This thread is partly a bit of fun and partly serious, as I keep trying to pursuade myself that I've spent enough on this hobby for the next 5 years. But somehow I've found that I'm not listening to myself.


I currently
have a 5DII, 24-70, 70-200 f2.8 IS and 2x Extender. I would like
something longer and keep drooling over the 500 f4. But mostly it's
done in the way most people drool over expensive sports cars - ie I
doubt I'll ever buy it. The trouble is I'm not very good at that - I
tend not to bother looking at something lots if there's no way I could
ever afford it (ie, I don't find myself pouring over the Veyron specs
as a potential purchaser might). The sad truth is that I could afford
the 500 f4 - it would probably just be a rather foolish thing to buy.


I
also keep looking at the 100-400. But I've read mixed things about it.
And having used the 2x Extender with my 70-200 I really don't think
400mm is enough on full-frame. I also don't like the idea of
duplicating most of the range of my 70-200 - it just seems pointless.
Also, having had excellent results cropping very, very heavily with the
5DII's 21MP sensor on the 70-200, I'd like to be able to do that with
the 100-400 - but, having found that this isn't really possible with
the 2x Extender (which I almost never use now), I'm wary of trying to
do the same thing with the 100-400.


I guess I could go for the
400 f5.6, although I dislike the fact that it has no IS. Even so, I
could probably then crop to my heart's content if it really is
significantly sharper than the 100-400. But still, I've read 1DIII
users who weren't happy with the reach on their 400 5.6. They added a
1.4x Extender to their already 1.3x sensor - I can't, and it's also
0.3x "less" than theirs. But I could add an extender to a 500 f4. That
would be cool.


I have read that for serious birding, or for
aircraft shows etc, or for generally shooting fast flying things which
for some reason I enjoy, that you need "at least" a 500mm lens. But
maybe in some situations a 500 would be too much which would be just as
bad if not worse. Or maybe if it were too much the 70-200 will get in
adequately close enough for me to crop the difference later. I don't
know


Then there's the recent price hike. I bought my 5DII having got
wind of the increases before they happened, with the intention of it
being my last major purchase until things settled down. I don't mind
spending lots of money but only if it's a worthwhile long-term
investment. I hate the thought that prices could come back down,
especially as the 500 went from ~£3700 to £5k. Although I've read that
the yen was actually too cheap and is now more fairly priced, which
doesn't bode well for us ever returning to the prices of last year.


So
you know where I'm coming from with my thoughts, a bit of background -
I'm not a pro, just a keen amateur. I don't
actually have that much time for photography - and even less time for
actually doing something with my pictures once I've taken them. I'd
quite like to take pictures of birds and wildlife as this hobby as
awoken an interest in that sort of thing - before, I used to get
rapidly bored with being out and about with nature. But I do travel
with work quite a lot and many of my opportunities for photography are
while I'm away with work or on holiday - for which massive 500mm lenses
aren't ideal.


I'm 25 and have had a good job for a while. But I've been saving up for
a deposit on a house, having been waiting for some years for the UK
market to crash. I intend on buying once the dust has settled. All my
kit has been bought within the last year and at every stage I have not
intended on making further purchases. But I keep wanting more. All the
same most of the money hasn't come out of my savings - rather, it's
money that just hasn't gone in. A 500 f4 would make quite a large dent, though.


Either
way none of this is likely to happen until my girlfriend, who has the
potential of earning far more than I but having studied for longer
hasn't got her career going yet, has had a job for a while.


Please
help me at least to stop me wasting my time pointlessly reading reviews
comparing the 500 to the Bigma or whatever! (I don't really want a
Bigma ).


Thanks in advance