Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS vs 100-400 f3.5-f5.6 IS

[Alexander.L]

Hi everyone,
I'm planning on getting the 7D but I don't know which lens to buy. I suppose you guys use either one of them for aviation photography. Which one is better? Other than the fact the 70-200 has a bigger aperture, is there a sharpness difference and colour difference between those 2 lens?

Thanks for you opinions

[Nigel C]

I currently use the 100-400L with the 7D primarily for bird photography. Whilst it's a good combination for what I'm using it for, there are times when I wish I could zoom back further than the 100mm will allow, especially when out at sea and birds are coming in too close.

If I had the dough, I'd splash out on a 70-200 f2.8 for the extra versatility it would provide. To me it would be much more of an 'everyday' lens than the 100-400 is, even though it doesn't have the reach. From what I've heard it's a sharper lens than the 100-400, although as you can see, the 100-400 still takes a pretty reasonable shot.

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x82/Kiska2/Wedge-tailedShearwatersmall_zps6ee1ac33.jpg
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x82/Kiska2/BrownSkuasmall_zps5ea48793.jpg

[Grahame Hutchison]

Nice shot of the new Airbus A390 "Great Skua" on a test flight.

[A McLaughlin]

I have both. The 70-200 is a better lens...no question...especially in low light conditions.

But the 100-400 will allow you to get much closer to the action!

[Nigel C]

Nice shot of the new Airbus A390 "Great Skua" on a test flight.

The local one is more commonly known as the Brown Skua (Catharacta antarcticus) these days, although the literature still refers to "Great Skua' as an alternative name. It's generally accepted that the local Brown Skua is a subspecies of the northern hemisphere's Great Skua (Stercorarius skua).

If you ever get the chance to see one of these birds up close and personal, take a close look at the claws, take note of the attitude of the bird, and then be thankful they don't come ashore for hot chips like the silver gull! They are one seriously nasty piece of work! For the ones that I've seen, any that are brought on board the boat nearly always take a piece of their captor and draw blood on release.

They are a pirate of the skies (just to keep it aviation related...)

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x82/Kiska2/BrownSkua5_zps2203e783.jpg

[Paul f.]

Nice photos of the masters of flying,they can fly much better than any aircraft we can build.