Safari lens advice

I am travelling to Kenya and Tanzania this summer and I currently have a Canon 70-200 F4 (non IS). I do have a 1.4x TC giving me that bit of extra reach. I have just been looking at the Canon 70-300 IS and wondering if I would gain any benefit from adding it, as it is a reasonable price and gets quite good reviews and it's IS. Just really wanted opinions. By the way in an ideal world would love something like a 100-400, or even 300 prime I could use with my TC, but unfortunately it's financially not an option

Have a look at this comparison.
http://www.the-digital-picture.com …omp=9&FLIComp=5​&APIComp=0
You will notice that the 70-200+1.4xTC gives better definition and contrast compared to the bare 70-300 IS.

The 7-3IS might get good reviews, but the 7-2 family is in another league alltogether.
Perhaps a better investment might be to buy a Canon 2xTC. It will double your reach to 560mm and stacking it behind the 1.4xTC will not register, allowing your camera to AF in bright sunshine, of which I bet you will get a lot of in Africa...

Sue, you may as well keep the L and Tcon combo. I have had both and both are great lenses. You will get no real benefit going for the IS unless you can't get a steady platform for the L. If you are self driving then you will be fine and can use a Beanbag on a window. In a safari truck with people jossling for views, etc you might appreciate the added security the IS will give to handhold. At 300mm or so you will get decent shots but may find it short for the birds and shy or reclusive animals at distance.

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how close to the animals you actually get. Your 70-200mm lens will be adequate for a lot of the time.

^I have no idea...but I'd rent something like the bigma or 100-400 just so I know i got some zoom. That's me, I've never been. They wouldn't let Americans in Africa when I had the chance...military Americans.

SaSi wrote in post #3278600
Have a look at this comparison.
http://www.the-digital-picture.com …omp=9&FLIComp=5​&APIComp=0
You will notice that the 70-200+1.4xTC gives better definition and contrast compared to the bare 70-300 IS.

The 7-3IS might get good reviews, but the 7-2 family is in another league alltogether.
Perhaps a better investment might be to buy a Canon 2xTC. It will double your reach to 560mm and stacking it behind the 1.4xTC will not register, allowing your camera to AF in bright sunshine, of which I bet you will get a lot of in Africa...

Thanks for your advice SaSi. Would this only work with the Canon 2XTC? I thought all AF would be lost with this lens with anything above 1.4X, could you explain?

Pollyanna1 wrote in post #3278507
I am travelling to Kenya and Tanzania this summer...

Be careful. There's a Rift Valley fever outbreak occurring in the border area at the moment.

I think what is meant is if you stack it right, the lens will not register the 2x therefore it will retain AF plus become a 560. It's a connection thing. Be like adding am extension tube, all the benefits and still AF.

condyk wrote in post #3278743
Sue, you may as well keep the L and Tcon combo. I have had both and both are great lenses. You will get no real benefit going for the IS unless you can't get a steady platform for the L. If you are self driving then you will be fine and can use a Beanbag on a window. In a safari truck with people jossling for views, etc you might appreciate the added security the IS will give to handhold. At 300mm or so you will get decent shots but may find it short for the birds and shy or reclusive animals at distance.

Thanks Condyk, I was hoping for your advice as a Safari expert! I have ordered a Kinesis Safari sack beanbag, so yes I guess the IS may not be that necessary - part of the time we are on a private vehicle the rest of the time will be overlanding with a group - I'm quite good at jossling though!

nickrowe wrote in post #3278821
I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how close to the animals you actually get. Your 70-200mm lens will be adequate for a lot of the time.

Nick you're probably right, previously when I was in Botswana and Namibia I manged good shots with my Fuji s5500 which was a 10x optical zoom. I shouldn't get too hung up on having a longer lens ....this is what this forum does to you though!!

Tony-S wrote in post #3279649
Be careful. There's a Rift Valley fever outbreak occurring in the border area at the moment.

Thanks Tony for the information, it did come up when I purchased a health brief, but this link provides a lot more detailed information.

Pollyanna1 wrote in post #3279695
Nick you're probably right, previously when I was in Botswana and Namibia I manged good shots with my Fuji s5500 which was a 10x optical zoom.

Well, if you want a great 10x safari zoom, you ought to consider the bigma.

Pollyanna1 wrote in post #3279628
Thanks for your advice SaSi. Would this only work with the Canon 2XTC? I thought all AF would be lost with this lens with anything above 1.4X, could you explain?

You are right to think that a 2xTC will give you a max apperture of f/8, thus no AF.

But the camera will only register the TC closest to the lens. Your 1.4xTC attached to the lens will make it a f/5.6 lens, which can AF.

Attaching another 1.4xTC or 2xTC to the back will cause you to lose 1 or 2 f-stops, but the camera will still view the whole thing as a f/5.6 lens - only darker.

In theory, you can stack a 2xTC and a 1.4xTC and still have AF, provided there is enough light for the AF sensors to make out contrast changes.

I have been able to use a non-registering 2xTC with my 500/4 and still use AF. But now it is summer (well almost) and pretty sunny (most of the time). Shooting with this combination when the sun is up, gives me fast and accurate AF.

Even so, I am wondering if the best thing for you is a new 2xTC or another 1.4xTC. The 2xTC will cause a significant drop in IQ when used stacked with the Kenko. Perhaps a Canon 1.4xTC stacked with the Kenko is a better option, however giving you only 400mm reach in total.

Additionally, the 1.4xTC needs to be the first to go on the lens. I am not sure if the Kenko TC has a slot in the back for the front element of the Canon TCs to fit. If not, then you will need to attach the Canon TC on the lens, so you must get a 1.4xTC.

I hope I haven't confused you (much).

SaSi wrote in post #3280128
You are right to think that a 2xTC will give you a max apperture of f/8, thus no AF.

But the camera will only register the TC closest to the lens. Your 1.4xTC attached to the lens will make it a f/5.6 lens, which can AF.

Attaching another 1.4xTC or 2xTC to the back will cause you to lose 1 or 2 f-stops, but the camera will still view the whole thing as a f/5.6 lens - only darker.

In theory, you can stack a 2xTC and a 1.4xTC and still have AF, provided there is enough light for the AF sensors to make out contrast changes.

I have been able to use a non-registering 2xTC with my 500/4 and still use AF. But now it is summer (well almost) and pretty sunny (most of the time). Shooting with this combination when the sun is up, gives me fast and accurate AF.

Even so, I am wondering if the best thing for you is a new 2xTC or another 1.4xTC. The 2xTC will cause a significant drop in IQ when used stacked with the Kenko. Perhaps a Canon 1.4xTC stacked with the Kenko is a better option, however giving you only 400mm reach in total.

Additionally, the 1.4xTC needs to be the first to go on the lens. I am not sure if the Kenko TC has a slot in the back for the front element of the Canon TCs to fit. If not, then you will need to attach the Canon TC on the lens, so you must get a 1.4xTC.

I hope I haven't confused you (much).

Thanks SaSi that makes complete sense. 400mm reach is still a good improvement to me, if the IQ is not too badly compromised. Do you (or anyone else) have any example shots stacking TC's, I would be interested to see them.
Only part I was slightly unsure of was about the Kenko having a slot in the back for the Canon TC to fit, don't quite understand what I am looking for.:o Could I not stack 2 Kenko 1.4x? Thanks for all your advice it is much appreciated

Pollyanna1 wrote in post #3280225
Thanks SaSi that makes complete sense. 400mm reach is still a good improvement to me, if the IQ is not too badly compromised. Do you (or anyone else) have any example shots stacking TC's, I would be interested to see them.
Only part I was slightly unsure of was about the Kenko having a slot in the back for the Canon TC to fit, don't quite understand what I am looking for.:o Could I not stack 2 Kenko 1.4x? Thanks for all your advice it is much appreciated

Some TCs (both 1.4x and 2x) have a front element protruding and require the lens to have a barrel void in its rear end for the TC to actually fit inside the lens.

The Canon TCs have a big front element, the Sigma TCs have a smaller one. Hence, the Canon TCs fit in some (telephoto) lenses including the Canon 70-200 range.

I also have a no-name 2xTC that has no front element protruding and therefore can fit to every EF lens, including wide angles.

You can certainly get more Kenko TCs and stack them together.

Many people prefer stacking two 1.4xTCs rather than a single 2x. It makes sense. Any 3x TC will give ugly results, while stacking 2x and 1.4x TCs gives very passable results with many lenses.

Considering the IQ results of the 70-200 with 2xTC attached, I can only imagine that two 1.4x stacked would give better (even slightly) IQ.

Canon TC, as an example of a protruding front element TC
http://www.canon-europe.com …8613&SourcePage​ID=26432#1
Example of non-protruding front element TC
http://cgi.ebay.com …geNameZWD1VQQcm​dZViewItem