Super Telephoto for wildlife and sports?

IMHO, 2X TC is best suited for fast telephoto lens (f2.8 and up) and don't even think to combine it with zoom, even with 70-200mm II.

I used to have 70-200 II with 2X TC III but not impressed at all with the result, that's why I sold it and replace it with 100-400mm II.

If you want to use zoom, just use 1.4 TC and for newer lenses (Mark II) better get the Mark III TCons.

johnf3f wrote in post #17706046
Good question!
I have tried 2 samples of the 400 F4 Mk1 with my 2 x Mk3 and was not impressed. I have never even seen the Mk2 so I too would be interested to know how it performs.
From my experiences with 2 x extenders they are best on F2.8 lenses, but I have seen (and taken a couple) good images achieved with F4 SuperTeles when the light is right.

A lot of people were not impressed by the mk1 400DO bare - usually complaints about low contrast. I'm not surprised you weren't impressed with it with a 2.0 tc, even the mk3 tc. The 400 DO mk2 looks better bare but typical with what I've seen of DO lenses to date it still may not take a 2.0tc all that well.

I've seen some pretty good shots with the mk2 DO and Mk3 1.4tc in the mk2 DO sample thread so (if I had the cash to do it) I wouldn't have a problem with using that combination.

I do like the 2X just fine on the 500mm f/4, and of course it's also good with the 600mm, but I don't believe the 1st gen DO was as happy with it. In either case, the 2X is more of a last ditch effort. It's not a "wear it all day" affair like you can with a 1.4x on an f/4 prime.

Thanks to input from you guys, I purchased a 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM today and, based upon 15 minutes of shooting girls lacrosse, I'm very happy! Build is great, small/compact, excellent for hand-held, and had very few throwaways. The lighting wasn't great at mid-day but the focus was real sharp and quick. Thanks for all of your great suggestions.

Congrats and welcome to the club, I'm sure you will be happy with it

clarkmti wrote in post #17706411
Thanks to input from you guys, I purchased a 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM today and, based upon 15 minutes of shooting girls lacrosse, I'm very happy! Build is great, small/compact, excellent for hand-held, and had very few throwaways. The lighting wasn't great at mid-day but the focus was real sharp and quick. Thanks for all of your great suggestions.

Hosted photo: posted by clarkmti in
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Hosted photo: posted by clarkmti in
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forum: Canon Lenses

Congratulations! I think you'll enjoy it very much. Looking forward to seeing more of your photos in the Lens Sample Photo Archive section!

Regards, Jim