Hi Artie,

just got back. I will send you a few jpegs within the next few days. Still importing into Lightroom.

The 200-400 was awesome for the marmots. A few weeks ago I was there with the 7D + 4/300L IS. Although a great and light(!) combo, I missed a lot of shots because I was too close or too far away.
Now with the 200-400 I missed almost no opportunity – except when it was my own fault for being not quick enough (nothing beets practice!).

The zooming is fast and it takes about 1s to switch on the 1.4x – and there is no noticeable loss in sharpness. The whole lens is so sharp it’s almost unbelievable.

Combined with the amazing 1DX with fantastic AF and very good image quality up to ISO 6400 this lens/camera combo was perfect for the marmots. I used the 4/600 only once for the marmots (but for all BIF where the 4/600 II + 1.4x III was best).

It’s hard to believe how I could have lived without that lens 🙂

BTW, I tried rear focus for the first time during the trip. After 5 minutes it was clear that this is the way to go. Now my brain has fully adapted and I’ve also set up my 7D for rear focus. Never going back! Still use One-Shot for landscapes but again with rear focus. Thanks for the tips here on the blog and in the wonderful 1DX AF guide.

Markus

Thanks Markus. Good luck on your trip. Shoot me a few JPEGs when you get back. artie