out4life2016 Loc: Bellingham, Washington

I am looking at the purchase of a new EF mount telephoto lens. The two that I have narrowed it down to are the Canon 100-400 F4-5.6 L series IS lens with a 2X teleconverter series ii. This set up will run me about 1300 dollars and should give me the reach im looking for on my 6D mark ii. The second lens that im looking at is the new Tamron 150-600 G2 lens. The reviews havnt been bad on either lens and both set ups are priced about the same, 1300 dollars US. I will be using this long reach set up for shooting wildlife, mostly Bald Eagles and other birds in flight. Any and all advice on either of these two set ups is welcome and appreciated. im wanted to order by the end of this week. Here are a few photos I took with a Tamron 28-300 and im just not happy with the results. Im looking for image quality more then I am the reach and trying to stay under1500 dollars US.

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billnourse Loc: Bloomfield, NM

Sigma makes a nice 150-600 that you might also consider.

johntaylor333

I know you are budget limited but the Mk II version of the 100-400 is significantly better than the Mark I, although more expensive.
My experience is that the 1.4X degrades images significantly less than the 2X.

My 6-penny-worth

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

Since you say cost is $1300 you are obviously looking at the first generation Canon 100-400, forget using it with the 2x converter as you will lise autofocus no matter what, and with max aperture at the long end becoming F11 it will be pretty useless and nearly impossible to manually focus. Get the Tamron with FAST AF and a full 6 year warranty for $1300 brand new and you will not be disappointed.

tommy2 Loc: Fort Worth, Texas

Everything considered you have some outstanding photos there! I've enjoyed looking at them and would like to suggest you get back out in the bush and enjoy seeing more of those magnificent birds.
Wish I could help you with your question but do want to say that more and more gadgets are fun but not always necessary.
Thank you for sharing these photos with us.

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

First of all, for shooting raptors and birds in general, I urge you to get the 150-600. You really do need those extra 200 mm. The converter works in autofocus up to a certain aperture after which you have to focus manually. The takes all the fun out of shooting birds for me. Perhaps not for you. I have the Sigma 150-600 C and think it is a great lens. The Tamron is every bit as good if not better. For what you want to spend, I think you will like either lens.

Probably the downsides to the longer lens are that it is heavier and at the maximum focal length, a much narrower range of view. I deal with these by using a tripod and panning at 150 following by zooming in at 600. Raptors are nice to photograph because they fly slower and in more predictable paths than smaller birds.

Once you use the 150-600, you will probably never think of shooting birds again with that walkaround lens. The sharpness is so much better. If you buy the shorter Canon lens, you will likely regret it. I went through four bird lenses until I got to the Sigma. Save yourself the time, frustration and expense and just get the longer lens.

Good luck and enjoy a brand new world.

PS Try greentoe.com to get the best price for a US lens.

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LittleRed

I agree totally with MT on this. I had the original 100-400 Canon which is a pretty fair lens. But even with the 1.4 I lost autofocus. I traded it in on the Tamron G2 and have not been disappointed in its performance. The only problem I've had relates to my own personal problems, that of old age and a case of the shakes, where now a tripod is becoming a must. Don't know much about the new Canon 100-400 except what I have read. It seems like a real good option but up here in the north country it's price of close to $3000 CD as compared to the G2's of approximately $1800 CD makes it a no-brainer.

LittleRed (Ron)

genocolo Loc: Vail and Gasparilla Island

Eagle 3 is terrific. The others not so much in my eyes.

Canon 100-400 is really good but in series II. Probably can find good one see for not much more.

tommy2 Loc: Fort Worth, Texas

Certainly not wanting to start any controversy but looking at the eagle photos and the buzzard photo I can see no difference in quality on this 2018 MacBook Pro screen with my eyes when "downloading" both and zooming in the one step. Besides if I wanted to see only feathers as happens when zooming in so close I could open up a feather pillow.
Please understand, this just this one person's observation.

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

Looks overly sharpened and off-color to me.

ken_stern Loc: Yorba Linda, Ca

Fully agree with john taylor -- Went from the 100-400 mod 1 version (used it for almost 29 yrs) & now use the mod II 100-400 along with 1.4x III extender --- resulting in greatly improved Image Quality!!!!

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

I use the Canon 100-400L MKI with the Canon 1.4x MKII extender. For the $ (You can pick up the combo easily for $1200 or less), I am very satisfied. Now if you’re willing to spend another $800-1,000, the MKII lens and MKIII 1.4x extender is even better. I would NOT consider using the 2x extender (for the reasons enumerated above) or any brand extender other than Canon.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

I have owned and used the Canon both the mark I and II with a 1.4x III converter. I have also owned and used the Tamron 150-600 G1 and G2. The four bodies I have had during that time are 6D, 7DII, 5DIV and 80D. The only lens I have used with all 4 bodies is the 100-400 mk II with and without extender. It lost AF on the 6D because it becomes an f/8.0 lenses with the 1.4x III.
I have found that the Tamron (both versions) plays very well with FF bodies. The 100-400 in both versions and a 1.4x III also work well with FF.
As to image quality I would rate them as 100-400 mk II, then a tie of the 100-400 mk I and Tamron G2 with the Tamron G1 just a hair behind but still very good when used correctly.

As MT Shooter pointed out - the 2x extender will not AF and when doing Birds in Flight manual focus is a pain. Though the old pre AF tricks work, pre-focus and wait for the bird to move into the focus field.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

I have a friend that has the Canon 5D mark IV. She uses the 100-400 II with an extender and has won the photo competition at Green Cay Florida for 3 straight years. She loves the 100-400 II, says it's the best lens she has ever used.

steinr98

Just make sure if you go with the Tamron, that you purchase the "G2" model- it is SUPER!! Hard to beat!!