Ultimate Telephoto?

[Owen Rennie]

Hi guys, I'm considering buying a telephoto and looking for advice. I shoot on Dragon

I mainly want to shoot Moon, bit of Wildlife, surf and pretty much anything in the distance. I currently have the canon 70-200 with x2 extender but I'm always wishing for more length!

i can imagine telephoto primes would be a bitch to focus on moving objects? Something like the Canon 600mm or 800mm with the x2? but having those focal lengths would be nice for moon shots..

Ive read a lot about the Canon PL 150-600 which I've seen for sale used but I'm not on a huge fan of buying used old glass.

Im in leaning towards the Canon 200-400 f4, has anyone used this on Red? I'm guessing with the built in 1.4 extender and I could also add my x2 extender for a focal length of 1080mm if my maths are correct?


Any other alternatives I should consider?

Thanks

owen

 

[Michael Tiemann]

If you really want to shoot the moon, shoot through a telescope. I have a TMB 7" 3-element refractor. You can look at things through a 233x eyepiece and there are almost no visible distortions or aberrations. A Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM has 16 elements in 12 groups, and delivers nowhere near the detail that is possible with a properly corrected triplet. This may not matter if all you want to see is the whole moon as if shooting a MCU face. But if you want to shoot into the moon and see crater details, a telescope is the only good way to do it.

Here's some info from somebody with more time than I do to write it all up: http://scopeviews.co.uk/TMB175.htm

 

[Owen Rennie]

Thanks Michael, however i just decided i'm going to buy a Canon 800mm

 

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Im in leaning towards the Canon 200-400 f4, has anyone used this on Red? I'm guessing with the built in 1.4 extender and I could also add my x2 extender for a focal length of 1080mm if my maths are correct?


Any other alternatives I should consider?

Thanks

owen

200-400 at 400mm with built-in 1.4x engaged and an external 2x TC attached = 400*1.4*2= 400*1.4*2 = 1120mm

If you need that focal length, then it is better that you buy the 800mm and attach a 1.4x to it.