Safari lens advice needed

[Sean Setters]

In this case, I think you have to make a judgement call on the longer lens. The Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 will give you better results at 400mm @ f/5.6 than the EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS (I) with the 2x Extender at 400mm f/5.6.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=113&Camera=453&Sample=0&FLI=7&API= 0&LensComp=103&CameraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp =6&APIComp=2

If you happen to have EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II, then the results are much closer:

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/R...mp=5&APIComp=0

Looking at the ISO chart results should help you decide whether the incremental image quality will be worth the investment. If you're curious, check other comparable focal length lenses (300-400mm) to see how they compare to your 70-200mm + 2x Extender combo.

[TonyCox]

@neuroanatomist - yes, renting a 300/2.8L and a 2X extender would definitely give me massive reach. However, that's a heavy lens, so I would definitely be leaving a lot of other gear behind in order to make room (no 70-200 for sure, and any thoughts I had of sneaking a wide-angle lens into my wife's baggage would probably go by the wayside as well).

Question is, how much value would I get out of it? Is that combo mostly useful for birds (which I'm not that bothered about), or is it considered essential even for larger game?