Lens for Fast moving wildlife?

[Cajun]

HI there,

I am sort of new to photograph and I was looking at some lenses, I am wanting to shoot photos next year of my trips whenever I am out hunting and was wondering if a 70-200MM would be useful to have? I am wanting to possibly take photos of ducks in flight or on the water. 

I have been looking at a Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM AFLens and a Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM Lens

Wondering if anyone has done anything similar or could help me out a tad, Thanks 🙂

[ebiggs1]

It is not the lens in particular that needs to be fast as it does YOU. Remember birds are small and they will be small in your photos if you do not have a long FL lens.  I consider 400mm to be minimum FL for effective bird shooting.  Of course it depends on how close you can get to the birds.  The closer the better and the less FL you need.  Getting closer is always better than getting a better lens.

A good choice might be the Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens.  It is a reasonably fast constant aperture of f5.6. But for you it's main feature is it is very light.  A big consideration if you are also carrying a lot of hunting gear, too. I did that all over Colorado for many years.

IMHO, the 70-200mm zooms are too short in FL to be of much value for birds.  If a zoom lens is what you want look at the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens.  And of course one of the 150-600mm zooms from Sigma or Tamron might work for you.  Remember all will be a bit heavier than the prime EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens.

[Cajun]

I will be pretty close to the birds, within 20 yards. I didn’t even think about sigma I completely forgot about those. Thank you for giving me some options, really appreciate it!

[diverhank]

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@Cajunwrote:
I will be pretty close to the birds, within 20 yards. I didn’t even think about sigma I completely forgot about those. Thank you for giving me some options, really appreciate it!

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@AT 20 yards you can hardly see the details on the ducks @ 200mm so I agree that 400mm is the minimum.  It's barely acceptable if you have a full frame camera, actually.

I really think everyone needs a 150-600mm lens.  I wish Canon would make one.

[ebiggs1]

"...I agree that 400mm is the minimum.  It's barely acceptable if you have a full frame camera, actually."

I do, too, actually.  Certainly 400mm should be the least one considers.

"I really think everyone needs a 150-600mm lens.  I wish Canon would make one."

For several years now there has been rumors of a ef 200-600mm. Back in 2016 we had heard a few times that Canon would be introducing a new super telephoto zoom, something like an EF 200-600mm f/4.5-5.6 IS. This is the type of lens segment that is dominated by Sigma and Tamron.  Rumor now has it will be a reality in 2018.  But who knows?  Canon?

[Cajun]

Ah okay, Looks like i’ll be getting a 200-600 🙂

[ebiggs1]

Don't hold your breath !    They have been rumoring it for over two years and it may be another two years.

[Waddizzle]

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@Cajunwrote:

HI there,

I am sort of new to photograph and I was looking at some lenses, I am wanting to shoot photos next year of my trips whenever I am out hunting and was wondering if a 70-200MM would be useful to have? I am wanting to possibly take photos of ducks in flight or on the water. 

I have been looking at a Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM AFLens and a Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM Lens

Wondering if anyone has done anything similar or could help me out a tad, Thanks 🙂

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What camera body are you using? If you are using an APS-C sensor body, then a 100-400mm lens would be roughly equivalent to a 160-640mm. That range is arguably nearly identical to 150-600mm on a full frame body.

The 150-600mm lenses are pretty good for wildlife.  If you have never used a super telephoto lens in this class before, then you may be in for a shock at their size and weight.  If this your first experience, then some sort of support, like a good monopod with a tilt-only head, would be a good idea. It will give relief from the weight, and provide a stable platform from which to shoot.  Although, shooting birds in flight practically demands that you go handheld.

The 100-400mm, 300mm, and 400mm lenses are considerably lighter and smaller than the 150-600s.  If this is your first experience with this class [of lens], then I recommend going for a zoom, rather [than] starting off with a long prime. For a beginner, a long prime would almost certainly require some support.  You [will] feel like you are looking through a straw, and may have a hard time finding your subject.  With a zoom, you can back out, locate your subject, and zoom in on it, which is much easier.

Sigma and Tamron offer 100-400mm lenses that list or less than the EF 70-200 f/4L IS USM. They are not as well weather sealed as Canon L series lenses. In fact, the EF 70-200mm /4 lenses are not as well sealed as the 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses.  If you are using Canon DPP for post processing, then I would recommend sticking with Canon lenses.  Canon’s DPP cannot perform lens correction on third party lenses.  Lens correction is almost a must with those Sigma and Tamron super telephoto lenses.  They would require that you obtain third party software to properly correct the lenses.  Without it, you can expect to see noticeable vignetting.

[TTMartin]

Don't dismiss the EF-S 55-250 IS STM. It is very inexpensive, but, it has great image quality. If money is a factor it would be a good interim choice while you save up for the EF 100-400 L IS II.