Holiday Lens: Canon 100-400 Or 70-200 f.28

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Has anyone any experience of these?

Canon 100-400mm or Canon 70-200mm f2.8 II IS With or without extender MIII for either?

Uses will be for Wildlife and Landscape on African holiday. I know that the 400mm will offer so much more reach but I am liking the f2.8 as in the UK we often have cloudy weather so will be more versatile after my holiday...

Any thoughts would be very helpful!
 
I currently use a 70-200 f4 for wildlife. It's not to bad, Iso gets bumped up a little and so does the aperture to about 5.6/6 depending on how sunny it is (slightly sharper I've found for my lens). Only thing that lets it down, focal length. I feel that 400-500mm would be incredibly better, even with the smaller aperture. Remember that the 100-400 has Is, couple that with a decent monopod and you should be fine in the Uk.
 
My take on things is that below 200mm the 70-200 will be sharper (and of course faster). With a 2x TC attached, the 100-400L will edge it from 200-300 but things will be pretty even between 300-400 because the 100-400 softens a bit at the long end (mine did anyway).

For me, the 70-200 + TC is the better choice. It's IS is also significantly improved over the older 100-400's.
 
I would recommend the 70-300L over either of them. A superb and reasonably compact zoom.

PS The 100-400 isn't intended to be used with converters and not only will u lose autofocus it will be f8 or f11 at the long end.
 
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The 70-300L is a great lens (I have one), but 300mm may be a bit short on safari. The 100-400L or 70-200 F/2.8 + 2x TC will be better if you expect to use the long end regulary.

What body will you be using? 70-300 probably won't be long enough of FF, but will likely be sufficent on a crop.
 
I used to have a 100-400 L and I've now got a 70-200 2.8 MkII and a MkIII 2x converter and on my 5D3 I can honestly say there's not that much difference between the IQ of both at f5.6-f8. I used the 70-200 and 2x on a 60D at a zoo and got some cracking photos out of it and I've also used it on my 7D but the weather/light was awful so didn't get many good shots from it or my 5D3.

I tried the 70-200 and 2x on my 1D3 the other day but again the weather was dull, cloudy and windy so didn't find a lot to shoot but I did get a couple of decent shots from it. TBH if you haven't got either of the lenses yet then the 70-200 and converters might be the more versatile setup for you, but only if it's the 70-200 MkII. The 70-200 MkI isn't as sharp as the MkII in the first place, so with converters on the IQ will take more of a hit.
 
Jackwow said:
I would recommend the 70-300L over either of them. A superb and reasonably compact zoom.

PS The 100-400 isn't intended to be used with converters and not only will u lose autofocus it will be f8 or f11 at the long end.
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Really? 100-400 with a 1.4 tc makes f8, perfect for a 1d or 5dmk3. Autofocus works fine.

I've done this, I have both lenses and if I'm travelling light it's the 100-400 every time. It's such a versatile lens and you will want the length and flexibility for wildlife.

I bought both mine secondhand, yup that's right I have two, and the 70-200 f2.8 is and 70/200 f4. I rate the 100-400 that highly for wildlife and motorsport.
 
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