400 2.8 vs 200-400 4.0 1.4

[eml58]

1st Cheetah Kill, Serengeti near the Grameti River, don't think this Lady was doing much more than 70-80Kph, so still had a gear in reserve, This mother Killed every single Day as she had 3 Cubs around 18 Months Old she was teaching & feeding as well as her self, Mothers, where would we all be without them.

1Dx 200-400, shot @ 560mm f/5.6 & 1/1600th ISO800

Superb shots eml58 and I mean all of them.

Did you try out the 200-400 with the 2XII?

Hi JR, I did Yes, not too impressed, you loose auto focus as soon as you fit the 2x converter, with just the 2x converter on 400, Ok, not bad but not great, about what I get on the 300/400/600 with a 2x converter, but if you enable the built in 1.4x plus the 2x it's not a pretty picture, usable yes, but not great. The built in 1.4x dropped in is about as much as I would like to use on this Lens, it's clearly built to provide best Images this way, and it really does work a treat.

After using this set up it makes me wonder why Canon don't build this 1.4x converter this way as an attachment to the other Long Whites, if they charged 3 times the price of the current converter I'de buy it just to use with the 300/400 & 600, in place all the time & just slot it into place as you require it.

 

[eml58]

Being an Aussie who grew up on a Farm I always thought Sheep were the Dumbest thing on the Planet, now I know it's actually wildebeest, these Guys would stand 1 meter from a roaring fire on the Serengeti Plains, and keep munching grass until they started to smoke.

Large Grass Fires presented a unique opportunity to see how the wildlife were reacting in front of the burn, amazing stuff.

1Dx 200-400f/4, shot @ 232mm f/4 1/125th Iso1600

Some really nice shots Eml, enjoy your new toy and your trip.

Doing both Thanks Darlip

 

[eml58]

1st Cheetah Kill, Serengeti near the Grameti River, don't think this Lady was doing much more than 70-80Kph, so still had a gear in reserve, This mother Killed every single Day as she had 3 Cubs around 18 Months Old she was teaching & feeding as well as her self, Mothers, where would we all be without them.

1Dx 200-400, shot @ 560mm f/5.6 & 1/1600th ISO800

eml58....I LOVEEEEEEEEEE this photo. Look forward to see more of your photos in the future

Thanks Dylan777, I'll post more on the 1Dx side when I get home in around 2 weeks, currently waiting to Fly out to Sand River area South Africa, back to the Leopard Country, cant keep away.

 

[CarlTN]

1st Cheetah Kill, Serengeti near the Grameti River, don't think this Lady was doing much more than 70-80Kph, so still had a gear in reserve, This mother Killed every single Day as she had 3 Cubs around 18 Months Old she was teaching & feeding as well as her self, Mothers, where would we all be without them.

1Dx 200-400, shot @ 560mm f/5.6 & 1/1600th ISO800

I too like this one. How much of the image is cropped, if any?

 

[bdunbar79]

Another issue is that the photogs for SI and people like Peter Read Miller can shoot at f/4. They are allowed to bring in portable lighting, and strobes, and really whatever they want with as many people as they want placing the lighting and strobes. And I'm not making this up, I know how this works from speaking with photogs from SI the The SN. I won't speak for everyone, but I can't. I'm not allowed to do so. So I can't shoot at f/4 indoors or night outdoors. Why do some want to tell everyone else what is best for them and what should work for them? If I shot for SI or Sporting News, or whatever, I'd have the zoom lens already in my possession. But I don't get those luxuries so I use my f/2.8 primes and even f/2 primes. So again, it really hasn't anything to do with AF speed, but rather aperture, FOR ME. The 1Dx takes care of any AF speed issues.

 

[eml58]

1st Cheetah Kill, Serengeti near the Grameti River, don't think this Lady was doing much more than 70-80Kph, so still had a gear in reserve, This mother Killed every single Day as she had 3 Cubs around 18 Months Old she was teaching & feeding as well as her self, Mothers, where would we all be without them.

1Dx 200-400, shot @ 560mm f/5.6 & 1/1600th ISO800

I too like this one. How much of the image is cropped, if any?

Hi CarlTN, Cropped top & bottom only to give the Image more length, overall perhaps 10% of the Image has been cropped, most of my shots of this Kill included only the Cheetah, at 12 fps the sequence still only included the victim in 3 frames, that's how fast the Cheetah was moving, the Thomson's Gazelle was doomed the moment the Mother Cheetah decided he was on the Menu. Once she Killed she stepped back and kept a look out for Lions & Hyenas while her 3 Cubs fed, only when they were filled did she then feed herself, remarkable Animal Behaviour.

 

[Hobby Shooter]

Being an Aussie who grew up on a Farm I always thought Sheep were the Dumbest thing on the Planet, now I know it's actually wildebeest, these Guys would stand 1 meter from a roaring fire on the Serengeti Plains, and keep munching grass until they started to smoke.

Large Grass Fires presented a unique opportunity to see how the wildlife were reacting in front of the burn, amazing stuff.

1Dx 200-400f/4, shot @ 232mm f/4 1/125th Iso1600

I always thought the moose were the dumbest animals, but this has me doubt that ;D

As always fantastic pictures from you. All of them!

 

[CarlTN]

1st Cheetah Kill, Serengeti near the Grameti River, don't think this Lady was doing much more than 70-80Kph, so still had a gear in reserve, This mother Killed every single Day as she had 3 Cubs around 18 Months Old she was teaching & feeding as well as her self, Mothers, where would we all be without them.

1Dx 200-400, shot @ 560mm f/5.6 & 1/1600th ISO800

I too like this one. How much of the image is cropped, if any?

Hi CarlTN, Cropped top & bottom only to give the Image more length, overall perhaps 10% of the Image has been cropped, most of my shots of this Kill included only the Cheetah, at 12 fps the sequence still only included the victim in 3 frames, that's how fast the Cheetah was moving, the Thomson's Gazelle was doomed the moment the Mother Cheetah decided he was on the Menu. Once she Killed she stepped back and kept a look out for Lions & Hyenas while her 3 Cubs fed, only when they were filled did she then feed herself, remarkable Animal Behaviour.

Thank you, and that's a nice story. I've seen cheetahs on the various animal channels. On Nat Geo Wild, they aired a show done by two brothers (can't think of them right now), shot a few years ago. They were on the Serengeti. The mother cheetah climbed on top of their truck to watch her cubs play.