50d and sig 150-500 or 7d and 70-200 2.8 x2 conv

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Hi peeps

Bit of a mouthful for a title but basically i have about £1500 for a cropper and to get a lens to give me between 400-500 at the long end.

I already have a 70-200 2.8L non i.s so could go for a convertor for a bit of static nature work(no bif), i may even be o.k with a 1.4x as it would only be the odd bit of birding,zoo or moon shooting. This way i could go 7d...

Or i could go 50d and 150-500, i gain the i.s but not sure if id gain much IQ compared to the x2 seeing as both would need stopping down to between 8-11 to gain some sharpness.Again the x1.4 could be long enough as i use FF at the mo so i dont have the percieved magnification of a new crop body either. I imagine the 70-200 plus 1.4 would be sharper than the 150-500 even when wide open.

I also have a tripod so I.S isnt essential for the occasional stuff.

Any thoughts?

thanks for any feedback.:thumbs:
 
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Why not buy used where i would guess you could get the 7D and the Sigma 150-500 ?
 
If you put a 2x converter on your 70-200mm you will be dissapointed.

I tried one on my IS version and sharpness was frankly terrible - not to mention AF speed reduction.
 
Thanks peeps, looks like the 2x is out of the question then.

Was looking at used so that is another option although i havent had much luck with second hand historically.There is one for sale on here im just a tad too far away but might have to take a road trip.

cheers all Tony
 
Why not broaden things and get a 7D and 100-400L?
That covers all bases and still leaves you with your 2.8.
 
Would do but budget just wont stretch unfortunately plus the long lens probably wont get a huge amount of use compared to my other lenses. I just have a hole in my lens line up for days out and nature over 200mm. 100-400 would be stellar but not sure it would be economical for me considering the use it might get.
Its really a case of having something that is reasonable for hobby use i can go to rather than nothing at all. Might sound a bit tight and wont give me that L factor but needs must as they say.
thanks for your help peeps
 
What camera do you have already?

As you mentioned the 150-500mm would give you the reach, however, slow autofocus, soft wide open and f6.3 so as suggested would need to be stopped down to sharpen up the images, so needs good light to get the best out of it.

On the other hand its a cheap way of achieving 500mm for less than £1000

Another question is, do you need a zoom? are the majority of your shots going to be taken at 400mm or 500mm, perhaps the 400mm f5.6 or 300mm f4 IS + 1.4x TC could be an option or perhaps the sigma 300mm f2.8 (used) plus 1.4 or 2x TC (OK it the canon version of the 300mm f2.8, but I've been impressed with the quality of images from that and a 2x TC especially when it has received mixed reviews), ok the sigma 300mm f2.8 isn't as good as the canon, but its not a bad lens for 1/2 the used price of the canon.

http://www.mpbphotographic.co.uk/used-equipment/used-lenses/used-canon-fit-lenses/?page=3
 
At the mo i have a 5d MkII but want to complement it with a crop camera thats a little more biased for better AF. Also to strap my macro lens onto as after years of macro with various croppers the FF leaves me wanting.Even if i crop out it doesn't quite give me the crispness i was getting with the croppers with macro, pixel density i suppose.

I was thinking about the 7d as i could bump up the iso a bit allowing me to stop down with a little more confidence whilst keeping the images cleaner than say a 50d.

As for zooming, thats a tough one as ill probably use the lens for this and that rather than say using it for motorsports where i may favour a certain length so might end up playing like a trombone. So yes id say zooming would be quite useful.

Some great suggestions there and thanks for taking the time to post them up,very much appreciated. I may have now secured a 150-500 in our sec hand section,hopefully it'll do the do for what i need.

cheers all
 
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As a wildlife lens yes the 150-500mm would probably cope ok, but as a motorsports lens, pray for good light, f6.3, wouldn't recommend this lens for that.

Personally if you want cropped (not worried about video) and want something for motorsport, a used 1D MKIII would knock the 7D into touch, better camera for action photography, ok the 7D good, but the 1D a step up. OK only 10mp, but unlike the 50D and 7D it doesn't have issue with too many pixels on a small sensor effecting image quality at mid range ISO's (detail).

or

If you want a zoom, 2nd hand, then I would consider the sigma 120-300mm f2.8 or the sigma 100-300mm f4 then add a 1.4x TC to give you 420mm and just concentrate on the lens.
 
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