DPReview.com is closing April 10th - Find out more

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

Started Sep 9, 2016 | Discussions thread
OP Ran Plett Senior Member • Posts: 1,051
Re: Canon 200mm f2 L vs. 200-400mm f4 L

danski0224 wrote:

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.

Yeah, I was under the impression that it was. If they update it within the year, I'll highly consider it, but right now I think I'm gunning for the 400 DO. I had misjudged the 400 DO because of previous iterations.

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).

I've stacked TC's before (on the 70-200) and it wasn't an issue. IQ was pretty weak though.

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.

I know, I know. TNSTAAFL

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.

Thanks for your advice. I agree. I was just hoping to buy one lens and squeeze as much usage out of it as possible. The resolution charts at the-digital-picture.com are pretty useful at gauging lens quality with teleconvertors, and the 200 f2 does not look promising when paired with the 2x TC.

Post (hide subjects) Posted by
Keyboard shortcuts:
FForum PPrevious NNext WNext unread UUpvote SSubscribe RReply QQuote BBookmark MMy threads
Color scheme? Blue / Yellow