely to get from a prime lense.

I have the Canon 100-400mm and find this is a very good all purpose walkabout lens and the IS is certainly a boon for hand held shots, add a 1.4x tc and it gives you a 560mm equivalent which is ideal for small birds.

The Canon 400mm f5.6 is an excellent lense by all accounts, you only have to look at the images in the Gallery produced by this lens. I am tempted to get one myself but have been holding out in case they bring out an updated version with IS.

You will be lucky to get a full frame shot of small birds with any of the mentoned lenses unless you can get very close, so cropping will be necessary.

Gerry

[willing to learn]

I am pretty much a novice, I brought the "pump" had it about mid Jan I am still learning and exploring the capabilty of this lens with my 400d up todate been pretty pleased with it. Pleased that I can still get half decent pics in poor light where the 100-300 seems to need optimum conditions.
Regards
Colin

[Jon]

If you want flexibility and quality Canon 100-400f 5.6L, if you only need 400 mm then canon 400mm f 5.6, if you have money then consider the canon 400f 2.8 (this is real money! but you get what you pay for.)
If you are on a budget and need 500mm then sigma have a new Bigma . f you have the cash 500mm f4 canon.
Jon

[galanthus]

Originally Posted by GerryNick2

The Canon 400mm f5.6 is an excellent lense by all accounts, you only have to look at the images in the Gallery produced by this lens. I am tempted to get one myself but have been holding out in case they bring out an updated version with IS.


Gerry

I think that I too am going to wait on a prime 400mm with IS, not too long hopefully as the 400 without IS has been around a fair while

[MeadsMan]

I was under the impression the 400mm Prime had a minimum focus distance of around 20 ft,I can often get around 20 ft or closer to a lot of small birds,as I tend to go to places that are very populated,with all the new housing going up,everyone goes to the small patches of green that are left,to walk there dogs and look at wild life ect.As mentioned elsewhere,there is little point of image stabalisers if your shutter speed is going to drop below,what will freeze the movement of your chosen subject.I have plenty of photos with that artistic blur allready Also using a mono pod should at least let me drop down two shutter speed settings,less than hand holding right ? As you may have read elsewhere I havn`t been over impressed with the results of My 300 mm zoom,It`s a bit of a make or break time,I wont be in a position to spend big again for a long time,It`s why I am tempted to go for the sigma 120 to 300 f2.8,the faster aperture will give higher shutter speeds,even with the converters,they still make for faster lenses,that don`t cost thousands,though generally speaking,it`s going to cost me around an extra £1000 compared to the other lenses I mentioned,and I am fairly certain the Misses wont be chuffed when I mention the cost of it Do the sigma lenses generally work well with canons AF system ?

[GerryNick2]

Originally Posted by MeadsMan

I was under the impression the 400mm Prime had a minimum focus distance of around 20 ft

Think you will find the Canon EF 400mm f5.6 has a closest focusing distance of: 3.5m / 11.5ft.

Gerry

[MeadsMan]

Well 11 ft would be pushing my luck I guess

[willing to learn]

The pump has a minimum focal lenght of 1.8 metres. I guess around 6 foot
Regards
Colin

[MeadsMan]

Thanks Colin,the zooms all tend to focus closer,it`s another feather in there cap over a prime.