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Canon ef 70-300 IS L for bird photography?

Started Jun 21, 2021 | Discussions thread
Andy01 Veteran Member • Posts: 5,191
Re: Canon ef 70-300 IS L for bird photography?

gh172 wrote:

I'm starting to lean towards the Tamron 100-400mm or the Sigma 100-400mm. I have read so many reviews on these two lens over the last 24 hours. Both lenses seem to be subject to good and bad copies which is a little worrying. I have seen negative reviews in regards to the Sigmas Optical stabilization and focusing speed and the softness of the Tamron at 400mm where I would be shooting with this lens the majority of the time. Get a good copy of either of these lenses and they are apparently stellar.

I am a little biased against 3rd party lenses on Canon, but I would rather look for a good Canon 100-400L (original model - push/pull) than a 3rd party 100-400mm.

I had the original 100-400L for several years and got some nice sharp photos with it. The early copies (closer to 1998) seemed to have more copy variability, but later on they were pretty good. The only reason I replaced mine with a 100-400L ii was I got one at a 40% discount which was too good an offer to pass up.

The main thing to watch for on the original 100-400L is uncontrolled zoom creep. These lenses have a tensioning ring that allows the zoom movement to be tightened or loosened, and that tends to wear out over time to a point where it cannot be tightened enough to stop uncontrolled zoom creep. Apparently it can be repaired at perhaps $300-350.

The 100-400L will probably AF at least as well as a 3rd party lens (and probably more reliably), and it's 2 stop IS was reasonable, although can't compete with the new 100-400L ii 4 stop IS.

Colin

 Andy01's gear list:Andy01's gear list
Canon EOS M5 Canon 6D Mark II Canon EF 100mm F2.8L Macro IS USM Canon EF-M 22mm f/2 STM Canon EF 35mm F2 IS USM +5 more
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