EF 400mm F/5.6L or EF 300mm f/4 L IS

[Lenny_D]

My wife and I (both 1.6x crop camera's) are getting into bird photography, mostly in our backyard and the local park. We want to buy a tele for this purpose and came to the conclusion that the primes are the best choice, good image quality, fast focussing. Our budget is fair but has its limitations and the 400mm F/5.6 and 300mm f/4 L IS are just within reach. (we considered the Bigma but find it's weight too high)
The two Canon primes are at the same price-point and have (nearly) the same weight: 1250 vs 1190 grams. The choice becomes a trade-off between an extra 100mm focal length with f/5.6 vs. IS and and f/4. (for the 300 we could consider to add at a later point in time the 1.4x extender but still enjoying the IS)

What would you recommend?

Lenny

[tommykjensen]

I had the same type of considerations not long ago and ended up with buying the 300 f/4 for following reasons:

- its a f/4
- it has IS
- it will be a 420 mm f/5.6 WITH IS using the 1,4x extender

Here are the thread I started: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=56149

One day I will probably get the 400 f/5.6 also because it is highly recommended by the users here that have it. So You are in for a tough choice.

[pcasciola]

This is probably the most popular lens choice question we always see asked, sometimes with the 100-400L thrown in there as well. It's a tough choice. I went with the 300/4L IS because a lot of people were telling me IS was the way to go, and they were right. IS is just amazing on a long telephoto like this.

They are both fantastic lens, and a lot of the bird shooters here use the 400/5.6L even though it doesn't have IS, but a lot of them are using 1D Mk II. You didn't mention which body you are using, but if it's a 10D/20D/300D the 300 will give you pretty close to the same FOV that the 400 will on the 1D Mk II to start with. And, like you already said, you can add the extender and have 400/5.6 with IS.

[PacAce]

As the others have already said, this is a tough choice although the 300 f/4 seems to have the advantage with the IS. One thing I should point out, and this may or may not matter to you, is that with the 1.4x TC, the focusing speed will be a tad slower than without it.

[pturton]

Lenny,

After debating with myself for several months I realized that each lens has its own benifits and decided to purchase both for use on my 10D. Now I would not part with either one.

Since you mentioned backyard birding as your probable main usage of these lenses, you must realize how close to these birds you will be able can get. For a reasonably full framed shot of a sparrow sized bird you must be within 15 feet using a 400mm lens and 10 feet with the 300.

The 300 is a very practical lens because it focuses to 4.9 feet to give a 0.24X magnification. This makes this lens great for butterflies, dragonflies and flowers. Adding the EF 1.4 Mk II TC results in an image that is hardly destinguishable form the 400. The EF 2 TC also can be used for reasonable image quality.

If you are to be shooting small birds beyond 15 feet, the 400 + 1.4 TC is needed IMHO.

There are a few examples of backyard birds, all taken through an open window and using the 300 and 400 with/without TCs on my site.

BTW, adding an extension tube to the 400 reduces the minimum focus distance to 9.5 feet with the EF 12mm tube and to 8.1 feet with the EF 25mm tube.

Paul
http://www.iaw.com/~pturton/

[Lenny_D]

Tommy, thanks for the link to the thread, lot's of opinions there...
To answer your question pcasciola, we own the 300D and 20D.

I'm leaning towards the 300mm IS, I suspect that the succes rate will be higher due to the IS. I would think that in particular during wintertime (lot's of small birds around), the combination of f/5.6 and 400mm (which allows less vibs than 300) might become really difficult. It is not clear to me whether the difference in range justifies the 400mm. I'm still wondering whether I can dream up a situation in which the 300mm falls short and the 400mm not.....

[gramps]

how about both? a his and hers...........

[Lenny_D]

Paul, wonderfull pictures, exactly what we try to do and want to do. Great info on the distances. Did you use a tripod/monopod for the birds?

In our backyard, most birds are within 15 feet, however, the garden is 30 feet deep and occasionally we like to get birds at that distance... pretty impossible demands to combine I realize. Maybe fair enough to use the 1.4 or 2x extender on the 300mm in that case.

[pturton]

Lenny,

Thanks for the kudos. Most of the 300mm L IS shots (including those with the 1.4 TC) were HH and the 400mm (with/without TC) shots were taken using a tripod, monopod or grain bag.

The pictures of the Yellow-shafted Flicker which 13-14 inches long was shot in portrait at 30 feet with the 400 + 1.4x. The 4x6 frame was cropped to 3x4 by removing some from each end of the picture.

Paul