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I am debating between the 100-400 mm F4.5-5.6 L Lens and the 300 MM F4L Lens. Any advice?

wayner99
Apprentice

I would like to purchase one of the two lenses listed above. Looking for advice? I will take mostly wildlife and some sports pictures. I want it to be super sharp! Thanks so much.

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

300 mm + a crop body is a tight field of view. Personally I'd go the 100-400 route. I have owned the 300 f4 & now own the 300 f2.8 but find my 100-400 much more useful.

"A skill is developed through constant practice with a passion to improve, not bought."

View solution in original post

28 REPLIES 28

Tim I have to ask, why?  Why do you debate with him as all is lost.

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!


@ebiggs1 wrote:

Tim I have to ask, why?  Why do you debate with him as all is lost.


Mom always said if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. Good advice!

Hi everyone!

 

After reading each post in this thread, I am inclined to agree with Tim on this.  When you use either lens with a Full-Frame image sensor or an APS-C crop image sensor, nothing about the lens physically changes at all.  All that is changing is the effective angle of view because an APS-C crop sensor captures a smaller area than a Full-Frame sensor does.  A 300mm lens is still physically a 300mm lens on either camera and an f/4 lens is still an f/4 lens when used on either camera, only the effective angle of view change with an APS-C camera would make a 300mm lens perform like it was a 480mm lens.  The amount of light passing through the lens and entering either camera remains the same.  The only time this would physically change is when using a teleconverter, like the Extender EF 2x III.

 

I found a video on our Canon Digital Learning Center website explaining this difference in short.  I think you may find it helpful.  The individuals in the video are addressing the video community, but the same also applies to shooting stills as well.  Please CLICK HERE.

Did this answer your question? Please click the Accept as Solution button so that others may find the answer as well.

Mike, I appreciate your reply and involvement. I recognize that Tim is a respected contributor and I have made every effort to communicate clearly; including making photographic images to demonstrate my points, providing links, samples, and extensively editing the posts so that my replies to his comments are easy to read and understand. My hope had been to provide a solid foundation for discussion.

 

I would like to note that at no time did I ever suggest that the lens physically changed. I made clear this understanding over 24 hours ago when I created my orginal post which stated, "... the 300mm f/4 will perform as a f/6.4 on the crop sensor sized 70D.." (07-29-2014 01:23 AM) 

 

I'm not sure why this has been moderated to comment that "..(the lens doesn't) physically change" at this stage. I know, we're all busy.

 

PS It is worth noting that my involvement in the thread was not prompted by Tim's comments but by a genuine desire to provide the OP with some perspective on the differences that a smaller sensor would bring to his photography. Specifically matching a EF lens to a crop sensor equipped body.

 

It was Tim's misunderstanding, which I believe is a result of not reading my original post carefully, which prompted his unrestrained (over 400 words in response to my 85 word comment) response. I'm not beyond requiring schooling from time-to-time but coming across more as lecture than comment, Tim's wordy response was so plainly off topic (vis-a-vis the carefully worded post I had made) that I choose to accept his implied offer to have the discussion.

 

As ebiggs1 has now chimed in his ".... all is lost.." comment, I can see the wagons circling and am not likely to engage on topics of interest here in the future.

I've been a member of several photography forums relating to digital photography starting with Imaging Resoucee which I joined in 2004 to research the soon to be released Canon 20D. In all that time I've NEVER EVER read a discussion suggesting that an F whatever lens assumed a different f stop of a higher (or shall we say darker) max F value on a crop body when compared to a full frame body. I can also say that in the tens of thousands of photos I've taken I don't see it being true either, or if it is it's a very marginal difference that can't be seen easily. .

"A skill is developed through constant practice with a passion to improve, not bought."

But you didn't say if you found my comments of value or interest.Smiley Very Happy
You say the difference is slight. But what makes the difference slight to you might not to another photographer. I think photographers deserve to know that standing further from their subject to frame a shot means giving up some of the control of DOF that they could otherwise have with the FF camera.
@cicopo wrote:

I've been a member of several photography forums relating to digital photography starting with Imaging Resoucee which I joined in 2004 to research the soon to be released Canon 20D. In all that time I've NEVER EVER read a discussion suggesting that an F whatever lens assumed a different f stop of a higher (or shall we say darker) max F value on a crop body when compared to a full frame body. I can also say that in the tens of thousands of photos I've taken I don't see it being true either, or if it is it's a very marginal difference that can't be seen easily. .


 

I've understood the differences in DOF for a long time, especially when it comes to the lens F stops for small sensor P & S cameras so NO I didn't learn anything new re that. That didn't seem to be the message you were trying to promote. You claimed the f stop & amount of light the sensor captured changed from the f stop listed for the lens to a much darker f stop, as in F4.0 became f6.8. The DOF may replicate f6.8 but the capture could still be at f4.0 if shot wide open. If that isn't correct please tell us how Canon should label their very popular 17-55 f2.8 lens

"A skill is developed through constant practice with a passion to improve, not bought."


@cicopo wrote:

I've understood the differences in DOF for a long time, especially when it comes to the lens F stops for small sensor P & S cameras so NO I didn't learn anything new re that. That didn't seem to be the message you were trying to promote. You claimed the f stop & amount of light the sensor captured changed from the f stop listed for the lens to a much darker f stop, as in F4.0 became f6.8. The DOF may replicate f6.8 but the capture could still be at f4.0 if shot wide open. If that isn't correct please tell us how Canon should label their very popular 17-55 f2.8 lens


I have a 17-50m f2.8 on a crop body camera and love the combination. That said I wish I could get as close to my subject with it as I can with my Canon 5DMkII combined with a 50mm f/1.2L. It is awkward to argue for a change in aperture. I don't need more things to keep track of... but there is definately a need to acknowledge that a smaller sensor has a direct impact on one's control of depth of field.

 

Look... a APS-C sensor is absolutely great, but wait till Canon releases a prosumer medium format camera. There will be folks raving about the extraordinary skinny depth of field they offer and how "fast" a f/2 lens is.

 

I took Tim's advice and I'm doing some more research. If I find anything that supports my case, I'll report back. Smiley Wink

It is rumored that a new Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 is soon to be released (up-coming months). This might or might not be the right time to buy the existing version but definitely worth keeping in mind.

 

http://www.canonrumors.com/2014/07/canon-to-make-a-big-splash-at-photokina-cr2/

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