Buy a 5d11 or a 6d and Tamron 150 - 600

[patrol50]

Hi all - new member so be a little gentle !!

bit undecided here as have a limited budget of $3 to $3.5 K to play with so could use some friendly but sage advice

strictly amateur to date and main interest is wildlife photography Aus and Africa ( not much into birds ) but do a bit of landscape, golf courses and general walk around also

if you check my gear list below you will see my current lenses are 3 x EFS and 4 x EF with 2 x 100 - 400's and my cameras are a 7d and a 600d (t3i) so ok gear for what i do

i like having AF capability and prefer to have it but i want higher ISO because i shoot off hand a lot using Tv- hence tempted by the 5 d 111 and its AF capability with f8 (with centre point) for use with either of my 100 - 400 with a C 1.4 Ext attached to get some reach out there ( and from what i read appears not much difference in quality between a 100 - 400 with 1.4 ext and the tam 150 - 600 out there at the 550 / 600 setting )

the other option is the 6 d (great at high iso) but not so good with moving AF and it wont AF at f8 ( so why not fix both issues canon with a firmware upgrade hey !) and add a tamron 150 - 600 to get AF and that longer reach out there

still toying with the idea of waiting a bit longer for the 7 d mk 11 (if it ever comes out) and see what it might be like at a higher iso (say 1600 + would be great ) with either my 100 - 400 / 1.4 E or perhaps the tam 150 - 600 , but and of course cant afford a canon 500 or the amazing 200 - 400 which is what i would really like - although do fly a bit and big heavy lenses can be a pita .

any helpful advice greatly appreciated !!
cheers rob
__________________
GEAR LIST :- 7D; 600D; SX50 HS + EFS 10-22; 18-200; 55-250 & EF 24-105 f4 L; 70-200 f4 L; 100-400 f4.5/5.6 L x 2 ; + 1.4 MK11 Ext & 1.4 Mk 111 Ext

- - - Updated - - -

OPPS Sorry heading should read :- BUY 5 D 111 or 6 D WITH TAMRON 150 - 600

cheer rob

[Roosta]

5D3 - Sell 1 of the 100-400's and the 70-200 f4, get the Tam if you really need the extra length that's not achieved by the 100-400 + TC. The Tamron is FF so no advantage on a APS-C body. I'd try the 5D3 and 100-400mm + TC before buying another lens.

150 - 600 is a massive focal length, where do you use the 100-400 mainly (Focal length?) Might be better saving and getting a second hand 400 Prime and use your TC's.

Personally I'd buy a Prime at F4 or better and use the TC option if mainly used for wildlife/surfing/golf and so forth, a shorter prime will give you better results I'd believe and get two/three solid lengths focally dependent on TC.

Good write up on the lens here

[patrol50]

5D3 - Sell 1 of the 100-400's and the 70-200 f4, get the Tam if you really need the extra length that's not achieved by the 100-400 + TC. The Tamron is FF so no advantage on a APS-C body. I'd try the 5D3 and 100-400mm + TC before buying another lens.

150 - 600 is a massive focal length, where do you use the 100-400 mainly (Focal length?) Might be better saving and getting a second hand 400 Prime and use your TC's.

Personally I'd buy a Prime at F4 or better and use the TC option if mainly used for wildlife/surfing/golf and so forth, a shorter prime will give you better results I'd believe and get two/three solid lengths focally dependent on TC.

Good write up on the lens here

Cheers roosta and thanks for the reply - sound advice and i am leaning to a 5d111
i really like my 70 - 200 f4 as its tack sharp so be hard to part with although i really dont use it all that much and it is also very good with the 1.4 E mk 111 attached on my 7 d !
with the 100 - 400 i am mostly at 400 on wildlife both here in aus and especially when in africa in the big nat parks and there have been times i would almost kill for the extra 600 reach - but also of course every now and then am back at 200 and even 100 can be a bit long when one comes around a corner and the occasional lions or a leopard are a only couple of meters away - it happens (hence the 24- 105) !

yes i would like the 400 f5.6 but i feel i need IS so have been looking a bit at used but good 400 f 2.8 IS version but not too many avilable in aus, few now and then in the usa though - as always lots of offhand in what i do so IS helps and cant really believe canon dont offer the 400 f 5.6 with IS and of course cant afford a 400 2.8 IS 11 version but if i could then i would almost certainly buy the new 200 - 400 - still always the lotto hope hey !!!

cheers rob

[Tony B]

Hi all - new member so be a little gentle !!

bit undecided here as have a limited budget of $3 to $3.5 K to play with so could use some friendly but sage advice

strictly amateur to date and main interest is wildlife photography Aus and Africa ( not much into birds ) but do a bit of landscape, golf courses and general walk around also

if you check my gear list below you will see my current lenses are 3 x EFS and 4 x EF with 2 x 100 - 400's and my cameras are a 7d and a 600d (t3i) so ok gear for what i do

i like having AF capability and prefer to have it but i want higher ISO because i shoot off hand a lot using Tv- hence tempted by the 5 d 111 and its AF capability with f8 (with centre point) for use with either of my 100 - 400 with a C 1.4 Ext attached to get some reach out there ( and from what i read appears not much difference in quality between a 100 - 400 with 1.4 ext and the tam 150 - 600 out there at the 550 / 600 setting )

the other option is the 6 d (great at high iso) but not so good with moving AF and it wont AF at f8 ( so why not fix both issues canon with a firmware upgrade hey !) and add a tamron 150 - 600 to get AF and that longer reach out there

still toying with the idea of waiting a bit longer for the 7 d mk 11 (if it ever comes out) and see what it might be like at a higher iso (say 1600 + would be great ) with either my 100 - 400 / 1.4 E or perhaps the tam 150 - 600 , but and of course cant afford a canon 500 or the amazing 200 - 400 which is what i would really like - although do fly a bit and big heavy lenses can be a pita .

any helpful advice greatly appreciated !!
cheers rob
__________________
GEAR LIST :- 7D; 600D; SX50 HS + EFS 10-22; 18-200; 55-250 & EF 24-105 f4 L; 70-200 f4 L; 100-400 f4.5/5.6 L x 2 ; + 1.4 MK11 Ext & 1.4 Mk 111 Ext

- - - Updated - - -

OPPS Sorry heading should read :- BUY 5 D 111 or 6 D WITH TAMRON 150 - 600

cheer rob

- - - Updated - - -

Mixed reviews regarding 150-600 so try before you buy. Just sold my heavy super tele so I'm also in the market for a 400 f5.6 or 100-400 both of which I have owned in the pat & may do so again in the future if improvements are forthcoming . Too many issues for me with 3rd Party gear no matter how good it is purported to be. Hence no Sigma Arts, Tamrons or Sony A7R. The 5DIII is my go to camera but for wildlife I would wait for the newer 7D.

[Morgo]

I just bought a 5D III and love it.

I tried out the 6D but didn't like the camera although its IQ performance was really good but it was lacking in the AF area as well as other features I preferred of the 5D.

- - - Updated - - -

Cheers roosta and thanks for the reply - sound advice and i am leaning to a 5d111
i really like my 70 - 200 f4 as its tack sharp so be hard to part with although i really dont use it all that much and it is also very good with the 1.4 E mk 111 attached on my 7 d !
with the 100 - 400 i am mostly at 400 on wildlife both here in aus and especially when in africa in the big nat parks and there have been times i would almost kill for the extra 600 reach - but also of course every now and then am back at 200 and even 100 can be a bit long when one comes around a corner and the occasional lions or a leopard are a only couple of meters away - it happens (hence the 24- 105) !

yes i would like the 400 f5.6 but i feel i need IS so have been looking a bit at used but good 400 f 2.8 IS version but not too many avilable in aus, few now and then in the usa though - as always lots of offhand in what i do so IS helps and cant really believe canon dont offer the 400 f 5.6 with IS and of course cant afford a 400 2.8 IS 11 version but if i could then i would almost certainly buy the new 200 - 400 - still always the lotto hope hey !!!

cheers rob

I had a 400 2.8 IS which I recently sold as I wanted a lens better suited to wild life shooting, the 400 was great but heavy. Sold it and bought the new 200-400 1.4x

[Bennymiata]

If wildlife is your thing, I would also hang out for the new 7D MkII. They reckon it's about month from announcement.
However, the 5D3 is far better suited to wildlife photography than the 6D is.
Faster FPS, fantastic AF and excellent at high ISO's too.

[darylcheshire]

Maybe try the 400 f/5.6L, I use it. You probably don't need the IS. It's relatively light and cheap compared to the other 400s

[Patrick K]

I am planning to go for the 5D III for bird photography to get higher ISOs and faster AF than I have with the 7D and 100-400L. I've never met a bird photographer who misses that IS with the 400 F5.6. And I've seen stunning bird shots with 5D III/400 5.6 and 1.4x tc. I've heard that the Tamron is not so hot at 600 mm.