Hi all, My next lens purchase is likely to be a mid range telephoto zoom. I want ideally to have a range certainly covering the 100-300mm region and preferably up to 400 if possible. I want to shoot mostly wildlife, i.e. birds and small creatures, and compressed-perspective landscapes with this lens and it has to be sharp enough for the pictures to be publishable. Unfortunately though I have a fairly small budget (around �750 - �800 in UK) which precludes most of the Canon L lenses apart from the 100-300 L and the 70-200 F4 L. My questions therefore are:
1) Of the Canon 70-200 F4L and 100-300L lenses which is best? Are they both compatible with the Canon extenders (1.4x and 2x)? 2) How do the above lenses perform with the 1.4x and 2x converters - do I lose autofocus and is the optical quality still good enough to produce publishable photos? What about light loss? I'm asking since, if I went with the 70-200 lens, I would certainly have to buy at least the 1.4x converter as well to get the range of zoom I want, presuming it can be used with the converter. 3) What about the 75-300 IS lens? How good is it and would it be enough to sway me away from the L lenses for shooting, e.g. wild birds? 4) Are there any other Canon or third-party lenses which are within budget and as good as or better than the two Canon lenses I am considering? e.g. Sigma or Tokina. 5) Is it worth looking at a secondhand 100-400 L IS lens? Does anyone know what sort of prices these fetch secondhand in the UK and whether they are likely to be reliable (i.e. were they solidly built and therefore likely to be in good condition after a lot of use)? 6) Is there any other lens or lenses I should be looking at within my budget? Sorry there are so many questions but I'd like to see what everyone thinks before I spend my cash! Thanks in advance for any advice, Regards, Caroline * **** ******* *********************************************************** * For list instructions, including unsubscribe, see: * http://www.a1.nl/phomepag/markerink/eos_list.htm ***********************************************************
