Comments on: Is artie Nuts? Why Would He Spend $11,499 (plus 7% sales tax and shipping) On a Lens He Has Preached Against for More Than Two Decades? https://www.birdsasart-blog.com/baa/2011/12/26/is-artie-nuts-why-would-he-spend-11499-plus-7-sales-tax-and-shipping-on-a-lens-he-has-preached-against-for-more-than-two-decades-2/ The blog of bird photographer Arthur Morris Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:06:25 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.3 By: Elliotte Rusty Harold https://www.birdsasart-blog.com/baa/2011/12/26/is-artie-nuts-why-would-he-spend-11499-plus-7-sales-tax-and-shipping-on-a-lens-he-has-preached-against-for-more-than-two-decades-2/comment-page-1/#comment-155637 Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:06:25 +0000 http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/?p=7877#comment-155637 I’ve never used the old or new 400 f/2.8 myself. Too heavy, too expensive, and too short for me. When I want 400mm there are cheaper, lighter lenses I can use (I own three in that range) and when I want more than 400mm there are longer lenses that give higher quality for less cost and weight (or at least no more cost and weight). If I want 500mm or more, then I’d rather start with a 500mm or 600mm lens rather than a 400mm + TC.

Still I’ll be curious to see how the new lens performs. While the old 400mm f/2.8 wasn’t the majority choice for bird photographers, the photographers I know who did use it seemed to do just as well as the ones who used the 500-800mm supertelephotos. I can certainly agree with you about not wanting to drag a 12 pound lens around the field; but otherwise I could never square your preference against the old lens with the incredible shots I saw other photographers making with it.

]]> By: Elliotte Rusty Harold https://www.birdsasart-blog.com/baa/2011/12/26/is-artie-nuts-why-would-he-spend-11499-plus-7-sales-tax-and-shipping-on-a-lens-he-has-preached-against-for-more-than-two-decades-2/comment-page-1/#comment-155634 Thu, 05 Jan 2012 11:55:17 +0000 http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/?p=7877#comment-155634 With this combo you won’t need to autofocus at f/8, an ability I’ve noticed you’ve used heavily over the years. I’ll be curious to see how that works out for you, and how that affects your analysis of the 1D Mark IV vis-a-vis non f/8 cameras like the 7D and the EOS-1D X.

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