Trade Canon 500 f4 Is for Canon 400 DO??

I playing with the idea to make my load a little lighter I hardly use my 500 f4 IS lens because of the weight and been thinking of trading or selling it for a 400 DO??

is the 400 DO good enough with a 1.4 on a 50D to get good BIF shots?

Renate, I understand the lens is very nice, we tried it once. The only thing I feel that you will be shot most of the time and need a converter, thous loosing AF speed.
I kept insisting on using the 300/2.8 all the time, with converters, and when I went back to 500/4 bare, it was a whole new world in AF speed. Just my opinion.

Fabs,

I love the 500 & tripod but it's so heavy that I need a wagon to transport it, so 99% it stays home & I use the 400 5.6 or 100-400 with a 50D. So I thought 400 DO with IS & f2.8 would a good compromise. I also have a 300 f2.8 IS lens which is more portable but not quiet long enough without tc 1.4

Boy Renate, someone would have to fight me for my 500 f4!! I just have incorperated it into my travels. Would not leave home without it!!

400 DO is not 2.8, I believe it's f/4 and to hand hold it all day, it is heavy.

your are right it's f4..

I guess I have to think about it..

thanks for the info

I had a lot of thinking to do before choosing the 400 F4 DO over the 500 F4. Finally, it's the weight issue that convinced me to go with the 400 DO. It's been over 6 mos now and I continue to be happy with my decision. I do a lot of my photography handheld or down on the ground with a frisbee. I would not be able to do this with the 500. Yes, the DO can get heavy after a while but it's doable.

I use the 1.4 TC (which puts me at 560mm without the crop factor) with the 400 DO about 60% of the time and find they work very well together.

Good luck with your decision.

Renate,

Why not rent one and try it first to see if it works for your style...I was really happy with www.lensrentals.com when I rented a wide angle...

The right focal length depends on distance and framing, nothing more. For flight shooting, if the distance requires it, I shoot the 500 or 600. If birds are closer, I gladly go to the 400 f5.6 (I don't own the 400 DO currently, but have owned and liked the DO in the past). If birds are closer still, I'm even more delighted to go to the 70-200. All other things equal, the shorter the lens, the faster it will focus and the easier it will be to track birds in flight. But ask anyone who does a lot of bird photography which focal lengths are are needed and used most often, and I'd guess that almost always the answer will be the 500 (if not the 600 or 800).

This isn't to say the 400 DO is a bad lens. It isn't quite as good optically as the 500 or even the 400 f5.6 (though the difference isn't anything you would likely see in photos), but it is much lighter than the 500 and far more flexible than the 400 f5.6 in that it works well with both 1.4x or 2x teleconverters. If you are physically unable to handle the 500, then the 400 DO is an excellent choice--probably your best choice.

Remember we are talking birds in flight...

I had the same decision half a year ago in front of me and ended with the 400DO.

To decide on a sound basis, I have tested the 400DO and the 500L as loaners from CPS over a long weekend. The resolution was very similar and the AF of the 400DO was slighty faster and more precise (with a 5D). There was maybe an issue with the 500L I have got from CPS which back-focussed a bit.

The final decision was based on size and weight and I still very happy with my 400DO. After upgrading to the 5DII, the 400DO is based on resolution my 2nd best lens (after the 2.0/135L, but better than the 4.0/70-200L IS). Even with the 1.4 Extender it works really well.

With the increasing pixel count of the new and upcoming digital bodies, I suggest to focus more on size and weight of the lens. If e.g. a new 1DIV will have something between 14 and 16 megapixels, there will be more than enough headroom to crop. That applies in the first step to your 50D as well.

Regards

Bernd

I'm with Nancy! You could't pry my 500 f4 out of my custody with a machine gun at my head!

I'm still hauling a 600mm around and when you say the 500mm is heavy ,I wonder !
I am loathe to give the 600mm up even at my decade ,but my next lens will be a 500mm. Let me know if you want to sell it at a discounted price.
Chas.

With the proper skills and technique, weight pretty much becomes a non-factor. If you can comfortably hold the camera and lens up to your eye in shooting position for 20 seconds or so, I believe that you can learn to hand hold the 500mm all of the time.