Change from Canon 300mm f4 L to 70-300mm L?

Soldato
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I'll try my best to keep this concise!

Current (relevant) inventory:
6D mkii and M50 bodies
70-200mm f4 L IS, 300mm f4 L IS

My 300mm f4, although pin sharp on my 6D, is starting to really show its age, particularly with focussing. I recently purchased the M50 to aid my 6D with my event shooting (mostly outdoor sports) and the 300mm AF is unbearably slow on this camera - using with a third party adapter however I've read even the genuine Canon adapter only marginally helps. It also isn't very sharp on the M50 although this is to be expected with a FF lens on a crop body.
In an ideal world I would love to purchase the 100-400 L mkii however this is just way outside of my budget right now. So my current thinking is sell the 300mm for the 70-300mm. The latter can be picked up for around £500 right now so it's a jump of around £150 if I get £350 for my 300mm which I feel is a conservative figure. I have no doubt the 70-300mm will spend 95% of its time at the long end of the zoom however I would be willing to sacrifice a small amount of sharpness for better (or quicker I should say) AF. However, I'm not sure if I could give up the f4 aperture.
That brings me on to my 70-200. Now I love this lens and I appreciate it would be completely overlapped by the 70-300 but I would prefer to keep it for the constant f4. Plus it means I have a zoom lens for each camera. Although maybe those of you who have used both could say if the 70-300 is every bit as sharp as the 70-200, despite the aperture differences?
Now I could buy a 1.4 extender but I have had two of these over the years and both have eventually been sold as I generally have not liked the image degradation that comes with them and again the AF seems to suffer ever so slightly.

Any wisdom or experience you wish to share would be greatly appreciated!
 
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Associate
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wakefield
maybe check out a sigma 100-400, you can get them grey import for as little as £530 - if anything id sack the eos M off maybe consider an EOS RP with adapter , theres many ways to skin this i think a 70-300 isnt the way to go really
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
3 Dec 2012
Posts
2,707
Location
Northern Ireland
maybe check out a sigma 100-400, you can get them grey import for as little as £530 - if anything id sack the eos M off maybe consider an EOS RP with adapter , theres many ways to skin this i think a 70-300 isnt the way to go really
Thanks. At the moment the M50 is serving a purpose as I have been taking advantage of the 1.6x crop, particularly for football and even a bit of wildlife on the side. I very much intend to trade both the 6D ii and the M50 in and buy the R, but that will be at least a year or so down the line - if Canon do release a new professional mirrorless body then maybe the R will come down in price a bit.

Either way I've decided to move on the 300mm f4 L. It did serve a purpose for that extra bit of reach but I've found now I can just about get away with using the 70-200mm f4 L on the M50. I've ordered a 70-300mm L from MPB for £475 which will arrive at the start of next week. I'm very interested to see how it performs. If I get £350 for my 300mm then I'll be happy. If the 70-300mm doesn't stack up I'll just return it.
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
3 Dec 2012
Posts
2,707
Location
Northern Ireland
70-300L is a very nice lens. It needs light to work well. I use it a lot and it is good for motorsports etc.
It sure is. I've had a week to play with it and it is tack sharp. My 70-200 f4 L IS was the sharpest lens I've owned and the 70-300 is a notable improvement, especially in the 135-200(ish) range. The only thing I have yet to suss out is if I'll miss the f4 at 200mm. That being said the 70-300 is f5 at 200mm so that's not even a full stop. I also purchased an 85mm f1.8 that should work nicely on my 6D for excellent background separation and then also as a handy 135mm at ~f2.5 on the M50. I am hoping this should cover any concerns I have about moving on the 70-200 f4.
 
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