Good telephoto option for birds.

[KKCFamilyman]

Recently I have been interested in taking shots of birds but when you stop at 200mm on ff. your limited. Any suggestions?

I grabbed a 100-400 from a friend. I don't think its that great of a lens. Just seems like my 70-200 2.8 iiis way sharper. Anyway considering 1.4 ext, 2.0 ext, 70-300l or open to other suggestions. Beyond this use I don't see much use for that range with the exception of my kids in the summer running around. One other thought was a crop body with my kit even though the iq will not be as nice. Here is an example of what I'm going after with lots of cropping. The last one was with the 100-400l at 400mm

[neuroanatomist]

The 100-400 is not as sharp as the bare 70-200 II - but then, very few zoom lenses are.  My 100-400 is slightly sharper than my 70-200 II + 2xIII.  If you didn't already have the 70-200 II, the 100-400 would be a good choice (if you found the one you borrowed soft, it might be a copy issue or need AFMA).  But you'd do fine with the 2xIII on the 70-200 II.

[KKCFamilyman]

The 100-400 is not as sharp as the bare 70-200 II - but then, very few zoom lenses are.  My 100-400 is slightly sharper than my 70-200 II + 2xIII.  If you didn't already have the 70-200 II, the 100-400 would be a good choice (if you found the one you borrowed soft, it might be a copy issue or need AFMA).  But you'd do fine with the 2xIII on the 70-200 II.

Ok so you would recommend the 2x over the 1.4 for wildlife? Just curious. That sounds more economical. I still want to get a 35mml or sigma 35 1.4 later this year and that would be easier to swallow. Do you by chance have an iq sample with/wo the 2.0 you could post?

[neuroanatomist]

Not on my iPhone...     The ISO 12233 crops at TDP will show the differences.

[KKCFamilyman]

Not on my iPhone...     The ISO 12233 crops at TDP will show the differences.

Ok ill take a look thanks.

[wickidwombat]

The 100-400 is not as sharp as the bare 70-200 II - but then, very few zoom lenses are.  My 100-400 is slightly sharper than my 70-200 II + 2xIII.  If you didn't already have the 70-200 II, the 100-400 would be a good choice (if you found the one you borrowed soft, it might be a copy issue or need AFMA).  But you'd do fine with the 2xIII on the 70-200 II.

Ok so you would recommend the 2x over the 1.4 for wildlife? Just curious. That sounds more economical. I still want to get a 35mml or sigma 35 1.4 later this year and that would be easier to swallow. Do you by chance have an iq sample with/wo the 2.0 you could post?

on the 70-200 f2.8L II which you have the 2x Cannon mk3 TC would give you the best bang for your buck and mean not carrying around more glass, the 70-200 is one of the lenses hat the 2x works pretty well on
while the 1.4 will give a bit more reach and a bit better IQ

I have the kenko 1.4TC so i can use it on other lenses and I have the 2x canon which i only use on the 70-200 or the 300f4L even on the 300f4L the 2x is not too bad especially considering it gives you 600mm f8 which currently is fine on my 1D but come april or whenever the 5Dmk3 firmware comes out it will work on that combo which is great

have a look at my EOS-M reviews there are a bunch of samples in there with my FD600 f4.5 and the kenko 1.4 and the canon 2x
http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=10762.0
edit added link

[Dylan777]

I'm glad you keeping your gear

[alan_k]

I have the 70-300L and it certainly works well for birds, although you'll always be cropping. Unless you are looking for something lighter than your 70-200/2.8, you'd likely be better off with that + one of the TCs.  Or skip the TCs and get the 400/5.6.

[KKCFamilyman]

I'm glad you keeping your gear

Thanks I guess asking for advice but never following is useless. I decided to take everyone's advice and just keep it.

[Dylan777]

I'm glad you keeping your gear

Thanks I guess asking for advice but never following is useless. I decided to take everyone's advice and just keep it.

I think you made a right decision...to keep your gear. You have Canon top gear in your bag. Many shooters outer are dying to have your gear

I'm not sure if this will make you feel better or not, I just spent $2800 on a tiny Sony RX1. This will be my travel camera to China & Hong Kong. I love night scenses in Hong Kong, so much colors to capture. I was thinking about the up coming Fuji x100s, but I'm not sure about the crop sensor for night time shooting.  At the end, I ordered a RX1. Can't wait........

[KKCFamilyman]

I'm glad you keeping your gear

Thanks I guess asking for advice but never following is useless. I decided to take everyone's advice and just keep it.

I think you made a right decision...to keep your gear. You have Canon top gear in your bag. Many shooters outer are dying to have your gear

I'm not sure if this will make you feel better or not, I just spent $2800 on a tiny Sony RX1. This will be my travel camera to China & Hong Kong. I love night scenses in Hong Kong, so much colors to capture. I was thinking about the up coming Fuji x100s, but I'm not sure about the crop sensor for night time shooting.  At the end, I ordered a RX1. Can't wait........

Sounds cool keep me postes on the results.

[utmoab]

To get more reach and still mantaining a wide aperture, The Sigma 120-300 may also be a good option.
It is less expensive than a canon 300 f2.8 and with the new OS version coming soon, the first OS version can be bought for a good price (around 3000$, new). This lens is considered to have a good IO, close to the one of a Canon 300 f2.8

[John Strung]

I have the 100-400 which I use mainly for birding and am quite happy with it. You can check out my bird pictures here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdstrung/sets/72157628610820833/

Most were shot with the 100-400. All have post-process sharpening.

Another good place to go to see the kinds of shots people are getting with the 100-400 is the Flickr Canon 100-400 group:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/100-400l/

[John Strung]

By the way, here are some tips for shooting birds in flight:

1. You need a shutter speed of 1,000th for large birds, 1,250th to 1,600th for smaller birds.
2. Shoot in the M setting. Autoexposure is not fast enough for shooting birds in flight and more often then not exposes on the background, not the bird. Furthermore, using autoexposure slows down the autofocus. On a bright day start with 1,000th at f8 at ISO 800. Take a few practice shots and adjust the exposure as needed.
2. Set the AutoFocus to AI Servo and Zone AF.
3. Set the shutter drive mode to High Speed Continuous.

Its not a bad idea to save these settings as one of your Camera User Settings. I use C3 for the above settings.

Also, when shooting bird in flight either set the IS to 2, or turn it off altogether.

[John Strung]

P.S., on my bird photos on my Flickr site, you can find out what lens I was using and what exposure by pulling down the Actions popup just above the top left corner of the photo to EXIF. This works with most photos on most Flickr sites.