300mm to 500mm

At the moment I have a 300/2.8L IS & 800/5.6L IS for wild life photography. Now I find the 300 a bit short even with Extenders so I am thinking of letting it go and upgrade to a 500/4L IS.

Bad move/good move?

Because of the World Cup I am hoping Canon will come out with a refresh model for the 500 in say 70 days? Then again I could be waiting in vein.

Before anyone asks the 500 will be used by another person with a 1.4x Extender and 7D. That's more reach than me on a 1D4.

The 500/7D setup is also being made as a lighter weight deployment setup by say 2kg.

FWIW--
When a simlar thread popped up previously-- I thought I'd wait and see if Canon would update the lens to 4 stops of IS etc

In doing so, I missed a ton of opportunities to use a 500 during eagle season here on the Mississippi River

Rented one a week or two ago for migratory small birds and blue birds and realize that regardless of what Canon does or does not do--life is too short for me to not get a 500 and shoot with it

It will be ordered shortly

as they say Your Mileage May Vary-- but I'm going to buy it now :)

here is a shot from a few days ago

http://www.billcoatneyphotos.com/april/pelican_04.jpg

I emailed my dealer. Let us see how much the 500 is.

There has been rumour about a new 4/500 for years. I am sure someday Canon will update it, but no one knows when.
Until then you could miss a lot of shots :)
I use the 4/500 + 7D combination and absolutely love it. Where I live (Bavaria) birds are normally so shy that I often need a 1.4x which works very well with the 4/500. Even flight shots with that combination and the 7D give great results.

Markus

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Pao Dolina

At the moment I have a 300/2.8L IS & 800/5.6L IS for wild life photography. Now I find the 300 a bit short even with Extenders so I am thinking of letting it go and upgrade to a 500/4L IS.

Bad move/good move?

Because of the World Cup I am hoping Canon will come out with a refresh model for the 500 in say 70 days? Then again I could be waiting in vein.

Before anyone asks the 500 will be used by another person with a 1.4x Extender and 7D. That's more reach than me on a 1D4.

The 500/7D setup is also being made as a lighter weight deployment setup by say 2kg.

---

Your gear sounds like the optimal setup for wildlife/bird photo! you have 300-1120mm!
I know that many birdphotographers here in Sweden dreams about your gear and find it to be the best out there!:)

/Magnus

:):)If you want to sale your 300 2.8 L IS send e-mail. Thanks Janet

Janet I'm in Asia. :))

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Pao Dolina

At the moment I have a 300/2.8L IS & 800/5.6L IS for wild life photography. Now I find the 300 a bit short even with Extenders so I am thinking of letting it go and upgrade to a 500/4L IS.

Bad move/good move?

---

If the 300/2.8 is too short than go for the 500/4 without a doubt. I have owned the 300/2.8, 500/4 in the past and I found the 300/2.8 a little too short for most bird photography other than hides.

Robert

I also use 7D and 500 f/4 sweet setup. The 300 2.8 is nice for mammals but for birds go with 500 IMO. World-Cup is coming up and if a new one was offered the time to market could be months. Plus, you must que up and try to can get yours in a timely manner.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jeff Cashdollar

I also use 7D and 500 f/4 sweet setup. The 300 2.8 is nice for mammals but for birds go with 500 IMO. World-Cup is coming up and if a new one was offered the time to market could be months. Plus, you must que up and try to can get yours in a timely manner.

---

No problem getting it in the a timely manner. I would probably get the first one in the country. :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bill Coatney

FWIW--
--life is too short for me to not get .....

---

I agree with you Bill. We all plan for tomorrow, however, our "today" is often ignored.

The 300 is too small a focal length for bird photography, unless you use hides. It is manageable for mammals with varying degrees of crop. People crop more than 50% and post images and get rave reviews. It depends upon your intended usage.

The long teles of canon are good. Future introductions are expected to be better as well. However, if you think the present 500mm lens can do the job for you, then you may buy it now. You can always sell it at a later date at a slight loss and can get a new version. That would be the price you pay for enjoying your today. :D

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

From the sounds of your equipment, your probably as knowledgeable about these lenses as anyone. One thing that I think about though is size and weight. Obviously you already have one that is on the big end of the spectrum. If you aren't bothered by its size and wouldn't mind another big lens (although not as big) then maybe a 500 is good for you. Especially if your not getting enough use out of the 300mm. But if it were me, I'd like to own a 300 as well, that way I can have a more mobile lens too.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Chad Griggs

From the sounds of your equipment, your probably as knowledgeable about these lenses as anyone. One thing that I think about though is size and weight. Obviously you already have one that is on the big end of the spectrum. If you aren't bothered by its size and wouldn't mind another big lens (although not as big) then maybe a 500 is good for you. Especially if your not getting enough use out of the 300mm. But if it were me, I'd like to own a 300 as well, that way I can have a more mobile lens too.

---

I would love to keep the 300. I have until mid-May to decide. I wish I bought a 400 DO instead of the 300. :D

the 300 is such a great lens, I would not give it up for anything !

It is still super with the 1.4 & the 2x if you stop down a bit.

For me a 300 & 800 would cover 99% of the bases.. I have a 300 and a 500, if I changed something it would be to swap the 500 for an 800...

But that is real expensive especially with the divorce fees :D