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Hi all, I used to have Canon 60D and EF100-400mm F4.5-5.6 L as my main combination for bird photography. Recently I bought an EF300mm F2.8 II lens and a second-hand 5D II body. I'm now wondering which body should be the workhorse and used together with EF300mm. My preference is 60D with 300mm (to get more reach and fps for BIF), and 5D II with 100-400 as back-up. But that would means I cannot make full use of better IQ of 5D II. Your opinion and advices on that would be appreciated.
Hi Pan, I have the 5DII and use it with the 100-400. However, I read up a bit on the 60D recently, and may prefer it (based on what I read) to the 5DII for birding in the field. Here's why: it appears to be faster (frame rate), same or better focusing, and weather sealed. Plus, you get a little bit more out of the same lens because of the cropped sensor. On a brightly lit day, I might choose the 60D and the 100-400 over the 60D with the 300. If you can get in close to your targets and they're not moving around a lot, than the 5DII with the 300 may be better. Finally, the final output may play a small role as well. There are diminishing returns from a larger sensor if you only plan to post images to the web where they can't be fully appreciated due to reduction and compression. Have fun with your new gear!
Thank you for the advice. Actually I also compared the two bodies in the past few days on 300mm and also prefer 60D. I think I will mainly use 60D with 300mm and extender for birding in the field in the future.
