Getting ready to jump ship...

Thanks Cliff but I think I'll pass on that jem. But thanks for looking out for me....

Pat

Thanks for all the positive and negative input. I HATE to leave the KM camp but as I (and others) have stated: poor AF speed, very limited availablity and outragously high prices for new and used lenses make it very difficult for successful bird photography.

7D, 80-200/2.8 HS G, 28-75/2.8, 5600HSD, 75-300 Macro/4.5-5.6,

Sigma 400/5.6 APO, Kenko Pro 300 2x teleconverter, and even my Maxxum 5 (film) with 28-80/3.5-5.6 D going to ebay soon (all in very good condition). It hurts to say it...I started with a Maxxum 5000, then a Maxxum XTsi, then a MAxxum 5, then the 7D.



Pat

Hi,
I think that there is a 300mm lens APO for sale on Ebay as of today. Good luck.
Mark

great, i look forward to your ads on ebay.

Hi Pat,

I strongly believe that the heart and soul of a DSLR system is the telezoom lens. So when I switched to the Canon system the first lens I wanted to buy ASAP was the 70-200/2.8 L. I debated a few minutes whether to go for the IS or non-IS version. I ended up with the IS as it was a heavy lens and although I will be using it for portraiture/sports I needed the stability when my arms get tired.

This lens coupled with a 30D/20D is extremely fast for sports. I took a lot of shots during a US Open tuneup tennis tournament here. Even with the 1.4x II extender, the AF was very fast and accurate.

I'm not a huge fan of the 2x TC as from experience with the Sigma 2x TC and my Maxxum/Sigma lenses, it negatively impacted IQ. I guess it is OK if I was just printed 4 x 6s.

BTW, the Canon lens forum is not a bad place to pose some questions about Canon gear. A lot of people there are very helpful and some are anxious to post some samples for you.

Best regards,

José

Pat Trev said:

Hi Jose,

If I can successfully sell my current equipment, I will be looking
at the 30D with the 300/4, 100-400 or the 70-200 with IR and 2x
converter. Right now I'm leaning towards the 70-200 + 2x converter
since that's what I have now. I need the 2.8 for an ice hockey
team I've been following. Definately need the faster lens for
that! But I hope I can find these items in a store to try the
focus speed with the converter. I hate to give up my Maxxum but
there are no 300/4 to be found--even so, the focus will be too slow
and the cost too high. I hope to see you on the other side.
Pat

Click to expand...

--
Shooting with the famous Replacements (1DMarkIIN, 30D and SD700IS)
http://www.pbase.com/jmb_56/canon_1dmk2n
http://www.pbase.com/jmb_56/canon_30and20d
http://www.pbase.com/jmb_56/maxxum_7d

It's now got the same AF as the 30D and slightly higher pixel density, so you might want to have a look at it and even consider two of the cheaper bodies and keep them fixed to a particular lens.
Not many are too thrilled with the 2x tele - the 1.4 gets much better reports.

Pat Trev said:

Hi Jose,

If I can successfully sell my current equipment, I will be looking
at the 30D with the 300/4, 100-400 or the 70-200 with IR and 2x
converter. Right now I'm leaning towards the 70-200 + 2x converter
since that's what I have now. I need the 2.8 for an ice hockey
team I've been following. Definately need the faster lens for
that! But I hope I can find these items in a store to try the
focus speed with the converter. I hate to give up my Maxxum but
there are no 300/4 to be found--even so, the focus will be too slow
and the cost too high. I hope to see you on the other side.
Pat

Click to expand...

--
Regards,
DaveMart

'Just a wildebeast on the plain of life'
Please see profile for equipment

Why does everyone thing the bigma is the only 500mm out there? Tamron 200-500mm has been well received, and Sony's 11% share would pretty much guarantee a-mount availability.

--The Sigma 170-500 is Available and by most reports is an Excellent lense..Thats the one I'm getting...
It's gona cost you more in the long run for Canon gear...Good Luck
MrScary (DennisR)
Swansea, Wales. UK

http://www.pbase.com/dennisr
http://community.webshots.com/user/mrscarecrow
http://digiden.photoshare.co.nz

Dennis,

The 170-500 is not a bad lens. It's not a great one either, however. I got one for my 7D from Cameta for $299.00 -- sold it later for $425.00. It does take some work to get used to it, however, so be ready to practice. That being said, all new lenses require some practice, even my 100-400 IS L.

The one thing that irritated me about that lens, however, is that it will hunt severely when you try and track a bird in flight. It would work much better if it had a focus limiter, but the one I had didn't. I would be tracking a bird, pass by a branch and the stinking thing would spin all the way back -- bird gone. It hunts pretty bad in dim light as well.
--
http://www.pbase.com/bernarrking

Thanks for the info but it just illustrates the problem. Minolta 300/4 G for $2199. Canon 300/4 L IS for $1199. Sorry for dwelling on this...

Pat

A month or two ago, I was so ready to jump
ship. After sifting through thousands of photos
and finally post processing about a hundred, I
came to the realization that potentially shooting
"500 keepers" is not worth $3500-$8000 compared
to shooting "only 100 keepers" especially for a
non-pro like myself.

I don't even have enough wall space to frame
my keepers! LOL.

--
Matt Cham

My Gallery: http://www.pbase.com/mattcham/

Dang, that's about 4 times more than I paid for mine. Maybe I can ebay my Minolta gear and get into a good Canon setup. I wonder what this stuff would bring???
24mm f/2.8
35mm f2.0
50mm f/1,7
85mm f/1.4
100mm f/2.8 macro D
300mm f/4.0 w/drop in polarizer
1.4x teleconvertor APO II
28-85mm f/3.5-4.5
Minolta 7D
Maxxum 7 w/grip
Dynax 7 w/grip
misc tokina and sigma lenses, remotes, flashes, etc.

Oh, the insanity of it all!!

Pat Trev said:

Hi Jose,

If I can successfully sell my current equipment, I will be looking
at the 30D with the 300/4, 100-400 or the 70-200 with IR and 2x
converter. Right now I'm leaning towards the 70-200 + 2x converter
since that's what I have now. I need the 2.8 for an ice hockey
team I've been following. Definately need the faster lens for
that! But I hope I can find these items in a store to try the
focus speed with the converter. I hate to give up my Maxxum but
there are no 300/4 to be found--even so, the focus will be too slow
and the cost too high. I hope to see you on the other side.

Click to expand...

You should know that no matter the brand/system used, using a 2x converter with a zoom lens, even a high quality zoom like the one you mention, is not going to provide optimal results, either in terms of AF quality or optical quality. I know a few people who have tried using the combination you mention and none are happy with it. Much slower AF than the lens alone and not sharp enough. You may not find that such a combination in Canon will be much better than what you are now trying to do, and optically it likely won't be.

Obviously, what is acceptable sharpness will vary from person to person, depending on their standards. But, for bird photography you would be much better off getting a longer, fixed focal length lens. For Canon, using the 300/4 IS lens with a 1.4x converter would likely provide far better results. Even better for tripod shooting, which you should do at these focal lengths whenever possible, would be the non-IS version of the 300/4 which is supposedly sharper than the IS version, and less expensive. Better yet would probably be Canon's 400/5.6 lens (not available in IS). But, none of these are really long enough for effective bird photography, where you generally need as much focal length as possible. Before jumping ship, if that's what you decide to do, be sure you know how much it will cost you and what your "realistic" options are.

Also bird photography requires excellent technique, both in terms of operating your camera at longer focal lengths (with the right tripod), and also in approaching birds that usually are quite skittish.

--
Mark Van Bergh

... just throw money at the problem. Always works doesn't it?

Good luck with Canon.

Pat Trev said:

Thanks for the info but it just illustrates the problem. Minolta
300/4 G for $2199. Canon 300/4 L IS for $1199. Sorry for dwelling
on this...

Pat

Click to expand...

Yeah it looks like the SSS advantage disappears quickly when you get to the expensive zooms. The equivalent Nikon is priced around the Canon. Why does Sony think they can charge $1000 more for their lens?

fjbyrne said:

Pat Trev said:

Thanks for the info but it just illustrates the problem. Minolta
300/4 G for $2199. Canon 300/4 L IS for $1199. Sorry for dwelling
on this...

Pat

Click to expand...

Yeah it looks like the SSS advantage disappears quickly when you
get to the expensive zooms. The equivalent Nikon is priced around
the Canon. Why does Sony think they can charge $1000 more for
their lens?

Click to expand...

I should say zoom/telephoto.

fjbyrne said:

Why does Sony think they can charge $1000 more for their lens?

Click to expand...

Because people will pay these ridiculous prices. Just take a look at what some of these things have sold on eBay for.
--
Ron
Torrance, CA
Galleries: http://www.pbase.com/rambler358

Rambler358 said:

fjbyrne said:

Why does Sony think they can charge $1000 more for their lens?

Click to expand...

Because people will pay these ridiculous prices. Just take a look
at what some of these things have sold on eBay for.
--
Ron
Torrance, CA
Galleries: http://www.pbase.com/rambler358

Click to expand...

You're right of course but IMO it is an awfully short-sighted strategy for Sony. If you're interested in those types of lenses and you do a price comparision then Sony comes out much more expensive. So milking some customers now may be leading to pushing future/potential customers to other brands. I guess they figure that most of their 1st time buyers won't be initially shopping those lenses so they don't notice the ridiculous price disparity between Sony and Canon/Nikon. I'm hoping this changes soon.

look for a 400G

even at todays inflated prices, the 400G f4.5 with AS is just so much cheaper then the alternative of C 400 DO IS f4

Pat Trev said:

Shooting birds with my 7D, 80-200 HS G and 2x Kenko teleconverter
just isn't doing the job. Super slow focus with the teleconverter
and not enough reach without. $5,999 for a 300/2.8 and no other
300mm in sight and no availability in the used market.

What's a bird photograpgher to do? Canon has so many viable
options, better prices and availablity. My patience with Minolta,
Konica Minolta and Sony has run out. We only live once and I can't
wait years for these lenses to be made then wait more years to save
enough money for them.

Sorry for the rant. I'm looking at the 30D or Rebel 400 (I hate
the name Rebel!), 300/f4 and a 1.4 teleconverter. This line-up
just cannot be found in KM or Sony.

Looks like my 80-200/2.8 APO HS G, 28-75/2.8, 75-300/4.5-5.6 and
Sigma 400/5.6 will be up soon...

Is there any way to talk me off the ledge?

Pat

Click to expand...

--
Bernard

a100+28/2... yee~ha!~
7D+STF135... yee~ha!~
AS/SSS rocks!
lens reviews and more on dyxum.com!

I'm looking to take the leap too. I have an entire array of Minolta and KM lenses, including the 300/2.8, which is a great lens, but way to heavy and bulky, so I rarely use it. Use the 300/4 and you will save lots of money, weight, and lose just a bit of capability. Good Luck.