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Garry Black Photography

Question:

Hi Garry.

I've written you before and your advice has been very helpful. My next question concerns my present predicament. I shoot a Canon EOS system. I need to move up to a larger lens. I'm looking at the EF 400mm f/2.8L IS USM, EF 500 f/4.0L IS USM, and EF 600 f/4.0L IS USM. I'm not sure which one to buy. I will be "shooting" wildlife such as wolves, foxes and birds. Here is what I already have:
Canon 100-400L IS USM, 28-135 IS USM, 16-35L USM, 70-200L IS USM. I use the Canon EOS 3 and Canon Elan 7E. I also have the Extender EF 2x II.

I know that the 600mm lens is quite big and heavy, but the 400mm lens is
the same weight, just smaller. The 400 and 600mm lenses are about the same
price. So, should I go for the 500mm lens? I would prefer the faster 400mm @
f/2.8. Whoooooaa, what to do. Maybe I should go for the smaller faster 400mm
lens and get a 1.4x extender too? Price really isn't an issue. So, what is
your opinion Garry? Thanks in advance........

Answer:

For shooting wildlife, my personal preference would be the Canon 500mmL IS
f/4 and the Canon 100-400mmL IS zoom matched with 1.4x and 2x teleconverters. The weight and the size of the 400mm and 600mm are their big disadvantages. I had a Nikon 400 f2.8, it was so cumbersome that I never carried around with me; hence I never used it and of course missed plenty of shots by not having it with me.

Now having said that, if you are only going out with the sole intent of photographing wildlife, then you can afford to leave all of your other equipment behind, so then the weight/size factor doesn't really exist for you. Then it comes down to the question of which lens would be better for you, the fast 400mm or the longer and slower (it's not really slow) 600mm. Now I'm sure that you know that teleconverters don't match the quality of a prime lens, so if you opt for the 400mm and plan to use it most of the time
with teleconverters in order to get that extra reach, then you should really get the 600mm. On the other hand if you have been using your 100-400mm zoom and have found that the reach of the 400mm is adequate for you but it isn't fast enough for you because you are doing a lot of low light photography, then your choice should be the 400mm f2.8

Make sense?