Does Conon 70D + Canon 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 IS ii USM lens combination is good for Bird photography? How is AF speed and IQ?
Does Conon 70D + Canon 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 IS ii USM lens combination is good for Bird photography? How is AF speed and IQ?
The 70D will be merely okay, but if you've already got that, then adding a 100-400mm II will give you high potential. The 7D MkII has much faster and more flexible AF, but the 70D would be a good starter body, if you already own one. If you haven't bought yet, then a used 7D MkII would be a better choice. The Canon EF 500 and 600mm f/4L IS II are the ultimate Canon birding lenses, but they're very expensive and many people will need a good tripod to manage them. With that in mind, the 100-400mm is a good way to start and find out how serious you are.
Search for the lens on Flickr and you'll find many excellent shots with it. The IQ is great, but the prime lenses mentioned earlier are a bit better, but you may not consider the cost and bulk worth it. Here's a sample with great IQ https://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesl...-5DCv2F-znUP7R
thank you David.This is my first DSLR buy. My budget is tight. Finding a used 7D MK ii is very difficault in hear, but ther are used 7D available. Does 7D is beetter than 70D?
No, the 7D's sensor is several generations older than the 70D, which has close to, if not, the same sensor as the 7D MkII. The 7D, even though it's fast, has AF issues and IQ suffers over ISO 800. It was a great camera...in 2009.
Will you be shooting birds in flight or perched birds, large birds or small birds? The benefits of the 100-400mm II vs. the I may be lost if you can't get focus. For birds in flight, that could be a problem. For perched birds, either body will do about the same. If birds-in-flight are your goal, then you might think about a 7D2 with a 400/5.6 or a used 300/f4 plus a 1.4x TC. Neither is as flexible as the 100-400mm, but match its IQ, but with different compromises.
The 100-400 II lens is sweet. I've held back from purchasing the 7D Mk II, primarily because of the issues initially encountered with it....so, frankly, you don't really know how good the body you buy will be. I use a 70D with either the 100-400 II or the older 400 F4 DO. Have actually had good results with on older Tamron 70-300 (if you don't need the length). I have no real AF issues with the 70D, other than noise over ISO 800, as David says. Be aware that the 70D body does not "recognize" the new 100-400 II, but does not seem to be a real issue. I'm not into the $20,000+ range of gear, so I work with what I can afford too.
www.mibirdingnetwork.com .... A place for bird and nature lovers in the Great Lakes area.

The lens is good but the body is quite limiting when it comes to shooting birds, especially birds in flight if you are after avian quality photos like the ones you see on this site. Consider a 7D Mark II body which is much better in every regard for this subject.
Last edited by arash_hazeghi; 11-20-2015 at 10:37 PM.
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You can also try to find a good used 1D Mark IV.
It's a good compromise between FF. and 1.6 crop cameras and the IQ is pretty good with the 100-400 II lens.
Here is one image I took with this combo:
http://www.naturescapes.net/forums/v...p?f=3&t=259371