Which body for a Canon EF 600mm F4.0 L IS USM II ?

[Gert Vandezande]

Hello,

Untill today I have made pictures with the canon 300f4.0 lens in combination with the old 7DmkI.
I'm photographing especially birds (or mammals).
I had the opportunity to buy a secondhand 600f4.0 II that is in perfect condition. I tried my old 7D on this lens but it was a real dissapointement.
So I'm looking for a new body and that's my question :
Wich body I need to buy as a good combination with the 600f4.0 II lens ?
A 1Dx or a 7DmkII or ... ?

Please give me some advice.

Thanks in advence.

[arash_hazeghi]

1Dx is the best body to drive the 600 II if you can afford it.

You may want to wait a bit as the announcement of the 1Dx mark II is imminent.

Althought the 1Dx plus 600 II is as good as it gets for bird photography it doesn't by itself make you a better photographer or improve your photos. Make sure you put moe time and resources in improving your skills first before stepping up the advanced gear.

good luck

[David Stephens]

You might consider a used 7D MkII while waiting for the 1D-XII. The MkII AF is substantially better than the original 7Ds, but it's not magic (no body is), so you'll have to work on you skills to get images worthy of your new lens.

[Diane Miller]

Could you be more specific about what was disappointing? That could help with people giving the most useful information.

[Eric Dienesch]

Could you be more specific about what was disappointing? That could help with people giving the most useful information.

Yes i wanted to ask the same.. the 7D I isn`t state of the art in 2016,
but it is still a good crop camera und with the 600/4 II you can get normally very good results (in good light).

It is not an highiso monster, for really improvement in that case, you have to buy a 5D Mark III or the 1DX !

[David Stephens]

It is not an highiso monster, for really improvement in that case, you have to buy a 5D Mark III or the 1DX !

The AF of the 7D2 and the 5D3 are equivalent, IME. The 7D2 is about 1-stop better in high-ISO performance than the 7D and the 5D3 is about one additional stop better.

[Eric Dienesch]

The AF of the 7D2 and the 5D3 are equivalent, IME. The 7D2 is about 1-stop better in high-ISO performance than the 7D and the 5D3 is about one additional stop better.

I didnt say anything different...
but this is not right: the 7D2 AF has more cross points than the 5D3 AF and has colour detection, therefore the 5D3 AF has (with f stop 2.8 lenses) 3 double cross points, the 7D2 only 1 in the middle.

[David Stephens]

.
but this is not right: the 7D2 AF has more cross points than the 5D3 AF and has colour detection, therefore the 5D3 AF has (with f stop 2.8 lenses) 3 double cross points, the 7D2 only 1 in the middle.

I said, "...equivalent, IME..." not, "the same." You need to go to the 1D X and now, the 1D X MkII to get a substantial improvement in AF performance for shooting birds in flight.