[rsegoly]

Hello,

I have Canon Digital SLR and two lenses
The one with biggest Zoom 75-300

I have friend now in Japan, and he said there are cheap cheap 2nd hand lenses there, if I had the opportunity for new lens, I would go to one with bigger zoom, so I can take nice pictures of people and animals from greater distance.

What is recommended if at all?

[Dave]

Although I'm a Nikon man, I've always been impressed by shots taken with the Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5/5.6L USM IS lens.

[rsegoly]

thanks but 100-400 will give me only small additional over what I have now

[Dave]

Well you can look at the Bigma at 50-500mm, but don't expect it to compete with the previous Canon I mnetioned in terms of quality. You'll also need a tripod for most shots at full zoom, unless in very bright conditions & a strong arm

Prices & weight/size will increase rapidly if you want to go any bigger with a Zoom.

Any Canon boys recommend anything else ?

[Liam O'Neill]

Tamron do a Tamron AF 200-500mm f/5-6.3 Di LD IF SP (which has the 'SP' bit, the important bit on any Tamron lens name) but other than that your looking at Canon's big prime lenses, and "cheap" with them is a very relative term

If you combine the 100-400 with one of the teleconverters (1.4x is optically better than the 2x one) then you would have a big increase in range. Canon, Tamron and Kenko make them, but they won't work with all lenses, so make sure before you buy (and the 2x one will probably stop your AF working)

[rsegoly]

So you convinced me not to buy remotely in Japan, as I need to test it by myself on my camera.

I will look for the lens here in Hong Kong, i am sure there are second hand equipment here as well.

[stepheno]

Originally Posted by rsegoly

thanks but 100-400 will give me only small additional over what I have now

Yes but the IQ at 400 will surpass anything else except a prime.

[Sonsey]

Originally Posted by rsegoly

thanks but 100-400 will give me only small additional over what I have now

The problem is once you start looking for anything over 400mm you start moving into big-bucks territory with the previously mentioned Sigma 50-500mm "Bigma" or Tamron 200-500mm being the only real cheapish lenses available in that range, I say this without knowing your budjet so I could be wrong here.

Originally Posted by Liam O'Neill

If you combine the 100-400 with one of the teleconverters (1.4x is optically better than the 2x one) then you would have a big increase in range. Canon, Tamron and Kenko make them, but they won't work with all lenses, so make sure before you buy (and the 2x one will probably stop your AF working)

You will definately loose autofocus using the 2x coverter with the 100-400, and unless you have a full-frame sensor camera (e.g. 1D mkII, 1Ds mkII) you will most likely loose autofocus aswell with the 1.4x when used with the 100-400. I believe a few 100-400 owners have retained autofocus using one of the Kenko 1.4x converters, but it seems to be pot luck as to wheather it works, with most saying it dosn't.

[rsegoly]

Thanks for all the answer, but can someone explain more about teleconverters.

I have similar rings I add between the lens and the body for Macro photography, but I did not know I can achieve the opposite, any downside? is it expensive? Advices? Maybe it will be sufficient without buying new lens.

[Rob Barron]

Tele-converters mostly come in two sizes rs, 1.4x and 2x with each doineg exactly what they say: multiplying the focal length by their respective numbers. The downside is that you lose 1 stop on the 1.4x and 2 stops on the 2x.

I have the 100-400mm IS L series Canon lens Dave mentioned and sorry, you are very wrong to say you won't get much difference. The quality of the picture is vastly superior to the 75-300mm USM lens that I think is what you have. Ok, some will argue, so it jolly well should be, after all you are talking about a lens that costs 5 times the price! I would entirely agree but that doesn't negate the fact this is one heck of a lens we are talking about.

This also has the image stabilisation that your lens hasn't got which in itself can give you up to 3 stops of better hand-holding potential.

Back to the TCs, let me apply it to my Canon 300mm IS L series f4 lens, one of the best telephoto lenses out there but a prime, not a zoom. If I add the 1.4x TC to it, I get an increase to 420mm (excluding the 1.6x factor because of the sensor size). However, my maximum aperture will drop to f5.6. This still allows me to use autofocus as that is the limit.

If I add my 2x TC (I have both) then the lens becomes a 600mm but I lose 2 stops so now the widest aperture is f8 AND I lose autofocus. Is loss of autofocus a problem? No, not at all. You see, if I am using that lens, I am obviously doing so because the subject is a fair distance away. Therefore all I have to do is focus to the infinite mark and I can be sure it is in focus anyway.

I would just add though that the Canon TCs are both L series quality optics which means you are still maintaining the quality. I wouldn't dream of using a Kenco TC on an L series lens, that would go against the whole point of paying for L series quality in the first place! Admittedly, that does mean paying a fair bit more for the Canon TC, around £190 street price, a touch less on Ebay. As mentioned, the Canon TCs only work on certain cameras so you can't just add it to any lens and get double the focal length.

If I were you and you can get the right price (surely in Hong Kong you have the best prices available on your doorstep!) I would definitely buy the Canon 100-400mm L series and if you really need more distance, buy the 1.4x TC to go with it. You have bright light over there so the loss of one stop won't be a big issue for most of the time. With this lens, you will get stunning quality that you just won't get with anything else other than perhaps the prime 400 or 500mm L series but that really will cost you an arm, a leg and possibly both kidneys as well!

Cheers,
Rob

[rsegoly]

I could do with arm and leg, but kidneys? No way.

I am just armature and enjoy playing with my camera, so will live with limitations imposed by any solution, but I will probably not buy an expensive lens (there are limits to what my wife will permit me, and she has the money....).

So if I keep my 75-300, will the TC increase my zoom in meaningful way? 1.4? 2?

I read a bit on the web, still people are not convinced it will have good impact, but all I was looking for is ability to take pictures of people from greater distance than the 75-300 will permit me. And I guess I can get fare price where I live.


Stacking Jessop 2x Teleconverters on a Canon EOS 300D
Teleconverters (Multipliers) - how well do they work?

[danpen]

The TC will magnify any imperfections in the lens and is really not going to provide great results with the 75-300, it's going to be F8 which is definitely limiting over here with our grey skys.

The Canon TC's won't fit on this lens, there are two models of Kenko the MC7 (which is OK) and the Pro 300 which is a fair bit better.

[dod]

Originally Posted by Sonsey

and unless you have a full-frame sensor camera (e.g. 1D mkII, 1Ds mkII)

Only the S models are full frame Sonsey, the non S have a 1.3X crop factor.

Originally Posted by rsegoly

thanks but 100-400 will give me only small additional over what I have now

It also gives you image stabilisation, fantastic build quality and superb optics.

Originally Posted by Rob Barron

I wouldn't dream of using a Kenco TC on an L series lens, that would go against the whole point of paying for L series quality in the first place! Admittedly, that does mean paying a fair bit more for the Canon TC, around £190 street price, a touch less on Ebay. As mentioned, the Canon TCs only work on certain cameras so you can't just add it to any lens and get double the focal length.

The Kenco 300 Pro is generally considered optically to be pretty much as good as the canon version (the 1.4 especially), certainly as far as the eye can see anyway. The Canon "may" have a slight advantage if you're looking at resolution charts but the Kenco is the better buy in my opinion. The biggest benefit of the Canon TC's IMO is the weatherproofing but if you're not using it on a 1 series with an appropriate lens it doesn't really matter anyway.

[Sonsey]

Originally Posted by dod

Only the S models are full frame Sonsey, the non S have a 1.3X crop factor.

Very true, sorry for the confusion... To clarify, all the 1 series camera's can autofucus with apertures as small as f/8 (Models include; EOS 1D, 1Ds, 1DMkII, 1DMkIIN, 1Ds MkII, and film cameras EOS 1 and EOS 3).