New Canon lens for me

Tysonator

Tysonator

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Hi,

I am looking to replace my canon EF 70-300 IS USM lens, as I feel it is soft IQ over 270mm.

At first I was going to buy the new EF 70-300 f4 L IS USM. However this lens can not use the canon teleconvertors !
So that has thrown my whole decision making up in the air.
So do I buy a EF 70-200 F4 L non IS ( preferably 2nd hand ) or do I think about a 28-700 L IS USM ! ?

What will I be using this for I hear you ask,….well I currently use my EF 70-300 f4-f5.6 IS USM for motor sport, portrait meets ( ok, I have only been on one ! ) zooming in on freezes on architecture, little bit of wild life, and general every thing really.
I use it when I need a lot more reach than my sigma 17-70mm.

I am still tempted with the EF 70-300 L f4-f5.6 IS USM and trying a Kenco teleconvertor on it !
Or even the Tamro Di new 70-300 F4 seems to have sharp IQ at 300mm !

Any thoughts please ! :cool:
 
70-200 f4 is close to perfect, but I prefer not using with 1.4x. IQ goes down somewhat, and bokeh becomes less attractive. It might be OK for motosport though. Think about f/2.8 version - results with 1.4x might be nicer.
 
Tysonator said:
I am still tempted with the EF 70-300 L f4-f5.6 IS USM and trying a Kenco teleconvertor on it !
Or even the Tamro Di new 70-300 F4 seems to have sharp IQ at 300mm !

Any thoughts please ! :cool:
Click to expand...

I didn't think that the 70-300 was compatible with teleconvertors ?
 
I have the Canon EF 70-300 L f4-f5.6 IS USM lens and it works well in combination with the Kenko 1.4 Pro 300 DGX (blue spot) teleconverter on my 7D - it can as you would expect in poor light/lack of contrast detail hunt a little at the extreme end of the focal range (~275mm > @ F/8), but overall the IQ is very good.

Regards
 
Not trying to hijack the thread, but I thought that only 1D would focus at f/8 - how are you managing it with a f5.6+tc? on your 7d.
 
aeronic said:
Not trying to hijack the thread, but I thought that only 1D would focus at f/8 - how are you managing it with a f5.6+tc? on your 7d.
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I agree it should not technically autofocus at F8, but it does, its either the 7D, the lens or I do not profess to understand the technicalities, but the Kenko teleconverters do seem to be more tolerant with a wider range of lenses than the Canon extenders.

The Canon 1.4 II extender when fitted to the 70-300mm F4-5.6L lens bizarrely at 300mm focuses OK and reports F/5.6........ the extender is not compatible because of the physical lens protrusion into the end mount, but will operate in the limited range of 250-300mm

Perhaps someone with a greater understanding of how all the signals are passed though the camera, lens and teleconverter may be able to explain.
 
Its probably a non-reporting tc, so the camera doesn't know its there. Might be wrong though.
 
The 70-200 with 1.4x won't be as long as 70-300 on its own.
 
Why do you want to use a teleconverter with the 70-300L? Surely there's no advantage of using a 70-200/4 with a teleconverter over a 70-300L without...the 70-300L would still be longer (presuming you are talking about a 1.4x TC and you wish to keep AF reliably).

Have you considered the 100-400L?
 
aeronic said:
I didn't think that the 70-300 was compatible with teleconvertors ?
Click to expand...

Yes I know this lens can not be used with a TC. That is the problem, and that is why I am hesitant in buying it. Then I looked at EF 70-200 non IS USM for potriat shooting and perhaps even macro work as the IQ is very good.

Now I have considered if the Kenco TC would work on the EF 70-300f4 L IS USM. And it appears it does !

Perhaps I should buy both !
 
I think it comes down to budget.
70-200 f/4 is £450
70-300L is £1k

Personally, I'd buy the 70-300 if the wife would let me, but i'm having a tough time of that, so I'm saving up for the 70-200.
 
I agree that the 100-400 is far and away your best bet here.
 
I agree. I'm not a fan of the 100-400, but if you want 400mm you are best off getting a 400mm lens rather than adding a TC.

If you want the long reach 70-200 is not the way to go.
 
Tysonator said:
Now I have considered if the Kenco TC would work on the EF 70-300f4 L IS USM. And it appears it does !
Click to expand...

It depends on what you mean by 'work'. If you mean - 'makes a valient attempt to focus and sometimes, if the light is bright and the subject is contrasty, after a lot of hunting back and forth, will actually focus on something - but most of the time gives up' then, yes it does 'work'.

There's a reason Canon switches AF off when the maximum aperture is f8 (like the 70-300 + 1.4x TC) - because it doesn't work properly.

Don't try to bodge it - get a 100-400. Or this second-hand Sigma 150-500
 
Most off the reviews I read on the 70-300L are very favourable. The reviews indicate that the IQ on the 70-300 is slightly better than the 70-200 USM, as the 70-300 is a new lens. The same is said for the 100-400, that the 100-400 is an old lens now and the 70-300L IQ is Sharpe at 270+

I think I might get both the 70-200 for portrait work and some Marco, and the 70-300L for walk about, sport, wild life etc.
 
reading all of the above I can add support for 100-400 and say the 100-400 was the right answer for me, first L series lens I bought. I got it specifically for Motorsports because of the longest reach in a zoom. It is capable of some very high IQ especially around F8. For the money you will not get as much reach or IQ in any other glass. I also have a 70-200 2.8 MkII and use the 1.4 TC on but can see the degradation and opted to not buy the 2Xtc, 2Xtc is just asking to much from most if not all lenses. Exception might be new range of MkII super tele lenses from Canon not in market yet, time will tell.
 
Tysonator said:
The reviews indicate that the IQ on the 70-300 is slightly better than the 70-200 USM
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Which 70-200? I'd be very surprised if the 70-300 was anywhere near as good as the 70-200 f4 IS or the f2.8 IS MkII. And only slightly surprised if it were better than the non-IS 70-200 lenses.

So, post the links to these reviews.
 
Tysonator said:
I would have thought that the 100-400L should have a MKII by now from Canon ! !
Click to expand...
100-400 will probably be discontinued when 200-400 is launched and up to dated with later and greater Canon goodness but not yet so 100-400 still the one
 
DucDuc said:
100-400 will probably be discontinued when 200-400 is launched ..
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Sorry, but that's complete rubbish. If that happens I'll eat my hat. The two lenses are not remotely comparable. Canon totally owns the £1000-or-so telephoto market because of the 100-400, and it's one of the very few lenses that one can justify building a system around. Canon aren't stupid enough to throw all that away.
 
Another vote for the 100-400.

For the price and the flexibility its excellent.

The IQ even at 400 @ 5.6 is still great and way better than any of the standard 70-300's
 
menthel said:
Ignore!
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You need 2 lenses to fulfil your requirements. The 100-400 for motorsports and probably a 70-200 of some sorts for the portraits etc. The f4 version will be light enough for everyday use with other kit.

I don't think the 100-400 can do all you require.
 
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