Canon 100-400L IS USM vs primes

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I am planning to go to Alaska and visit the Bald Eagle preserve. I currently have a Canon Elan 7E with a 28-135 IS USM lens and a 135-300 f/5.6 ISUSM lens. I’m am thinking of getting a longer lens, but do not want to spend much more that $2,000. My questions are concerning image quality, compatibility and AF; Do I go for the

Canon 400 5.6L USM Prime lens or Canon 100-400 f/4-5.6L IS USM Canon lens (will a TC work with this on the Elan) Canon 300 f/4 IS with a 1.4x TC or a 2x TC Sigma 300 f/2.8 EX APO HSM with a 2x TC Tokina 300mm f/2.8 AT-X 300 AF Pro IRF with a 2x TC

More important, does anyone have experience with the 100-400 IS with hand holding and panning birds. What mode should be used 1 or 2. I have read that sometimes when panning birds they come out blurred with mode 2

Any input on your experience with comparing these lens would be helpful,

Thanks

-- Dom Macadino (dcm101@hotmail.com), February 08, 2002

Answers

To answer your last question first, if you attempt to pan in mode 1, your image WILL be blurred. I can send you a couple of shots of bald eagles where this happened to me. Use mode 2, unless you're sure your subject is staying still and will continue to do so. Mode 2 is capable for static subjects, so you might as well leave it in that most of the time. Mode 1 offers a steadier viewfinder image for static subjects.

I personally own the 300 F4L IS and a 1.4X Canon TC. My father owns a 100-400L IS. Hand holding and panning you will find much easier with the 300, because the weight, although similar, is placed closer to the camera body, and puts less leverage on your arms. The weight of the 100-400 is toward the front, which is quite a long way away when it is zoomed.

First off, with your kind of budget, I'd scratch the third-party lenses. Canon are superior optically, as well as in terms of compatibilty, focus speed, etc. Also, hand-holding a 300 F2.8 is not easy, especially without IS.

Leaving the three Canons. Next, I'd scratch the 400 F5.6L. Whilst this is indeed an excellent lens optically, it is similar money to a 300 F4L IS. Add a 1.4X TC to the 300 and you get 420mm F5.6 with IS also. Since you're handholding, IS is a MAJOR feature. The 400 F5.6L does, however, offer faster focus than the 300+TC combo (although this combo is very fast on an EOS 3 (much faster than my EOS 5)). With the 300+TC however, my EOS 5 was able to track arctic terns in flight.

Then there's the issue of the 100-400L IS + 1.4X TC. Will it work? In what sense? IS and the aperture will be correctly operational, but AF will not work with your EOS 30 body. In order to AF with this combo, you will need an EOS 3, 1V or 1D. Same goes for the 300 F4L IS + 2X TC. Only use Canon TCs, as they are better optically, and report correct aperture information.

In the end, it is a difficult choice between these two lenses. My advice is to go to a shop that stocks both, and try them out on your camera body. If 15 mins or so in the shop doesn't tell you what you want to know, hire the lenses for a day or two. Using both lenses for that period should give you a feel for them. Then make your own decision.

-- Isaac Sibson (isibson@hotmail.com), February 08, 2002.


Check out Arthur Morris' website birdsasart.com for a look into all three lenses by a master bird photographer. His top choice for birds in flight is the 400/5.6L and his website will explain why he prefers this lens to the 100-400 IS and the 300/4 IS.

I own and love the 400/5.6 and use it regularly with the 1.4x Canon Extender. It and the 100-400 both lose autofocus with extenders unless you're using a an EOS 3 or EOS 1V. The 400 will have better optical quality than the zoom or the 300/4 with extender.

All that said and despite my ownership and love of the 400 and despite Arthur Morris' recommendations, you probably would get better use from the 100-400 IS lens. My reasoning has less to do with overall optical quality than with practical use. You will probably be shooting from a boat on occasions and the IS feature will be a big plus. You will need to be flexible during your tour and that probably means sometimes forgoing the use of a tripod. The 400/5.6 works great as an "in flight" lens handheld but needs a tripod to really shine for stationary subjects.

-- Lee (Leemarthakiri@sport.rr.com), February 10, 2002.


Thanks for your help.

-- Dom (dcm101@hotmail.com), February 20, 2002.

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