100-400II, 70-300 L IS, 400 5.6 comparison.

I have been playing around with these three lenses quite a bit, coupled with the 7DII.  So far on super fast BIF flying into me I find I get best results with the 70-300 L IS.  I can back off at the last leg of the approach.  The 400 is too much reach with too long a MFD at the end of the flight but works best if something is far. 

The 100-400II is quite good, but not super duper on ultra fast flight with no time to pre focus.  I find better results with the 70-300 L IS.

Where the 100-400II really shines is on slower flight, or flight from a perch where I am pre focused.  It also has amazing macro capabilities with the super short MFD and the 640mm reach with the 7DII.  Butterflies are no problema.

So, how does this compare to what the rest of you are seeing with these three super popular BIF lenses?  I get tempted to sell the older units, but fear I will regret it.

Hey Steve, You seem to really like that 70-300is, And so do a lot of people I know, Now ime thinking of getting one to go with the 400-5.6.. Thankyou

Steve how are you getting 640 "reach" with the 7D2? You cannot gain focal length without the use of a teleconverter. You may get a cropped portion of a full frame that would simulate 640mm..

Another reason for me not to sell the 70-300mm L IS is it is much lighter than the new 100-400.  I demoed both to a lady recently and she said no way on the weight of the 100-400.

Craig- despite my objections, one of my shooting buddies is selling his almost new 70-300mm L IS because he just got the new 100-400 and loves it.  $900 US and he has all the goodies and box.  He is a bit of a tool junkie having recently retired as a Rolls Royce repair shop owner.  Shoot me an email at Steve@SteveCirone.com if interested. 

Technically the new 100-400 on a 7D II is not really 640mm, even though it creates the equivalent of 640mm, but I love that it holds the short MFD of the original lens, keeps the weight & price down, only uses the sweet part of the lens center, and accepts the 1.4 teleconverter.   Canon 100-400 II lenses are nearly impossible to get March 25, 2015 US.  The big warehouses sell out in just a few days with every new shipment.

Dizzy wrote:Steve how are you getting 640 "reach" with the 7D2?  You cannot gain focal length without the use of a teleconverter. You may get a cropped portion of a full frame that would simulate 640mm..

"640 reach" means the same field of view that 640mm would give on a full frame.  I think everyone pretty much knows that this is what is meant when folks say "reach".  The actual focal length doesn't really matter; what matters is the field of view/framing you will get with any given focal length/sensor size combination.

Steve Cirone wrote:I have been playing around with these three lenses quite a bit, coupled with the 7DII.  So far on super fast BIF flying into me I find I get best results with the 70-300 L IS.  I can back off at the last leg of the approach.  The 400 is too much reach with too long a MFD at the end of the flight but works best if something is far. 

The 100-400II is quite good, but not super duper on ultra fast flight with no time to pre focus.  I find better results with the 70-300 L IS.

Where the 100-400II really shines is on slower flight, or flight from a perch where I am pre focused.  It also has amazing macro capabilities with the super short MFD and the 640mm reach with the 7DII.  Butterflies are no problema.

So, how does this compare to what the rest of you are seeing with these three super popular BIF lenses?  I get tempted to sell the older units, but fear I will regret it.

Steve:

What size butterflies are we talking about? Not tiny skippers, I assume!

Peter

What do you think of the Canon 77mm 500D Close-up Lens when used with this lens ?
Anyone ?

Fabio