thinking out loud Canon 300/2.8 II
Ever since I had all my camera gear- including the 500/4- stolen last year I had always planned to replace with the version II of the 500, supposedly coming out soon. The delay in release of the new lens has allowed some sober second thought and I'm looking at the 300/2.8 II. Here are the "pros"
1. Lighter and smaller, therefore more transportable on aircraft carry-on
2. Cheaper
3. Excellent IQ at least bare (no tc)
4. With 1.4x tc gives a 420mm lens at f4
5. With 2.0x tc gives a 600mm lens at f/5.6
6. Very hand-holdable and fantastic, very fast BIF lens, bare
And the cons:
1. Frequent use of 1.4 or 2x tc with resultant loss of IQ
2. Loss of 700mm and 1000mm focal lengths with 500 and teleconverters.
3. Can't think of any others!
I would appreciate people's thoughts on this, both theoretical and from folks who own the lenses in question (version I or II).