Ditch my 100-400 ?

So after time has gone by I find myself rarely using my Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS anymore, I can usually get the reach I need with my 70-200 f/2.8L IS.

However, there still have been times (especially with surfers) that I didn't have enough reach with the 70-200.

That being said, is there any image quality difference between the 100-400 and the 400 f/5.6 ?
Here are my thoughts / options:

1) Sell the 100-400 and pick up a 400 f/5.6

2) Sell the 100-400 and pick up a 300 f/2.8 (and a converter also)

Keep in mind these would be primarily used with my 1Dmk4.

Opinions ?

Depends on what you shoot. If you can zoom by walking around or plan to crop...OK. Personally I always want a high quality zoom when I shoot wildlife. Note I am not a birder.

I would recommend the 300 f/2.8L IS. I have owned one and used it a lot of the time with converters on a 1D4. I miss mine. (sold it to help finance the 500)

MCAsan wrote in post #16637875
Depends on what you shoot. If you can zoom by walking around or plan to crop...OK. Personally I always want a high quality zoom when I shoot wildlife. Note I am not a birder.

So which option are you recommending ? Note, I'm not a birder either

Sell the 100-400. You can always get another if you miss it too much.

If you only rarely need more reach than with your 70-200 f/2.8 IS, you may want to consider selling both the 100-400L and 70-200, and upgrading to the 70-200 MkII and adding a 2x TC for those rare times you need 400mm worth of reach.

The 100-400L is one of my most-used lenses, but I like to shoot wildlife, plus we go to our local zoo a lot (we have a membership).

There are times when I will need the reach though so I was thinking fast lens -

I was mainly wondering about the image quality difference between the 100-400 and the 400 f/5.6 and if it would make sense to do the switch.

Obviously the 300 f/2.8 would be better but with a much higher price tag it's only an option if the 400 f/5.6 isn't much better than my current 100-400.

I mainly shoot freestyle jet ski and surf at this focal length.

What is your budget?

gasrocks wrote in post #16638472
What is your budget?

Depends on which direction I go in

I used my 100-400mm for surfing but ditched it for the 400mm 5.6. I like that it's lighter, the af seems a little quicker, but couldn't tell too much difference on iq. I've chewed about a used 300mm 2.8 but I can't wrap my hands around the price tag. If you can afford the 300mm 2.8 that would be a smoking option.

Heya,

Going to the prime gives you faster AF, lighter weight, slightly sharper image (negligible unless you pixel peep really). The 300mm is a great lens, but you're already thinking of a teleconverter and stopping it down to F4 (1.4x TC) or 5.6 (2.0x TC). So you're trading a 400mm F5.6 lens for a 420mm F4 lens, but at quite a big cost disadvantage. I don't think the 20mm difference, and single stop of light difference is worth that cost change.

Do you need this wide of an aperture anyways? You're shooting in bright light I assume, doing stuff in the surf on nice days. Considered a 500mm? You don't need F2.8 for this. They're not falcons at 100 yards.

Very best,

alexxn wrote in post #16637831
So after time has gone by I find myself rarely using my Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS anymore, I can usually get the reach I need with my 70-200 f/2.8L IS.

However, there still have been times (especially with surfers) that I didn't have enough reach with the 70-200.

That being said, is there any image quality difference between the 100-400 and the 400 f/5.6 ?
Here are my thoughts / options:

1) Sell the 100-400 and pick up a 400 f/5.6

2) Sell the 100-400 and pick up a 300 f/2.8 (and a converter also)

Keep in mind these would be primarily used with my 1Dmk4.

Opinions ?

Rumors are that Canon "may" introduce a replacement for the aging 100-400 design this year. It is a great lens now matter how old the design is but, if you are considering dumping it sooner might be more profitable than later.

The 300 sounds great but do you really want to spend that much? It's on another level financially, and if you don't need the bigger aperture perhaps a waste of money too.

I'm a 400 F/5.6 owner and think it's great. It will give you a sharp 560mm F/8 with AF on your bodies too. Most 100-400 owners will claim that the 100-400 is just as good but my opinion differs, especially in regards to how the OOF areas look in the immediate foreground/background.

I'm not too sure what the third party long zooms render images like, but it might be worth looking for samples - for example the new Tamron, as if you can stop down a little the sharpness will be fine, then it comes down to the rest of the image quality/lens attributes.

phreeky wrote in post #16639652
The 300 sounds great but do you really want to spend that much? It's on another level financially, and if you don't need the bigger aperture perhaps a waste of money too.

I'm a 400 F/5.6 owner and think it's great. It will give you a sharp 560mm F/8 with AF on your bodies too. Most 100-400 owners will claim that the 100-400 is just as good but my opinion differs, especially in regards to how the OOF areas look in the immediate foreground/background.

I'm not too sure what the third party long zooms render images like, but it might be worth looking for samples - for example the new Tamron, as if you can stop down a little the sharpness will be fine, then it comes down to the rest of the image quality/lens attributes.

In all honesty I really don't need to go down to f/2.8….

The 400L should autofocus considerably faster than the 100-400L...and I'd imagine be a bit sharper as well. There is sample variation, however.

Another option might be to look into the Canon 300/2.8 non-IS. The 400L would probably be about $900 used, the Canon 300/2.8 non-IS around $2000 (I've seen them for lower; there is one under $1600 now but it is too beat up for me), and the 300/2.8 IS (version 1) for about $3600. I'm unsure, but I'm guessing the optics on the 300/2.8 non-IS are about as stellar as the IS version 1. But note that it might not be easy to get parts for if something malfunctions!