Talk you out of it? Sorry, can't do that.


It's a lot of money, yes, but you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn't find this lens to be one of the essential lenses that every Canon shooter should own. It's a great lens. Based on what you're planning to shoot, just be sure you don't compromise for anything but f/2.8 for that focal length range - you'd definitely be sorry.


As far as extenders I have both the 1.4x and 2.0x; and while I purchased them specifically for this lens, I've never really used them with it (other than just playing around). I now have a 300mm f/2.8, and find the extenders to be much more useful with it- primarily for shooting outdoor sports. I don't find a 98-280mm f/4 to be all that useful; I'd much rather have f/2.8 and just crop for the frame I want (most cameras today have far more megapixels than needed for most final uses). While a 140-400mm focal length can be useful, it comes at a steep cost of speed (f/5.6) which make it useless for most indoor sports - but would likely be alright for landscape and wildlife. If that's the case then I'd suggest the 2.0x over the 1.4x - considering cost and that you're planning to use it on a zoom lens, you get more reach (200mm vs. 80mm) for the price.