1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION
I do a great deal of wildlife shooting, mostly birds in flight.
I can tell you in my experience, as has been mentioned above, 200mm is not going to be enough to get the close, detailed shots that makes great wildlife images. Believe me, I've tried. On the other hand, keep in mind the longer the glass gets, the harder it is to hold steady. While you can shoot certain wildlife with a tripod, birds in flight are not among those that you can as the tripod limits your movements too much.
Currently using a Canon 6D (you know, the camera with the really poor AF system that can't track anything moving 
) with the 100-400 II and I am getting very good results. I will tell you too, as has been mentioned, you're going to do a whole lot of standing around, waiting. Wildlife shooting requires tremendous amounts of patience....which surprises me that I can do it as I have very little.
So I would suggest to you to try to get something about 400mm. I don't know what the 100-400 II is going for these days, maybe you could find one used and save a bit. Know too that the 100-400 on your crop body camera is going to have a narrower angle of view as it is designed for a full frame body, but it can be used on your crop. But I think if you get into a 200 or even 300mm lens it's going to leave you somewhat disaapointed. I'll mention too, this type of photography requires a great deal of practice. So, initially, you're going to get some klunkers, which is fine as these will all provide a degree of learning. Good luck to you.
Here are a couple I've gotten recently.
I do a great deal of wildlife shooting, mostly birds in flight.
I can tell you in my experience, as has been mentioned above, 200mm is not going to be enough to get the close, detailed shots that makes great wildlife images. Believe me, I've tried. On the other hand, keep in mind the longer the glass gets, the harder it is to hold steady. While you can shoot certain wildlife with a tripod, birds in flight are not among those that you can as the tripod limits your movements too much.
Currently using a Canon 6D (you know, the camera with the really poor AF system that can't track anything moving ) with the 100-400 II and I am getting very good results. I will tell you too, as has been mentioned, you're going to do a whole lot of standing around, waiting. Wildlife shooting requires tremendous amounts of patience....which surprises me that I can do it as I have very little.
So I would suggest to you to try to get something about 400mm. I don't know what the 100-400 II is going for these days, maybe you could find one used and save a bit. Know too that the 100-400 on your crop body camera is going to have a narrower angle of view as it is designed for a full frame body, but it can be used on your crop. But I think if you get into a 200 or even 300mm lens it's going to leave you somewhat disaapointed. I'll mention too, this type of photography requires a great deal of practice. So, initially, you're going to get some klunkers, which is fine as these will all provide a degree of learning. Good luck to you.
Here are a couple I've gotten recently.
