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Canon Big White Conundrum - 200-400 vs 400 f2.8 IS II vs 500 f4 IS II

Started Sep 3, 2014 | Discussions thread
Ponta Junior Member • Posts: 41
Re: Canon Big White Conundrum - 200-400 vs 400 f2.8 IS II vs 500 f4 IS II

I use the Canon 200-400mm. While I cannot say how much it differs from the 500mm prime in sharpness, I can say that I see a very minimal change in sharpness from 400mm to engaging the internal extender. I am very happy using all 560mm and I am yet to see any lack of sharpness that is due to the performance of the lens - rather it will be due to the lack of performance of the guy behind the camera. I am not aware if other users have used the 200-400mm lens extensively when commenting on the significant decrease in sharpness, but both from personal experience as well as from most of the longer reviews I have managed to identify on the net, there seem to be very few concerns in regards to lack of sharpness with the internal extender engaged )maybe I have not found the most critical reviews yet). Personally I am very happy with the lens. The sharpness and speed is great and I love the flexibility of being able to move between 200-560mm. While it is correct that you can rarely get enough reach for wildlife (especially birds), it is my experience that with wildlife moving around (and moving out of the ideal distance of your prime), the zoom give much more possibilities of getting some good shots in the box with one camera only. Just my 5 cents.

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