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Author Topic: wildlife lenses for canon  (Read 1624 times)

Endeavour

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wildlife lenses for canon
« on: July 31, 2016, 11:10:57 am »

Hi
I have a few upcoming assignments this year requiring longer lenses than I'm used to; a couple of bird shoots but mostly larger wildlife such as deer and elk.
I'm concerned about low light if I am in heavily wooded areas, and the cost of fast lenses to get good focus/high shutter speed for sharp images - they will be printed.

I'm shooting on a Canon 1D iv

obviously the longer the better for birds, but I'm not going to be able to justify a mega $ 2.8 lens

am I likely to struggle on something like a 100-400? maybe with a 1.4x

any thoughts gratefully received

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Jeremy Roussak

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Re: wildlife lenses for canon
« Reply #1 on: July 31, 2016, 01:40:29 pm »

Hi
I have a few upcoming assignments this year requiring longer lenses than I'm used to; a couple of bird shoots but mostly larger wildlife such as deer and elk.
I'm concerned about low light if I am in heavily wooded areas, and the cost of fast lenses to get good focus/high shutter speed for sharp images - they will be printed.

I'm shooting on a Canon 1D iv

obviously the longer the better for birds, but I'm not going to be able to justify a mega $ 2.8 lens

am I likely to struggle on something like a 100-400? maybe with a 1.4x

any thoughts gratefully received

The next time I go on safari, I'm going to rent the 200-400, with the built-in 1.4x. Renting might well be an option: I've done it in the past and been very happy.

Jeremy
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Endeavour

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Re: wildlife lenses for canon
« Reply #2 on: July 31, 2016, 01:53:02 pm »

renting used to be an option when I lived in Europe, as you just needed insurance (not a deposit) which is far more practical

now I live in Canada and I can only find one or two local rental shop in Toronto (Henry's & vistek) but they require a huge deposit, and on fast prime long lenses, thats a LOT of $$$
« Last Edit: July 31, 2016, 01:58:40 pm by lotusEsp »
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Rory

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Re: wildlife lenses for canon
« Reply #3 on: July 31, 2016, 07:01:47 pm »

For most birds you really have the options of using a blind or go for a 600/4 plus TCs. For larger mammals the 100-400 should be ideal.
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stever

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Re: wildlife lenses for canon
« Reply #4 on: July 31, 2016, 10:58:16 pm »

i've been very happy with the performance of the 100-400ii and 1.4xiii on my 5D3 and 7D2.  the 7D2 is a pretty cost effective backup camera that get's you as long as you need for most birds without going to crazy big glass.  7D2 low light is not the best, but the IS on this lens is amazing.
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Endeavour

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Re: wildlife lenses for canon
« Reply #5 on: August 01, 2016, 08:35:27 am »

thanks all
I'll probably just a 100-400 for a weekend and see how I get on with that, they seem to be ok pricewise used. Even though it'll be the Gen1 version with the push-pull zoom. Cant say I'm a fan of that

regarding the 7d2, I had a 7d and hated it. I could never achieve a sharp image. Focus was fast, but every single image came out slightly soft. no matter how much time I spent micro-adjusting.

I put the same lens (a 70-200 L) on a 1div and bang, great shots every time, wonderfully sharp and in focus. To add insult to injury, Canon blamed all the 7d users for focus issues with the body. I now see similar reports of people taking the 7d2 back because they cant get sharp focus either - there really must be a load of other stupid photographers out there like me who dont know how to use that camera.
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