topic Re: Question in EF & RF Lenses

Can an EF lens fit on an EOS Rebel T3?

Styner — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 14:09:51 GMT

Can a Canon EF 400mm, f/5.6L USM Lens- fit a canon rebel t3?

Re: Question

wq9nsc — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 23:44:08 GMT

Yes it will. I still have the 400 f5.6 I bought with my 1D Mark II body almost 20 years ago. That lens was near the top of the performance per dollar in the Canon line. I shot a lot of daylight sports with it before buying an EF 400 f2.8.

It isn't image stabilized so you will need a fairly high shutter speed if using handheld, around 1/640 will work well on a APS-C body.

The lens also works well with the 1.4X extender but that combo won't AF on a T3.

Rodger

Re: Question

Styner — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 23:48:18 GMT

Will this be good for taking wildlife photos that are far away?

Re: Question

wq9nsc — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 00:02:20 GMT

Yes, it is a very good use for that lens.

I used it a lot more often for soccer where I needed to cover a lot of area without moving, it is a very sharp lens with very fast focusing and it is not very heavy compared to wide aperture telephoto primes.

Photos below were shot with my EF 400 f5.6 with 1DX Mark II body several years ago at a spring afternoon soccer match.

Rodger

Re: Question

Styner — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 00:34:08 GMT

Thank you !!

Re: Question

wq9nsc — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 00:35:27 GMT

I really like the 400 f5.6L but with wildlife, they are usually further away than you would like for your lens but sometimes too close. There is no perfect focal length but I think the 400mm is a good compromise between the shorter zoom lenses like Canon's excellent EF 70-200 f2.8 and the very heavy and very expensive EF 800 f5.6. Often you will wish for more "reach", other times your reach is too long for the situation, and when you are lucky it is just right.

The first photo was on a very cold day on the Illinois side of the Mississippi river north of the Quad cities. I was using an EF 800 f5.6 plus a 1.4X extender because the eagles were staying on the far side of the river and even that 1,120mm combo was marginal in terms of reach. Earlier in the year, I was in the middle of Iowa photographing eagles with the bare 800mm lens when a goose decided to land in front of me and the 800mm was too much telephoto for that surprise landing. Later in the day, a duck decided to put on a walking on water show at a great distance for my 400 f2.8 lens.

Another possibility is one of the third party 150-600mm "super zoom" lenses, I bought a Sigma for a hiking lens a couple of years ago and I am very impressed with its image quality. It isn't in the same league as Canon's prime glass but it is surprisingly good. The last photo is one shot with it today. So a "super tele zoom" is another possibility with a little more versatility and it does add image stabilization allowing you to drop shutter speed for non-moving wildlife when light conditions demand.

Rodger

EF 800 5.6 plus 1.4xEF 800 5.6EF 800 5.6EF 400 f2.8Sigma 150-600 @ 600mm

Re: Question

Styner — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 03:16:11 GMT

You don’t need an adapter right?

Re: Question

kvbarkley — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 12:23:03 GMT

No adapter needed, any EF or F-S lens will fit directly on your T3.

Re: Can an EF lens fit on an EOS Rebel T3?

ebiggs1 — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 14:21:33 GMT

The ef 400mm f5.6L is a fantastic lens. It is no longer being made. It was/is unique in the tele lens field. I bet I was responsible for selling several of them for Canon because I told everybody I knew that the ef 400mm f5.6L should be in every bodies bag. I used one for the yearbook kids at school. I used one on my DSLR 101 classes. I use it myself. I personally owned two of them and still have one. It is top of the mark in my book.

The only other tele I rate in the same class is the ef 300mm f4L. Another fantastic lens, super sharp, and only one of a very few I recommend works well with the 1.4x tel-con. BTW the 400mm doesn't work well with the 1.4x or any tel-con.

Re: Can an EF lens fit on an EOS Rebel T3?

wq9nsc — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 15:03:33 GMT

Ernie,

I definitely wouldn't run out and buy a telecon just for the 400 f5.6 BUT if you have one for use with other better suited lenses or plan to acquire such in the future, it might be a better solution than cropping depending upon the camera. The combination either requires very careful manual focusing or a camera that will autofocus at f8 and preferably allows the user to dial in perfect AF calibration for the combo because the DoF is quite shallow at moderate working distance.

I love the design of the 400 f5.6, it is light and well balanced with a very convenient built in metal lens hood. It was my wildlife hiking lens for years until I bought the Sigma "super tele zoom" and it is a lens I will likely never sell because it does its job so well. I guess when I am too old to run up and down the field with a 400 f2.8, I will switch to daytime only games with the very light 400 f5.6.

The birds weren't cooperating this morning but Friendly Tom, the barn cat, was willing to pose for the 400 f5.6 plus 1.4X combo shot with a 1DX II. Definitely loses sharpness and contrast compared to the bare lens but it does take the 1.4X better than a lot of glass that Canon rates as 1.4X compatible.

Rodger

Re: Can an EF lens fit on an EOS Rebel T3?

ebiggs1 — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 15:21:35 GMT

"The birds weren't cooperating this morning but Friendly Tom, the barn cat, ..."

Friendly Tom could be the problem! 😃

Re: Can an EF lens fit on an EOS Rebel T3?

wq9nsc — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 15:24:13 GMT

There could be some barn kittens to go with Tom and the skunk soon 🙂

Rodger

Re: Can an EF lens fit on an EOS Rebel T3?

normadel — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 19:36:31 GMT

Of course. Your APS-C crop-sensor camera (which Rebels are) can use ANY EF or EF-S lens ever made.

On a crop-sensor camera, you will get an "effectve" focal length of 640 mm....lens focal length X 1.6.