Tough decisions......

[TGCorneliussen]

Hi guys and girls,

Wondering if anyone could give me some thoughts on the following. I currently have a 17-40 F4; 24-70 2.8 II; and a 70-200 2.8 II.

I currently have a 600D or T3i i believe in the US (??) and will be upgrading to 5D III at some stage in the next 6 months. I have rented both the 5D III and the 7D II and just find the 5D III better to use for me.

One thing i have realised I will miss on the 5D III is the 260mm equivelant from the 70-200 2.8 II. I often found this was a little short of what i prefered when out and about on crops; and was wondering if anyone could give some advice on the new 100-400 F4.5-5.6 IS II whether if would be worth selling the 70-200 2.8 II to aqcuire the 100-400 II? Similar image quality? I am not talking about all the tests around the web but real world use.

I do not shoot one thing specifically; i tend to pick out interesting areas and shoot what i see. Weight wise i do not have an issue carrying the 70-200 around all day and using it; neither do i have a problem with the size.

Does anyone have both lenses and if so; which do you use more often and why. And if someone has the 85 1.4 as well.

I would consider selling all 3 lenses as I do not have the luxury of keeping all and acquiering more. I love the 24-70 but i use it extremely infrequent when i am looking back at pictures and was thinking about possibly picking up a prime (85 1.4?) as i do not use the 40-70mm area much at all. Tend to use around 80-90 and 135mm + I would get a Samyang 14mm 2.8 for the really wide angle stuff as its only a couple hundred dollars in Norway and I do not shoot at wide angle often.

Appreciate thoughts and comments

 

[beforeEos Camaras]

well are you selling your crop body?

if not use both cameras or if you do buy a 1.4 tele to give you the extra reach on your 70-200 also you can crop in post the 3 lens you current have work well with a full frame.

 

[Kristofgss]

I have been in quite tha same situation as you, I had the 7D and switched to 5D3 but was missing the range for taking pictures of planes and animals on days out. I bought the 1.4 teleconverter which gives you the same range and the 70-200 when stopped down to 5.6 is quite good.
I later bought the 100-400 II and that one is even better, but since all your other lenses are fixed aperture, you'll definitely miss that on the 100-400. And I put the 1.4 on the 100-400 now, so it's a good investment.
When it comes to real world use, nothing beats the 70-200. The 100-400 is nice for tele, but it doesn't have that shallow depth of field for portraits. it's more of a "I want to see the details of what is in the center of my shot" lens, never mind the background.

So having the 100-400, 70-200 and 85, I must say I use the 85 about 70% of the time (portratit and full-body shoots and days out when weight is important). The 70-200 gets about 20% of use. Dedicated shoots outside with fashion and portrait themes and the 100-400 gets the other 10%. when doing airplanes or trips to the zoo. (I'm not including other lenses in this listing)

If you want a cheap option, why not keep your current camera for tele images and your 5D3 for all the other shots?

 

[meywd]

It depends on what you shoot, but instead of replacing the 70-200 with the 100-400 II, you can just add a 1.4xTC or a 2xTC, its not the same quality but I think its close, and you will not lose the 2.8 aperture on the 70-200 range.

 

[Maximilian]

Hi TGCorneliussen!

You already have the 70-200/2.8L IS II and know what you can do with it. Is is an outstanding lens and am sure you'll miss it and it's performance @ f2.8 if you'll sell it for a 100-400.

My recomendation: Keep it and look for another solution:
- keep your crop body
- accept more croping from the 22MP files of the 5D3
- get a 1.4x or 2x TC (the III version because of better AF performance) and you can get 280 mm/f4.0 or 400/f5.6
I would not get both but the one you'd prefer.
The 2x makes the combo very long and nose-heavy. so I would prefer the 1.4x
- save for the 100-400 to get it in addition

I for sure would never sell the 70-200 if I had it.

 

[Random Orbits]

If a maximum f/4.5-5.6 aperture is good enough for your needs, then make the switch to the 100-400L II. The 70-200 II focuses a bit faster and more accurately (able to use the f/2.8 AF points), but the 100-400L II still performs very well. I used to use the 70-200 II exclusively when shooting sports, but now with the 100-400L II, I switch lenses depending on which focal length I want to cover. On larger fields, I'll use the 100-400; on smaller fields the 70-200. The 70-200 is a better portrait lens and can be used indoors/dimmer settings because of its larger aperture.

The 70-200 + TCs used to get close to the original 100-400L, but the newer 100-400 version is significantly better.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I have the 70-200 and the 100-400. I would not keep one over the other. They both take very sharp images, but are also for different situations.

 

[TGCorneliussen]

many thanks for the opinions...unfortunately i do not have the luxury of having too many lensen (nor the funds with growing kids XD)....but i will keep the 70-200 and sell the other 2 and acquire the 85 1.2 and samyang 14 2.8.

hoping the 5D III goes down a little in christmas. Or maybe ill 'accidentaly' order the 100-400 II XD. can already see the Mrs comments there 0.0

 

[meywd]

many thanks for the opinions...unfortunately i do not have the luxury of having too many lensen (nor the funds with growing kids XD)....but i will keep the 70-200 and sell the other 2 and acquire the 85 1.2 and samyang 14 2.8.

hoping the 5D III goes down a little in christmas. Or maybe ill 'accidentaly' order the 100-400 II XD. can already see the Mrs comments there 0.0

Again, it depends on what you shoot, but I guess you will miss the 17-70 range, 14mm is too wide for most things, though I understand wanting the 85L, I want that lens too, and I want the 100-400 II, if I had the budget I would get both as well, but if I had the 24-70 II I wouldn't sell it, unless you have the kit lens with the 600D, but of course you will lose sharpness, IQ, and low light capabilities, sorry I am not making this easier, but its really a tough decision.