EOS 7D + 100-400mm for wildlife photography

EOS 7D + 100-400mm -->640mm

Would this be a cheap way for a tele?

The alternative I see is

EOS 5D Mark III with 200-400mm --> 560mm

Has anyone some experience with the above combination? Especially with the maximum 400mm? How big do you judge the difference to the "EOS 5D Mark III with 200-400mm, and 1.4 extender"?

Thanks for any thoughts.

Best
Frank

The 200-400 is not a lens canon makes right now, meaning it's not available and has never been announced. So rule that out until the time comes. Granted there are some Canon pro's at the Olympics right now testing these very lenses.

Depends on how deep your pocket is. If you can afford the 200-400/1.4 (which I've heard to be rumored to sell as high as $2500-$4000 or even higher), then sure, get the 5D3/200-400 combo. But the lens has yet to be released to the public so you'll have a long wait.

jwcdds wrote in post #14804277
Depends on how deep your pocket is. If you can afford the 200-400/1.4 (which I've heard to be rumored to sell as high as $2500-$4000 or even higher), then sure, get the 5D3/200-400 combo. But the lens has yet to be released to the public so you'll have a long wait.

No. That lens is speculated to be over $10,000

jwcdds wrote in post #14804277
Depends on how deep your pocket is. If you can afford the 200-400/1.4 (which I've heard to be rumored to sell as high as $2500-$4000 or even higher), then sure, get the 5D3/200-400 combo. But the lens has yet to be released to the public so you'll have a long wait.

I have heard that the price is going to be closer to $8,000~$11,000.

First of all the 200-400 has not been released and is going to be over 10,000 vs. the 100-400 lens which is around 1600.

The 7d and 100-400 is probably the most popular "budget setup" for wildlife photography out there right now. The combination of the 1.6 crop and 18 MP sensor place a lot of pixels on target if you are not able to get closer to your target. The 5d III has much better image quality and is the best choice if you can get close to your subject or can afford a long lens. A 600mm lens on the 5d would deliver similar results to the 7d and 100-400 with a lot better image quality.

The 7D and 100-400 is the combo I've been using for a few years now and I absolutely love it. It's relatively small and light compared to something like the 5D and 600mm and significantly cheaper.

I tried a friends 100-400 on my 7D, I hated it because of that push-pull focus gizmo. If you can deal with that, it does produce great images.

Talley wrote in post #14804297
No. That lens is speculated to be over $10,000

gjl711 wrote in post #14804298
I have heard that the price is going to be closer to $8,000~$11,000.

Yeah, I remember reading it being obnoxiously high. But since I was too lazy to track down that rumor/report, I figured I'd just blurt out a number (but leaving the "even higher" bit to cover that uglier estimation :lol.

Let's hope that the rumored new 100-400 isn't nearly as crazy expensive.

My plan is going for the 7D & 100-400mm, if picture quality is fine.

The reasons are the following:

1.) Here I have a flexible zoom! (Of course 300mm 2.8 makes superb pics, but imagine a bear comes to close to you)
2.) Dont need to change lenses, so no "dust on the sensor"-problem
3.) it is lightweight! (Much lighter than taking the 200-400mm/1.4 Ext)
4.) I already own the 100-400mm, which I used with the Eos 5d Mark II!
5.) It is relatively cheap!

Only question mark is picture quality!

You'd almost certainly get better image quality with the 5DIII + 200-400 compared to the 7D + 100-400. As you note, you'd need the 1.4X TC to get a close-to-comparable field of view, which will degrade the image quality mildly. The 5DIII + 600 combination suggested above would therefore be preferable from a "reach" and image quality standpoint. Of course, if cost is irrelevant and you really want to go for maximum image quality in the Canon lineup then presumably you'd be looking at a 1DX.

berlinfrank wrote in post #14804466
My plan is going for the 7D & 100-400mm, if picture quality is fine.

* * * *

Only question mark is picture quality!

Rent a 7D and try out your 100-400 on that. Rent a 5DIII and try out your 100-400 on that. Compare image quality. Decide whether the difference in image quality is large enough that you would want to pay the higher price for the 5DIII. We can give you our subjective impressions of the differences in image quality and you can review objective measures of image quality available online, but only you can decide what differences you see and how much they matter to you.

stop with the toys gets the real deal : Canon 800 F5.6

rick_reno wrote in post #14804385
I tried a friends 100-400 on my 7D, I hated it because of that push-pull focus gizmo. If you can deal with that, it does produce great images.

I've always preferred push-pull zoom; much faster than a rotating ring.

fogboundturtle wrote in post #14804481
stop with the toys gets the real deal : Canon 800 F5.6

Pfff... that's a joke of a lens. What you need is this:

Canon 5200mm
http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=IRq18WpQZC0