Lens rental for birds and rugby..But which?

[gnirtS]

Coming up next weekend is a rugby match along with 2 bird of prey photo days so ive decided to rent a lens to make the most of it but undecided which lens.
Currently all my tele stuff is a slow 250mm f/5.6 and have struggled severely at the rugby on some grotty weather days with those.

Im trying to decide between renting the 100-400l f/4.5 - 5.6 OR getting a 70-200 f/2.8 L(II) with a teleconverter so after any suggestions.

The extra reach of the 400 would be nice im sure for birds and rugby but im slightly worried if the f/5.6 will be quite limiting if the weather isn't perfect (and let's face it, its usually not!).

So my other option is a 70-200L which gives me less reach buy 2 stops more in terms of speed.
Im tempted to try a 1.4 or 2x TC with it to give me 280 f/4 or 400 f/5.6. My theory there being if the conditions are good i can use the TC and have reach and wont need the extra speed but if its crappy i can leave the TC off and use the extra speed instead.

Is the quality of the 2x TC (or even 1.4) significantly worse on the 70-200 or is it acceptable? Reading around ive found all opinions and examples from "its fine" to "its terrible".

So in short any advice between:

(i) 100-400 L f/4.5-4.6 OR
(ii) 70-200 IS L (II) with 1.4x III TC OR
(iii) 70-200 IS L (II) with 2.0x III TC OR
(iv) What about the Sigma/C APO 120-300mm f/2.8 EX DG HSM as a compromise ? Not quite the reach but 2.8. Although ive had one or two dodgy sigma lenses before...

or any other i might have missed?

I really do only want to get 1 lens though not more than 1.

 

[pete.rush]

How close to the action will you get for the rugby and / or bird of prey days. Are you on the touch line? What's the usual focal distance of photos that you have already taking for other matches because that will give you an idea of what lens you'll need. The 100-400 won't help, it's also a f5.6 so will struggle just as much as your current lens, and for get about TCs they will lose you an f-stop of light and slow the autofocus down considerably.

It depends what the weather conditions are and how much light (the time of day) you have and how far you're away from the action. For the birds of prey at the hawk conservancy I was using a 300mm f2.8, but that was a normal days visit. Are they specific photo days, if so you might only need a 70-200mm lens, it's something you could as the organisers of the photo day and that might guide you with the lens you hire.

 

[gnirtS]

Rugby will be close (it'll be touchline or behind goal line but looking on my current ones 90%+ are 250mm and heavily cropped in any case.
The main problem is second guessing the weather. If i knew it was sunshine i'd go for the 400 and the reach as f/5.6 would be fine. But its the UK so it could easily be gloomy and wet in which case i need the speed.

Has anyone got any experience of the sigma lens? Is it a risk regarding quality and focus or are the more expensive ones generally OK?

 

[005269]

The Sigma 120-300 is pin sharp, very fast and pairs with the 1.4 tc to give you a vey credible 420mm f4. It should do all you require for both tasks especially with the extra reach of a crop sensor. However it's a big lump of glass to master and considerably heavier than a 70-200 f2.8, consider using a monopod for your work because you'll struggle handholding it for long periods of time. The images are Stella and its hard to tell the difference between ones taken with my sigma or my nikon 500mm to be honest, unless that is you put the 2x tc on it which does degrade image quality.

 

[pete.rush]

Personally I would go with at least the OS version although there's a new one about to or just released because the original although fast focusing and pin sharp had issues with back focusing, build quality, and wasn't great (autofocus tracking) when the light started to fade. The newer version has addressed some of these issues and can't comment on the latest version as its so new.

 

[Amp34]

The 120-300 OS would be my pick too (in fact it was...). I'd go with the OS version if you can find somewhere to rent it though, it's supposed to be sharper and faster AF (and the inclusion of OS means its perfectly useable handheld for reasonable periods, even with the weight).

The OS is pin sharp, although I admit I haven't had much chance to use mine yet (constant rain since I got it...). I did have to send mine away to resolve the back focusing though...

Lenses for hire used to do a thing where if asked they may buy the lens to rent for you, may be worth asking them.

 

[gnirtS]

Just updating this thread, the sigma wasn't available for the dates i wanted so i ended up getting the 70-200 f/2.8 (II) and a 2xTC to play with.

Unfortunately the weather cancelled (i) owl day on friday due to rain (ii) rugby saturday due to snow and (iii) severely curtailed the birds on display on sunday.

Just my luck really. So 4 day rental i ended up finding a few ducks (yeah i know) and that was about it!

Top marks for lenses for hire though - exactly what it said on the tin. Arrived the day before early and very well packaged all in perfect condition. Came with everything needed to repack, reseal and arrange the courier to collect.
All very quick, easy and simple. I'd definitely use them again although hopefully i won't be as unlucky with the weather this time!

The downside is i really want a 70-200. I was amazed the difference in quality and AF vs my current glass. Need to start saving...