70-200 f/4 IS + 1.4 converter question

I will be ordering a new body and a couple of lenses in the near future. I am interested in wildlife, candid street, portraits, and event photography. In a dream world I would buy the correct lenses for each spaning a range from 10mm to 400 but, alas I am not rich. I will be ordering a 7D, EF-s 17-55 f/2.8 and I think a 70-200 f/4 IS with a 1.4 extender. Figure this should hold me over until I can manage a 100-400. Just wondering if any of you have used the 70-200 with the extender and what kind of results you got. I could just get the 100-400 but then there is that gap from 55 to 100. Or is that such a big deal? Any advice/info would be great.


Alan

Just had a thought...what do you all think about a 24-105 f/4L and the 100-400 f/4L. Then I would have most lengths covered. hmmmm

I have a 70-200 F/4 IS and the 1.4x. The lens is excellent but I've only shot it with the 1.4x only sparingly becauseI also have a 300 F/4 L IS. I have shot the 300 with the 1.4x a lot and there is only avery small loss of sharpness when wide open. The 70-200 F/4 IS is one of the sharpest zooms that Canon makes so it should be fine with the 1.4x.


I also have a 24-105 F/4L and it's a great lens. It's attached to my 5D MkII most of the time. If you are going to be shooting a lot of landscapes, the 24-105 F/4L may not be wide enough for some applications. I don't own the 100-400 F4L but a friend of mine has one. It's a BIG lens compared to the 70-200 F/4 so it's not so discrete to use. (I was doing some shots off a ferry from Vancouver Islandthe other daywith the70-200 F/4 and it was drawing a lot of attention. One couple though I was a pro. (no)).

I kept worrying about gaps in focal length when I was looking into my L lenses but from my own experience I wouldn't worry about it too much - usually you can either move closer/further away or crop later. I think the 100-400 sounds like a better lens for what you want.


I would suggest though that you consider the 24-70 or 24-105. I have the former and when I used it on my old 400D (before I got my 5DII) I rarely found that the 24 end on the crop sensor wasn't wide enough. But then again I rarely do landscapes.


If you're unsure, try paying close attention to where you're placing your current zoom lens, and try using it without going wider than 24mm. Also try shooting without using the 55-100mm range. That should help you decide which compromise you're willing to make.

I have the exact same combo (70-200 f4 with the 1.4 extender) I use it quite often for sports photography when I need the additional reach. I've used it for football games from the stands, badminton tournaments in not so great light, and car races...you can check out my site under "sports"

http://www.juliussantos.com/





Hi Alan,





Under "sports" are some images taken with a 70-200 with the 1.4 extender.





Julius