Add 70-300mm to 50-140mm + 1.4x TC?

10sj03 wrote:

Question for forum members who have used the 70-300mm, and the 50-140mm + 1.4x TC combo. I am shooting my kid's youth baseball game. I am limited to where I can shoot from, either through the fence or far away. When I am far away, I use the 50-140mm with the 1.4x TC. The combo works fine with cropping. C-AF is acceptable even on my X-T2.

I would like to move further away so I have more flexibility on where I stand. Question is if adding a 70-300mm is a good choice. I guess I add 200-300mm range to what I already have. How is C-AF on the 70-300mm compare to the 50-140mm lens? Alternative is to add 100-400mm for even more range, but I don't really want to carry a bigger lens.

I own a 50-140, 100-400, 70-300, 1.4x TC, and 2x TC.

I vote for the 70-300.

The 100-400 is large and heavy.  It makes me want to shoot sports with a monopod so that I can rest the weight of the camera setup between plays.

I have not done a direct comparison between the 70-300 and 50-140 in AF-C performance on my X-T4, so I have no opinion.  But, in decent lighting, I never had a focus issue with the 70-300.

I use my 50-140 when I want my best zoom lens in this focal length (e.g., events, portraits, etc.) and willing to put up with its weight and size.  On vacation, I rarely want to bring the 50-140, unless it is a photography trip where I'm going to bring a photo backpack as my carry on.

I'm so glad I bought the 70-300 to replace my 55-200.  The 70-300 works really well with the TCs.