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500mm vs 600mm?

Started Nov 13, 2017 | Questions thread
Steve Balcombe Forum Pro • Posts: 15,582
Re: The 800mm too heavy to handhold, what about 200-400?

Herb wrote:

I have the 800 as well as 200-400, 500 and lesser focal length primes. I can handhold the 200-400 as well as the 500, but I have tried to handhold the 800 and there is just no way. It is a really nice lens, but it has to be on my tripod with Wemberly in order to use it....if you are looking at the 600, have you thought about the 200-400 1.4x?

I considered the 200-400 but fairly quickly ruled it out for my situation, upsizing from the 300/2.8. The optical size, 400/4, is no bigger than the 300, in fact it's slightly smaller, so there would be no true increase in reach, just a likely improvement in AF performance compared with my 2x combo and the option of adding an external 1.4x but at f/8. Also it's closer in weight to the 600 than the 500 - I did once get a chance to handle one and it's right on my limit for hand-holding. I couldn't swing it around like I sometimes do with the 500.

It's clearly a great lens, and the zoom/internal extender is perfect for certain situations - I'd consider hiring one if I ever do a safari for example - but not as my only 'big lens'.

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