Lens advice

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 Sabilly1 24 Jun 2022

Hello all, 

Looking at buying a 100 - 400mm lens, but I was thinking if i was to buy a 70 - 200mm lens and x2 telephoto converter could i achieve 400mm focal length and have a luxury of owning a 70 - 200 as well. 

Cheers 

 FactorXXX 24 Jun 2022
In reply to Sabilly1:

> Looking at buying a 100 - 400mm lens, but I was thinking if i was to buy a 70 - 200mm lens and x2 telephoto converter could i achieve 400mm focal length and have a luxury of owning a 70 - 200 as well. 

One thing worth noting if you do that is that you will lose 2 stops.
For example, I've got the Sigma 70-200 f2.8 for my D500 and it drops down to f5.6 with the 2 x Teleconverter.
I personally think it works OK as long as you realise that you lose some performance in low light and won't have as much control over Depth of Field. 

 ianstevens 24 Jun 2022
In reply to Sabilly1:

Don't know how much research you have done, but converters do have some draw backs. They reduce maximum aperture (in the case of 2x, by 2 stops), add some extra glass in-between the lens and sensor (reducing image quality) and can even prevent your camera from autofocusing (as most will not autofocus at f8 (i.e. an f4 max lens on a 2x). None of these necessarily will ruin your plans, just worth thinking about.

But the real question: what are you trying to photograph? 

 SouthernSteve 24 Jun 2022
In reply to ianstevens:

> But the real question: what are you trying to photograph? 

And perhaps which body?

For instance the more recent Nikon SLR will still autofocus to f8 (previously 5.6) so using the 70-200mm and the x 2.0 converter will work in terms of the mechanics of the camera, but looking through the viewfinder is a bit of a dull experience. The cost of the combination however is eyewatering 

OP Sabilly1 24 Jun 2022
In reply to Sabilly1:

Hmm after a bit more research I think the drawbacks outweigh the positives. 

 So if i were to get to the 70 - 200 f4 my max aperture will be F8? I don't think that would be much use. The 2.8 wouldve been workable but out the price range. 

I wanted to photograph wildlife mainly, but I thought the 70-200mm could have achieved the same with the teleconverter. 

 SouthernSteve 24 Jun 2022
In reply to Sabilly1:

My advice would be a 300 mm ± a teleconverter (you can get a 1.4 x one and not blow the quality too much) as a reliable set-up. Otherwise some of the superzoom options might fit the bill, but will be a little softer (e.g. AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G ED VR). 

(200 - not enough reach ; 400 - seriously expensive ;500 - too heavy to be useful, even if one could afford it.)

You might get on better with a telescope and camera converter as some people get good pictures that way, but I have no experience, being lucky enough to have cameras for work.

 65 24 Jun 2022
In reply to Sabilly1:

> I wanted to photograph wildlife mainly, but I thought the 70-200mm could have achieved the same with the teleconverter. 

If you want to shoot wildlife you'd be more likely to be using the 100-400 with a T/C, unless it's in a park or birds in the garden.  

Post edited at 21:38
 ianstevens 25 Jun 2022
In reply to Sabilly1:

Yeah 100-400 Is a better fit. I’ve used the 1.4x with a 70-200 f2.8 a bit, but always switch to a 400/5.6 which I have access to instead. I’ve not used it, but the Canon 100-400 is meant to be very nice!

 65 25 Jun 2022
In reply to ianstevens:

>  I’ve not used it, but the Canon 100-400 is meant to be very nice!

It is, very. I also had a Fuji 100-400 which was wonderfully tactile and a really nice lens, but the Canon was sharper and I preferred the way it rendered images.

 StefanB 25 Jun 2022
In reply to Sabilly1:

For most telephoto scenarios, the 100-400 is much more versatile. The difference from 70 to 100 is not so much. And if the range from 70-100 is important to you for portrait stuff you can usually cover this with a fairly economical 85mm f1.8 prime lens, which most systems tend to feature. 

I would personally go for the 100-400 with a 1.4x teleconverter for the occasional long-reach scenario.

 Marek 25 Jun 2022
In reply to Sabilly1:

> I wanted to photograph wildlife mainly, but I thought the 70-200mm could have achieved the same with the teleconverter. 

It worth thinking what you mean by 'wildlife'. There's a massive difference between (say) a Cettis warblers (very small, very shy) and (say) Humpback whales from a boat (very big, very curious). For the former you'll really need a *minimum* of 400mm on APS-C. For the latter a 70-200mm is more than enough (but you'll want water - or whale snot -  proofing). Wildlife is a very broad subject!

Also you have to consider whether you're shooting a decent light or at dawn/dusk. In the latter case you really need a reasonably fast lens - bigger, heavier and more expensive (e.g., f2.8) than if you're only shooting in good light (e.g., f4).

Finally, if you're unsure, consider hiring a lens and playing with it for a few days. They're quite expensive, and you can't beat actually using one to see if it's worth an investment. My wife wanted a birding lens and tried a 600mm (on APS-C): Non-starter - couldn't hold it for any length of time!

Post edited at 12:57
 Timy2 25 Jun 2022
In reply to Sabilly1:

Hi, Ive been looking at this on n off for a while. really depends what you want to shoot.  If you want to shoot say a static Heron in sunlight then yes this would work,  if you want to shoot a diving Kingfisher then no, you would need an expensive fast lens f2.8 to get the speed.  Also read the manual (Canon example) if you add a tele converter you will restrict the use of the Al servo funtion on your camera, you need this if you intend to shoot twitchy birds.  Hope this helps.

Le Sapeur 25 Jun 2022
In reply to Sabilly1:

What camera are you using?

If it's Canon I can recommend the 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6. I've been using this (as an amateur) for almost 10 years and the results still surprise me. It's not a cheap lens, I think I paid over £2k for it, however it's consistently good. You should be able to get a used one for under a grand.


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