First shots with 600/F4

Super shots :cool:

Out of interest though, for the really long stuff is it not practical (and way cheaper!) to drop down from a full frame body to say a 40D + 300mm F2.8 + 1.4x Extender to give you the extra reach and speed?
 
Darren555 said:
Super shots :cool:

Out of interest though, for the really long stuff is it not practical (and way cheaper!) to drop down from a full frame body to say a 40D + 300mm F2.8 + 1.4x Extender to give you the extra reach and speed?
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If you simply want to make the numbers up, ie - have a 600mm lens or near enough then yes - its a perfectly good cheaper alternative.

I've been using a 300mm F2.8 with converters for about a year on my 1D MkIII which has a 1.3 crop factor, to be honest the biggest issue with converters is the loss in AF speed and accuracy, it tends to miss and when it does it really struggles to get back on target, especially with action shots.
There is also a considerable loss in overall IQ, sharpness, colour and contrast all suffer with converters.
The main reason I bought a 600mm F4 was because i'd been trying to pass a 300 F2.8 off as a 600mm lens for a long time, I realised that I used the length and the best way to go would be a 600 F4 prime, with all the overall IQ of the 300, but with the pulling power.

Next year I'll be entering some of my stuff into some of the country wide photo comps, in digital and prints, so I really need all the quality I can get. :)
 
Amazing shots and quality too. I glad you're happy with it being such a big investment. Do you have any shots to give an example of how far away the birds were?
 
All these shots were taken from hides, with various opportunities presenting themselves at various distances.
The longest shot was probably the last goose silhouette picture, which is a slight crop and was around 60-70yds away.

The closest shot, was probably the swallow on the post, which was around the minimum focussing distance of the lens (5.5 meters)
 
SDK^ said:
You'll be wanting the 800mm F5.6 next.
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lol nah..

i've used my friends Sigma 800 5.6, but in my opinion its a bit too long.. F4 is worth a lot more to me than an extra 200mm, which I can get with a 1.4x with practically no reduction in IQ.
800mm on a crop body is seriously long, unless you're subjects are tiny and are always totally still i'd pick the 600 F4 any day.
 
Very very nice! anyone know what the quality is like with Canon's 2x TC on a 70-200 f/4 ? that bokeh looks smooooth!
 
mrk said:
Very very nice! anyone know what the quality is like with Canon's 2x TC on a 70-200 f/4 ? that bokeh looks smooooth!
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cheers :)

I've tried my 70-200 F4 IS, with a 2x converter, and to be honest its not that wonderful, its ages since I tried it but I *think* you lose AF, unless its on a 1D body, either way I wouldn't put a 2x on unless you absolutley had to. The 1.4x image quality is moderatley affected i'd still use it sparingly.
 
Darn, well best get saving then I suppose for the long run! still need a 10-20 first though and then a 24-105 to replace the 17-55 as this range is the most used, I can then put the 70-200 back in the box and get a really long one when needed.

Expensive hobby eh :p
 
Simply stunning image quality and 2,3 & 4 are brillant shots. They look like a frame from a HD tv display. Simply gorgeous detail.

When I was in the Galapagos Islands last year we had a guy with a similar setup that wound up being called "bazooka" by the guides.
He lugged that thing everywhere we went, attached to the tripod, legs extended just like you describe. I feel for you carrying that beast, must be hard work, but worth it for the results when used with your ample skill.

Looking forward to seeing more of your work Tim.
 
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