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500mm vs 600mm?

Started Nov 13, 2017 | Questions thread
Tannin Senior Member • Posts: 1,510
Re: 500mm vs 600mm?
7

I have both lenses, a 500/4 Mark 1 and a 600/4 II.

You get used to the weight. At first it seems like an impossibly unpleasant task, lugging one of those monsters around, but you soon adjust to it. And you can always revert to a smaller lens (100-400, 400/4 DO, etc.) when that is more appropriate. A 100-400 feels like a feather!

The extra length of the 600 is worth the extra weight. Once in a while, it is too much length, but far, far more often it is very welcome. The best part is that you tend not to bother with a teleconverter anymore. Many times I find situations where I'd be putting the 1.4 on the 500, but now the 600 is long enough.

And there is nothing, repeat nothing, so useful as having f/4 at your disposal. Be it for depth of field control, for faster shutter speeds, for faster, better auto-focus, for working in poor light, there is simply no comparison between a 600/4 (or a 500/4) and a 600mm (ish) f/5.6 or f/6.3 cheapie.

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