300 f4 + 1.4x or 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 or 400 f/5.6

[Hein]

Hi Guys,

Which of those three setups will be better for birding?? In terms of better sharpness wide open, and better AF....

I would luve a 400 f4, 500 or 600 lens, but those costs a bomb

 

[calvinlo]

Hi Guys,

Which of those three setups will be better for birding?? In terms of better sharpness wide open, and better AF....

I would luve a 400 f4, 500 or 600 lens, but those costs a bomb

What's your maximum budget? Are you aware that Birding ALWAYS costs a bomb, It's only whether its a bigger or smaller one...:bsmilie:

 

[Hein]

What's your maximum budget? Are you aware that Birding ALWAYS costs a bomb, It's only whether its a bigger or smaller one...:bsmilie:

Well, I'm not planning to go far away from the 2k range.. I currently have a 100-400, but it's useless with a 2x, and quite hard to get sharp shots above 300+mm and further than 10m... However, I LOVE the IS... I can take down to below 1/100s when the subject is within 5m away from me, and achieve great results @ around 350mm

Was thinking should I get a 400 prime(without IS), or get a 300mm prime with IS?? I could go to 560mm with the 400 and 420mm with the 300 with a 1.4x convertor, but is it worth?? I'll lose my IS on the 400mm though

 

[Garion]

Well, I'm not planning to go far away from the 2k range.. I currently have a 100-400, but it's useless with a 2x, and quite hard to get sharp shots above 300+mm and further than 10m... However, I LOVE the IS... I can take down to below 1/100s when the subject is within 5m away from me, and achieve great results @ around 350mm

Was thinking should I get a 400 prime(without IS), or get a 300mm prime with IS?? I could go to 560mm with the 400 and 420mm with the 300 with a 1.4x convertor, but is it worth?? I'll lose my IS on the 400mm though

For birds longer is always better, so I will choose the 400/5.6 over the 300 f4. In addition to it being very sharp, you can also add a 1.4x TC to it, with not much loss of sharpness, to give you 560mm. AF can be enabled by taping the last three pins of the TC. (do a google search for it).

 

[longkangman]

You might still need "Better Beamer" Flash Extender.

 

[Hein]

You might still need "Better Beamer" Flash Extender.

True.. Thinking of getting a 580EX II to replace my 420EX; then get the beamer with that, since I believe the beamers are not compatible with different flashes...