What’s a super telephoto lens?
Lenses with focal length greater than or equal to 300mm.
Most important aspect to consider before you buy any gear is to decide what do you want to photograph. This might seem trivial, but it is the most important thing going forward. This is as important as deciding to shoot on DSLR up from a P&S.
Why do you want to buy a super telephoto lens? Candid shots of people, Bird/Wildlife photography, sports photography or something else?
When you say focal length is important, ask yourself why is it important?
Can’t you do with a 70-300mm (Nikon/Canon/Sigma) standard telephoto or 70-200mm f/4L or f/2.8L lenses?
To quote someone: ‘ The best zoom lens i have is my legs.’
If you take a few steps towards the subject, your range automatically increases.
Ok, once you have a concrete reason to go for a longer range lens, we’ll proceed.
Lets assume, we have a standard telephoto lens of about 300mm max focal length, and a 1.6 crop sensor camera.
Why is 70-300mm/55-250mm lens not enough?
1. Can’t approach the small birds close enough to capture them, filling the frame (forget full frame!).
2. Actions are happening at a distance from where you can photograph (sporting events).
2. Quality of images, cropped, are not as the best.
3. Not fast enough. Whines to focus on the small bird, even if i have Center point focus.
4. < something more ? >
So, what options do i have?
Say, we are interested in Wildlife photography.
(If you want to shoot candid portraits 70-300mm is sufficient, if you think it’s not enough, you got to work on your technique. Mind you these birds won’t fly :P).
Super telephotos are mostly used in wildlife and bird photography, where photographer is at a safe distance from the subject. Super telephoto lenses are also used in Sports photography, but these are very fast lenses like 400mm f/2.8L, which costs nearly $7000 and hence we’ll exclude sports photography from the discussion.
For mammals, you need shorter focal length whereas for birds you need the longest focal length one can get.
Here, the decision of what i want to photograph comes handy. If you want to click birds predominantly, you ignore the shorter focal length and buy a prime (use another lens for shooting mammals) or buy a good zoom lens covering the entire range.
Options:
Zooms
1. Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
Termed as the best wildlife lens. Covers a good range and has IS. 400mm is when focus is at infinity. Gives about 385mm under normal shooting circumstances.
Advantages: Very good image quality. Good build. “L series” lens. Perfect for wildlife, especially mammals.
Disadvantages: The push pull zoom (if you aren’t comfortable).
No other disadvantage as such, but if you want to photograph birds, the reach of this lens isn’t good enough. With Tele Converters (TCs) you’ll lose Auto Focus, unless you are on pro bodies (1D MK-III). Taping pins only improves the situation slightly.
Price tag: about $1350
2. Sigma 50-500mm f/4-6.3 EX DG HSM APO RF
No other lens matches the range of ‘Bigma’. EX lens, Sigma’s “L series”. Good for mammals and birds, provides excellent range and good image quality.
Advantages: Huge range, good IQ when used properly.
Disadvantages: Bulky, need to get used to it before you get good images out of it, tripod necessary (only adding to the weight), not a very fast lens. Actual reach is little under 500mm.
Price tag: about $1000
3. Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 AF APO DG OS HSM
Next generation of Bigma, BigmOS comes with OS which actually works albeit little grumpy. Good range. No EX tag, but they say IQ is as good as the ones with EX.
Advantages: Light weight (can shoot hand held). OS comes in handy, and it works too! IQ pretty good.
Disadvantages: Makes little noise with OS. As with all zoom lenses, actual range is under 500mm, about 460mm. Have a look here for IQ before you write off this lens.
Price tag: about $900
Primes
4. Canon 400mm f/5.6L
An “L series prime”, but without IS.
Advantages: Excellent “L series” image quality. Perfect lens for Birds in flight and focuses really fast. 400mm actually gives 400mm.
Disadvantage: You’ll need another lens to cover the range up to 400mm. If you have a 70-300mm, this lens could be a good addition.
Similar problem as 100-400 with TCs, may be slightly better. Monopod is handy, to make up for the loss of IS.
Price tag: $1100
5. Canon 300mm IS f/4L + 1.4x TC
Another L series prime, but comes with IS. Faster than all other lenses above when used at 300mm. Add a 1.4x TC, giving you 420mm at f/5.6 with IS.
Advantages: L series prime quality. 420mm reach with IS. AF works too.
Disadvantages: Range, as with 400mm f/5.6L, need another lens and price for the combo.
Price tag: about $1050 + $250 for Canon EF 1.4x II TC, total $1300.
P.S.:
1. I have listed only lenses under $1500.
2. I have listed only Canon lenses, as i am more familiar with Canon. Nikon too has similar lenses at similar price tag (Like 80-400mm instead of 100-400). Exception is Nikon 200-400 f/4G VR, which doesn’t have an equivalent in Canon, and is in a different league altogether at $5000 a piece.
3. I’m researching for an upgrade and this post is to make it easier for amateurs in the same boat. I still am not sure whether to buy Canon 400mm f/5.6L prime or Sigma 150-500mm OS.
amazing research..
speaks a lot abt ur interest in photography :)
goodluck!
ok Mr.Techie Blogger
I want a cam! but have to wait for the boards to get over though…:P
Thanks Swats, that’s some insight :)
Reema, you know which lens to buy when you upgrade to dslr :P
Vishesh, 3 more months :)
Any new lens on the way? So what did you finally buy?
Haven’t bought anything yet.
Canon 400mm f/5.6L is what i have decided to buy, but it is not in stock in Bangalore and in US.
None is selling a used one as well.
In waiting phase.. Might buy a used 100-400 if available as well.
Any reason why you would not go for the 150-500 Sigma?
For Image quality.
When i am spending $1000 or more, i’d rather want great shot that i can capture, than a good shot with a longer reach.
I started off with hunting for a prime in that price range and am now deciding between the 400 f5.6 and the 100-400.
The range and the IS of 100-400 is tempting over the 400f5.6. However I felt that the cost difference in grey market between the 2 is huge.
These articles have helped me and added to my confusion as well.
http://www.birdsasart.com/faq_1-4isor4f56.html
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-400mm-f-5.6-L-USM-Lens-Review.aspx
what is your opinion?
BTW I have a 450d with the 18-55 and 55 250 too.
Like i have mentioned and birdsasart says, it all boils down to what you want to photograph.
I have the same gear as yours. I mainly want to shoot birds, so i decided on 400mm prime.
I can shoot mammals with 55-250mm IS.
Prime is lighter than 100-400. It’s a pain to carry 100-400 all day. Though the prime doesn’t have IS, i can notch up the ISO a little and get that extra stop. Hand holding is easier, which i prefer over using tripod.
With a 1.4x TC and taped pins, prime performs better than 100-400.
And of course the price is prohibitive. :)
Read this:
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/lenses/forgotten-400.shtml
Hi Sandeep,
At last I have decided to go ahead with the 400 f/5.6. Have you made any sales inquiries? You have mentioned that you bought your 450D from Pixetra. What was the deal you got it for? I have inquired with a couple of dealers for both w/t wrnty and grey.
I did inquire, with warranty seems to be expensive here.
Looking to get it from US if possible.
400 prime is out of stock for quite some time now. Available pieces are selling for prices close to that of 100-400. So, waiting for it to come in the range of $1200 or less. OR might get 100-400 itself.
You can see how much the prices have shot up since i wrote this! :)
[...] Since I’ve taken an interest in bird photography I’ve been looking at all the different lenses that I could buy to get closer to the birds without getting closer (Yes, this is just another excuse to buy an expensive piece of glass.) So here’s a nice write up of the pros and cons by Sandeep R. Here is his piece about the different lenses he was looking at buying before he made his purchase: Super telephoto lenses under $1500 for bird photography. [...]
Hi Sandeep,
I finally bought the 400 5.6 a last month and its an absolute delight. Here are some photos I shot @ the Valley school. Thanks for the article, it did help in making teh choice.
Regards,
ganesh
Hey great to hear that. You didn’t leave a link to your images.
It’s really nice to know my article helped you, however little, in making the choice.
Sorry about that, here is the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27830883@N08/
I am fascinated by EF 400mm f/5.6L USM. Although it’s an old lens but nothing else matches the need and budget for my purposes.
But problem is; it’s hard to find. Don’t understand why Canon is not reissuing or replacing some popular lenses like this one! They have not introduced a new L lens for quite some time. What’s the reason???
The reality is; among all affordable consumer L lenses, Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM is the undisputed king. Fast autofocus, sharp and light. The pros outweigh the cons by huge margin. All the others like 300mm f/4L IS USM or the 100-400mm IS USM zoom have significant bottlenecks that the users might regret subsequently. However, if the 400mm f/5.6L is used in good light wherein shutter speed jumps to more than 1/800; u get excellent pictures without tripod. Normally wildlife shooting and birding are performed in sufficient lights therefore, nothing can beat the 400mm f/5.6 as it produces the best IQ. The other alternatives of using this wonderful glass are increasing the ISO a little bit if needed or using a tripod. Again, in good light none of these are required.
For BIF, this lens is the king of all lenses across the board for being hand holdable. Check some images in this link: http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/821100/0
Yes, I agree with you that the IQ is excellent on 400mm prime if you can get faster shutter speeds. But in most of the situations i use, lighting is not good. I get speeds of 1/60 to 1/200s. IS makes considerable difference here.
I don’t agree that IQ of 100-400 and 300mm f/4L are inferior by a huge margin.
Sorry forgot to mention, I bought this gem 2 weeks ago. Reiterate – nothing like it.