Telephoto Lens for Wildlife Photography!!

[pumba]

Hey guys I have a Canon 77D, and I had a Tamron 70-300 VC, but I ditched it for the canon 55-250 STM because it was much sharper and half as light! I love it! But I love Wildlife photography, and I’m looking to buy my first L lens and I am curious for some suggestions. I want to make my money count but I want to spend enough to get a lens that I can get some really sharp and incredible photo’s! I was looking at some telephoto prime L lenses but I’m not sure which ones are the best. I take pictures of all types of wildelife, from birds to deer etc. thank you for you time!

[Waddizzle]

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@pumba wrote:

Hey guys I have a Canon 77D, and I had a Tamron 70-300 VC, but I ditched it for the canon 55-250 STM because it was much sharper and half as light! I love it! But I love Wildlife photography, and I’m looking to buy my first L lens and I am curious for some suggestions. I want to make my money count but I want to spend enough to get a lens that I can get some really sharp and incredible photo’s! I was looking at some telephoto prime L lenses but I’m not sure which ones are the best. I take pictures of all types of wildelife, from birds to deer etc. thank you for you time!

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Telephoto lens and lightweight do not fit together very well.  You might want to look at the Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM.  

But, if you are just starting out you might be better off with a a zoom.  Sigma and Tamron both make 100-400mm zooms, as well as Canon, but at a much higher selling price.  Depending upon what you want to shoot, a 400mm may be too short.  When it comes to wildlife and focal length, the more the better.

There are the 150-600mm lenses, which are very popular.  Sigma makes “C” and “S” versions.  Tamron sells its’ “G2” version.  These lenses are big and heavy, are not exactly made for walking around like your 55-250mm..  Find yourself a hideaway, and use a monopod or tripod for extended use.

[wq9nsc]

The Canon 400 F5.6 is among the best bargains in Canon L series lens family.  I bought one when I picked up a 1D M2 back in 2005 and have taken a lot of images with it.  It is sharp with fast focus and it is very light for a 400mm. It works well with a 1.4X to take you out to 560mm BUT the "cost" of a light 400mm is it isn't a fast lens and that becomes a bigger issue when you add an 1.4X extender.

Now my most used telephoto is a 300mm 2.8 which is fast and about as heavy as I want to handhold for any length of time.  It works well with both 1.4X and 2.0X Canon extenders and is incredibly sharp.  But it is much bigger glass and far more expensive than the 400mm 5.6.  The 400 2.8 is a very nice Canon lens but I have the previous versoin which is really heavy to handhold for long periods of time thus it spends a lot of time in its case; the newest version would be a nice choice with its reduced weight and better balance but I can't justify the cost to myself yet.  

With wildlife, it is rare that you can ever have too long of a lens and fast is also nice because the wider aperture provides faster autofocus but long plus fast equals very expesnive and heavy.  I don't use my 400 2.8 as much for sports because I prefer the rapid mobility of fully handheld so the 300 2.8 has become my go to field lens for sports.  

Keep an eye on the Canon store for their refurb/return lens because you may find what you are looking for at a good price.  A used lens from another source can be a good deal but use caution with ebay or similar for an expensive lens.

Rodger

[ebiggs1]

"The Canon 400 F5.6 is among the best bargains in Canon L series lens family.  ... It is sharp with fast focus and it is very light for a 400mm. It works well with a 1.4X to take you out to 560mm BUT the "cost" of a light 400mm is it isn't a fast lens and that becomes a bigger issue when you add an 1.4X extender."

WOW, I could have quoted this entire post. I agree with it almost in its entirety.  I will add a small correction, the ef 400mm L lens will act like nearly 900mm on a 77D with the 1.4x tele con. That is major league focal length. Enough for anybody but it will be somewhat slow. My preference for a tele lens and a telcon package is the ef 300mm f4 IS L. It offers a couple advantages. First it is a full stop faster and offers an equivalent of nearly 500mm on your 77D with IS and f4 aperture. With the tel con installed it becomes over 675mm. I understand this is less FL compared to the 400mil but don't forget you got the real advantage of IS with this set up.  Win, win all around. Plus the 300mil is even sharper then the very good 400mil is. All this is a little expensive but a real bargain for what you get. The best part it is all Canon and all Canon quality. Keep in mind this is not a throw it on and run with it purchase. It will take a bit of experience and learning to use it at its fullest.

If you decide to go the 150-600 super zoom route buy the Tamron G2 model. At the present time it is the best one.

[StanNH]

I have both the Sigma 100-400 C and an older Tamron 150-600 G1 that I use for wildlife photography with my 80D.

The Sigma is more compact, weighs less, and is easier to carry.  The Tamron is large and heavy, but either lens really benefits from a good, padded shoulder strap on the camera body.  A standard neck strap is very uncomfortable with these heavy lenses.  The Tamron has a tripod collar, the Sigma does not.

AF on both lenses is good, and both offer fairly good sharpness, especially when used short of their full focal lengths and at f/8 +/- depending on conditions.  The Sigma dock, an option, offers very simple firmware upgrades via a USB connection to your computer.

Another benefit of the larger lens is the ability to get some really impressive shots of the moon.  A nice, stable subject that doesn’t run or fly away when it sees the reflection off your lens. 😂

[Waddizzle]

As far as using the 1.4x with the EF 400mm f/5.6 goes, better check to see if the 77D can focus at f/8.

[ebiggs1]

I agree. It is just another one of the pit falls using a tel con or any adapter to try and make stuff work.  Native is always best.

I don't like'em, never did. However, I admit some, very few, lens/tel con do work pretty well.