Canon EF 300mm F4 non-IS question(s)

I've got a few field sports shoots coming up and I was shopping for a crop body when I found a 1993 version of the 300 F4, which had several cosmetic flaws and acceptable glass for $475. I'm considering offering up $445 for the lens, but I have some questions that I know some of you veteran shooters could help me with.

--Is the AF close to my 200 2.8 prime, as both are USM lenses? Also, is the IQ in the same ball park?
--For day shoots, would I be ok hand holding this lens?
--Is $450-$475 the right price for this lens considering it is in 7/10 condition?

and finally, maybe the best question involves the second body I was originally shopping for. Given that I just have my 6D now with occasional access to my father's T4i, do I just buy a better second body (1D3 or 70D) or grab that 300 f4 and a 1D2 for essentially the same money? I don't necessarily need that 300 F4, but it sure would come in handy and the price seems right. I'm not necessarily worried about not being able to get that lens or the older 1D bodies serviced by Canon, so please don't factor that into any advice.

Thanks in advance!

mickeyb105 wrote in post #17521453
I've got a few field sports shoots coming up and I was shopping for a crop body when I found a 1993 version of the 300 F4, which had several cosmetic flaws and acceptable glass for $475. I'm considering offering up $445 for the lens, but I have some questions that I know some of you veteran shooters could help me with.

--Is the AF close to my 200 2.8 prime, as both are USM lenses? Also, is the IQ in the same ball park?
--For day shoots, would I be ok hand holding this lens?
--Is $450-$475 the right price for this lens considering it is in 7/10 condition?

and finally, maybe the best question involves the second body I was originally shopping for. Given that I just have my 6D now with occasional access to my father's T4i, do I just buy a better second body (1D3 or 70D) or grab that 300 f4 and a 1D2 for essentially the same money? I don't necessarily need that 300 F4, but it sure would come in handy and the price seems right. I'm not necessarily worried about not being able to get that lens or the older 1D bodies serviced by Canon, so please don't factor that into any advice.

Thanks in advance!

I have a 1992 copy of the EF 300mm F/4L.
- AF is very fast. It is similar to the EF 200mm f/2.8 L (very good lens). Use the focus limiter for more distant objects to reduce the focus search range and speed it up. Image quality is very good. Many say it is sharper than the newer IS version.
- Use a monopod unless you are using very fast shutter speeds, like 1/1000s or have hands of steel.
- $450-475 is a great price.

When I bought mine it had a lot of internal dust and the AF wasn't great. I had a local shop clean it and replace the USM. It now works very well and is clean inside.

As for choosing a different camera body, you will have to review the differences in features and decide what is important to you balanced against your budget. All Canon SLRs can make a good picture but the feature set varies considerably between them.