Canon 200mm f2 L vs. 200-400mm f4 L

Ran Plett wrote:

Just curious if anyone here has looked into a 200 f2 L vs. a 200-400 f4 L.

I would think that a 200 f2 would be more useful, and if you wanted extra reach, you could add a 2x teleconverter, or even a 1.4x AND 2x (which I already have shot with my 70-200 2.8 IS II, with mediocre results). I think you have to add an extension tube in between the teleconverters. So you could easily get a poor man's (or lady's) 400 / f4 or 540 / f5.6 with reasonable quality image quality from a native 200mm prime.

The main difference between these two would be the zoom / not needing to fumble with teleconverters, because damn, those can be awkward, the extra weight, and the cost, with the 200/2 costing $5300 less (almost half the price)!

I just love the idea of a 200 f2 for low light, and with modern high res. camera sensors, cropping gives you quite a bit of extra 'reach.'

Obviously it depends on what you are shooting, and generally, it seems like I have the time to fumble with teleconvertors, unlike sports 'togs that need to be zooming a lot.

Also, with the $5300 savings, you could very easily afford to pair it with an 80D and get more or less an effective 640mm f4.

Any thoughts? Would stacking teleconvertors still be too weak with a base 200mm?

The 200 f/2 and the 200-400 f/4 aren't anywhere near close to the same.

You will never be able to add/subtract TC's onto the 200 f/2 and keep the zoom speed of the 200-400 f/4.

You will take a 75% AF speed hit with a 2x TC. The speed hit with the 1.4x is almost unnoticeable.

If you use Canon TC's and DPP, the lens optimization function could be of significant help. I gather that the VII Canon TC's can be stacked, as well as some 3rd party  TC's. I can't see how stacking TC's would give a "sharp" image.

The 200 f/2 isn't part of the latest series of Big Whites that take advantage of the benefits offered by the VIII TC's.

If you add an extension tube somewhere, you lose infinity focus. Your usable range on a 200 f/2 with an extension tube could be 3' (MFD) to 6' (now "infinity") (probably not exact, but the range is small).

Counting on the so called 1.6x TC offered by APS-C does not always work out. Yes, there will be an advantage in very good light at base ISO, but that advantage goes away quickly as ISO goes up.

You either need 200, 400 or 200-400. Relying on TC's to get there is a crutch, although the VII Big Whites pair very well with the VIII TC's, most notably the 300 f/2.8.