Should i buy the 100-400 L or the 70-300 L canon lens?

[Spiritflier]

...as a general all-rounder I think the 70-300L is pick of the bunch.

I have both lenses and the Kenko DGX 1.4x... If I need reach above all else, I'll put the 100-400 on the 7D with the teleconverter when needed.

If a bit of reach is needed but IQ is paramount, the 70-300L goes on the 5DMKII.

 

[hollis_f]

Got a price of £130 for the DGX one from Lce earlier today so i might get that soon then thanks,

Would be great to see some comparison shots if you could find them cheers.

Before you splash out £130 on a TC that will only disappoint you -

Ask for some demo shots showing a sequence of images from a fast-moving car (as you want to shoot motorsport).

 

[winky]

One thing i have noticed is that most sites ive seen it for sale on says that it comes with a hood and carry case/bag.
Im not so bothered about the case but would very much appreciate the hood to be included with a lens this price.
The jessops site doesnt mention this though, has anyone on here bought this lens from them and know if it was included in the box?

hi Ben
I bought a 100-400L lens from Jessops last year and it came with hood and case.

 

[andyred]

Firstly thanks for the advice guys ive actually just bought the 70-300L today and i love it, its an absolutey brilliant bit of kit!.

Hi Ben

How are you finding the 70-300L ?

How is the AF on it compared to the 70-300IS ?

A

 

[Ben6]

Hi Ben

How are you finding the 70-300L ?

How is the AF on it compared to the 70-300IS ?

A

Its great! Much sharper than the is usm at 300mm.
The AF seems much faster, my old lens used to have to search quite a bit compared to the L.
Definatley a big upgrade.

 

[andyred]

Its great! Much sharper than the is usm at 300mm.
The AF seems much faster, my old lens used to have to search quite a bit compared to the L.
Definatley a big upgrade.

Thats good news

 

[downs523]

Trying to decide on the 70-300L and the 70-200 f4 L. Did you use it at silverstone? Was it enough reach? I'm going next year and don't want to fall short with a 70-200. Post some pics

 

[HoppyUK]

Trying to decide on the 70-300L and the 70-200 f4 L. Did you use it at silverstone? Was it enough reach? I'm going next year and don't want to fall short with a 70-200. Post some pics

You will. Unless you have trackside access, it's hard to have too much reach at Silverstone.

 

[Ben6]

Trying to decide on the 70-300L and the 70-200 f4 L. Did you use it at silverstone? Was it enough reach? I'm going next year and don't want to fall short with a 70-200. Post some pics

That's definatley another option that I should have concidered
I did take it to silverstone though and found it to be brilliant,
I was between 200mm and 300mm all day though and that was on beckets corner which I think is one of the closer ones.
If money allowed I might have looked at the 70-200 f2.8 with a 2x tc, you have a fast lens at 2.8 then but also the option to go upto 400mm when needed.
Try the F4 with a 1.4x tc and see how that feels, it will cost more than the 70-300 though.
When first posting this thread I had a few replies saying that there's quite a few people not switching their 70-200's for a 70-300 so that must be saying something as the 200's got an amazing reputation.

Hope I've helped in your decision,

Will try to post pics tonight if I get a few mins to spare.

 

[Orville]

The 70-200mm F/4 IS is a very nice lens (one of my all time favorites), but mine did not work well with a 1.4x TC, so 200mm was the limiting factor. The 100-400L is also a nice lens, but it's optical quality cannot match either the 70-200 f/4 or the 70-300L. I found that upscaling images from my 70-300L @ 300mm to 400mm were almost as good as my 100-400L @ 400mm. My 100-400L was always soft between 350-400, but the 70-300L is sharp throughout. The 70-300L is easier to carry than the 100-400, yet just as sharp as my 70-200 was. Focus speed and build quality was excellent foe all three.

With the 100-400 limited by merely good IQ, and the 70-200 being too short, the 70-300L has become my favorite zoom. My 70-300 has now replaced both of these lenses, meaning I can now carry one medium-big zoom instead of two.

If I could only own two lenses on my crop 7D, the 70-300L would be one and the other would be the 17-55 F/2.8 IS. For my old FF 5D I would have chosen the 70-300L and 24-70 F/2.8. My 70-200 F/4 IS would be next choice, if I had never owned the 70-300L. I never really grew to love the 100-400, although it was pretty competent.

 

[Ben6]

A Pic from silverstone with the 70-300L, my first pic posted on tp, c&c welcome. The AF struggled alot with the metal fences that i was shooting through and the odd shot looks a little soft because of it but this one doesnt seem to suffer from that.

 

[Mark2703]

Thanks for posting the pic Ben, I am going through the same process you did ATM and it has helped a lot

 

[downs523]

nice pic mate, hopefully i will not have the metal fence issue next year as i have Club corner grandstand tickets row A. yeah!!!

 

[Ben6]

Thanks for posting the pic Ben, I am going through the same process you did ATM and it has helped a lot

No problem mate, if i can help anymore just let me know.

 

[Ben6]

nice pic mate, hopefully i will not have the metal fence issue next year as i have Club corner grandstand tickets row A. yeah!!!

Cheers mate .
Nice one! I'd love tickets like that. Hopefully gonna book Monaco next year or maybe the New York GP if it happens.

 

[downs523]

Cheers mate .
Nice one! I'd love tickets like that. Hopefully gonna book Monaco next year or maybe the New York GP if it happens.

yeah it was an impulse buy, bought tickets for me and my old man so he is happy!! gonna be camping so hopefully no rain!!

would love to go monaco GP!!