Yes excellent advice. I found a 100- 400mm f/4.5-5.6 in WEX for £475 (perfect just a few teeny tiny marks on the edges but optics flawless- bargain I think, I know they’ve been around for forever but so has my 5D..I think that covers me for to start with anyway!!!! I used to be an MMO (marine mammal observer) and avid birdwatcher so I’m used to sitting still until my bottom goes numb. All great advice as usual guys- off to play with my new toy hope you are all well and let’s see if I can get a shot of the peregrine falcons near my house this weekend....how much do you want to bet?! Fiver a I get a focused close up and if I don’t, make me enter one of the competitions (haven’t got round to it yet!)
Now you are talking. IMHO 400mm is the minimum focal length for full frame for shooting wildlife. And I expect that you can probably get a matching TC to extend that lens a bit further. Plus it is an L-Series lens and that is even better. I think you have made a wise choice, Amy. You spoke earlier about getting a 55-200mm and I can assure you that you would have been disappointed with it. I have a Pentax 50-200mm and even on an APS-C camera it is definitely not a wildlife lens. It is a fine lens but I would not consider using it for serious wildlife photography. You current purchase is much more appropriate. Good luck with it.
Sorry for the delay replying, I've been very busy the last couple of weeks. Unfortunately I sold the USM last week - when I list something for Canon I usually put it in the Marketplace section here, as I did with that one, so that people know it's available. I'll be adding a few items in a moment, but nothing very special. I see a lot more Canon than Nikon, and to be honest if something really good comes along for Nikon I'm more likely to keep it than sell it on. But I do sell Nikon if something I don't need comes my way; at the moment the only things are a fairly average sort of Quantaray (actually Sigma) 28-80 AF lens and a battery holder for a very old 35mm SLR. I don't see many Canon-fit prime lenses; the longer Canon zooms are pretty good but unless you're prepared to pay silly amounts the aperture isn't huge, which can be a problem for fast shots. At the moment my really long lens (for Nikon) is an old manual focus Vivitar Series 1 100-500mm f5.6-8, which is a lovely lens but I don't think there was an Eos version, it's all mechanical which is a pain on an Eos body.
I ended up buying the second hand (but in excellent condition and from WEX) Canon 100- 400mm f/4.5- 5.6 and I love it! Got it for £475 and considering it only has one VERY minor aesthetic issue on the body- the writing is faded where it says 100 above where IMAGE STABILISER is written I'm chuffed to bits! So thanks for the advice re the 55-200. About to post a question in the beginner troubleshooter questions- if you can help please do! You certainly know your stuff
Many thanks, Amy. I am glad that I might have helped a little. It's always nice to have a new lens that you enjoy using.
