The stare down...

Red Tail Hawk near Ephrata PA

What would IS matter if you're using a tripod?!

I don't know what lenses you currently have but I have a different approach, sell your 60D and get yourself a nice used 6D for taking family and indoor people photos, no crop factor to fuss with and the 6D does a nice job indoors. With the 6D and the 7DII you've got it covered, from portraits to landscapes to sports and wildlife to just about anything else...

I wouldn't make the same comparison. A "protection" filter is something you install as kind of insurance and remove it when you are actually using the camera. I usually always have a "protection" filter on my lenses, especially the Canon L glass, when not in use and I take the filter off with the lens cap. I do this because I'm smart and I learned from a past experience, it's cheaper to replace a 10 to 20 dollar filter than it is to have a 1500 to 2500 dollar lens repaired. Don't see love hate here, just good old common sense. For those who chose not to use them, that's their choice.

As for the push pull zoom, as I previously stated, I have the Canon EF 28-300L push pull zoom and I use it pretty much all the time, it's a great lens for what it is, in fact I'd say it's the best lens there is for what it is. It's fairly heavy, 'cause its built like a tank, not to mention its got some serious glass in it. Its has dual mode IS that works great and the AF has a limiter to speed it up a bit. Creep is not a problem because it has a slide tension/lock ring. In fact that's my only problem with the lens, the tension ring is right up against the focus ring; you get use to it...

As far as dust, yes, there is some minor dust in the lens; it's to be expected for a lens that has been used as much as this one has, but the dust has absolutely no ill effect on lens performance or image quality.

As far as sucking and blowing air, come on, get serious, who slides the lens that far that fast that often, that it really makes a difference?! Maybe someone who's really trying to break it. It's not like you're working a bellows. It's an expensive precision device that should never be placed in the hands of someone who's interested in seeing how much air it can move.

I know nothing about the Canon EF 100-400L, I've got the 100-400L II version...

My walkabout lens is a Canon EF 28-300L zoom lens. I've had this lens for a few years and have taken thousands of photo's with it. It is a push pull zoom and it has a tension ring that eliminates creep. The AF is fast and accurate and the IS works really well. This is probably the closest there is to a one size fits all lens.

Nice photo. I've got the same camera, lens and TC so I'm going to see if I can get a shot as nice as yours...

If you got it real cheap and its clean and haze free, hey what the heck, 170-500 is a lot of reach. It doesn't focus as fast as todays AF lenses and no IS or VC or OS or whatever you call it but with ample light, it will produce decent images. I've got Canon EF lenses older than a Sigma 170-500 and they still perform like new, but then they have a red band on them. Sigma's quality has greatly improved in the past 10 years and their current offering similar in reach to the 170-500, the 150-600S is, for the money, a fantastic lens, a bit heavy but still worth the cost. But then the new one costs new about 2 times what the old 170-500 did. Again, if it's clean, works and you got it cheap, enjoy, you can take some nice shots with it...

This is my second time joining, they lost my first time but kept sending email anyway so, I'm back... not that I did much the first time around.

The series II doesn't really have any optical advantage over the series I. The electronics in the series II are more advanced than the series I. Neither have IS but if you need IS you probably shouldn't be using that lens anyway. Personally, I own the original version, a pristine EF 28-70 f/2.8, it's a really nice lens and although it may not be as fast as the newer ones, it's optical quality is second to none. I picked up a good used one several years ago for a few hundred dollars, had it professionally cleaned for $55 and its good as new and worth twice what I paid.

Hi,
I just read a couple of the responses and I'm wondering, will you be removing the filter prior to shooting? Personally, I always remove the filter with the lens cap. All the filter does is add an extra layer of protection to your lens while its in transport. When you are actually recording light through the lens, the filter, any UV filter, is just another layer of glass the light has to go through. It supplies absolutely no advantage to your camera, that is assuming you're using a digital camera, absolutely none and in some cases it's a bad thing.

Do yourself a favor and buy a cheap UV filter 'cause all it's going to do is add extra protection to the face of your lens. Remove it with the lens cap, you don't need it to filter anything. And if any of your photo buds tell you otherwise, I'd be real suspect of any other advice they give you...