I have been doing some research today and I am after some opinions on my thoughts.
For a while now I have been shooting most of my images with my Canon 70-200mm 4L IS lens using my 6D. I love the lens as it has been giving me some great results which can be seen here. Now you can probably gather from the title that I am considering purchasing the Canon 400mm f/5.6L lens. Its a prime lens with no IS. I would probably use it for day time shooting but my main intentions for purchasing it at the moment are for astro work (so not too concerned it doesn't have IS).
From what I have seen and read, it is a great lens for astro work and very good wide open from centre to edge as can be seen here.
Now for the alternative... the William Optics Star71... 350mm, f/4.9. can mount it straight onto my 6D just as easily as a Canon Lens obviously. It has a 45mm imaging circle so would also be ideal for my full frame 6D.
The main thing that is stopping me from going for the Star71 is that its only 350mm. Already having the 70-200mm lens I feel that going to 350mm does not seem worth the money. I feel the 400mm would be much more worth it, at least I would be doubling the focal length.
The other thing is I want to keep this purchase around $1600 if I can. I can get the 400mm lens for approx $1600 in Australia. The Star71 is cheaper at almost $1400 but then there is import tax and shipping on top of that.
On the other side of things, I don't want too much focal length either. I want to be able to set up and not worry about guiding.
Anyway, am I crazy and wasting time just going from 200mm to 400mm? Or even to just 350mm for that matter?
Any other options people can recommend for that price range?
just buy the canon 400 mm F 5.6 I've owned one for years and it does everything you want very well and more.Even bored at work the other day I used the 400 mm for half an hour and nailed a cover image for outdoor magazine,see image,and its earned another $250 for little effort.Its a light easy to use lens,last night used it to image the current comet.(see other thread)
I'd get the Skywatcher Esprit 80 ED. Same focal length [ 400mm f/5]
as the lens, but slightly faster, and much more versatile,[ who knows, you could even look through it sometime]. and more light grasp than the WO 71.
raymo
I'd get the Skywatcher Esprit 80 ED. Same focal length 400mm f/5 as the lens, but slightly faster, and much more versatile,[ who knows, you could even look through it sometime]. and more light grasp than the WO 71.
Unfortunately, the Esprit 80 only has a 33mm flat imaging circle, which is fine for APS-C but less great for the bigger sensor in the 6D. That's one of the reasons I ended up "upgrading" to the Esprit 100, as the imaging circle is 40mm, almost enough for a full frame with a tiny bit of cropping, but the focal length is a little longer at 550mm.
The Star71 seems to be pretty unusual in that it's supposed to be flat across a whole full frame sensor and be short focal length.
Nothing stopping you using it for daytime of course, although I'd expect it's a little heavier than the Canon lens
Jase, the difference in FOV is only 15% by diameter, so not a huge difference.
Whether or not either it's a good fit depends on what targets you're aiming for.
Yeah not a huge difference I suppose when comparing the 400mm Lens to the Star71 but I think I prefer the doubling of focal length. Well you know the targets I am after! Wide field Dark Nebulae!
Quote:
Originally Posted by hotspur
just buy the canon 400 mm F 5.6 I've owned one for years and it does everything you want very well and more.Even bored at work the other day I used the 400 mm for half an hour and nailed a cover image for outdoor magazine,see image,and its earned another $250 for little effort.Its a light easy to use lens,last night used it to image the current comet.(see other thread)
Thanks for sharing your shot Chris. Congrats on getting the cover image of a magazine too. Its a very sharp image, bang on the rabbits eyes and even the bokeh looks good. I saw your comet shots, seems to give the reach I am after that my 200mm lacks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by raymo
I'd get the Skywatcher Esprit 80 ED. Same focal length [ 400mm f/5]
as the lens, but slightly faster, and much more versatile,[ who knows, you could even look through it sometime]. and more light grasp than the WO 71.
raymo
Cheers Raymo for your input, I agree that it would be a great option for one it is faster than the lens but as Dunk pointed out the imaging circle is on the small side and I would definitely need to crop my images a bit to remove the huge amount of vignetting.
Quote:
Originally Posted by killswitch
Tough choice Jase
With the Star71, focusing is easier and you can lock it.
But the 400mm can also be used for daytime.
Yeah mate, it is a tough choice but I am enjoying the researching part of this. I guess the focusing would be easier considering it has a dual speed focuser as well as being able to lock the focus. And yes the lens could be used for daytime photography, plus its light so I could probably carry it around with me on hikes, etc. Hmm decisions, decisions.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Camelopardalis
Unfortunately, the Esprit 80 only has a 33mm flat imaging circle, which is fine for APS-C but less great for the bigger sensor in the 6D. That's one of the reasons I ended up "upgrading" to the Esprit 100, as the imaging circle is 40mm, almost enough for a full frame with a tiny bit of cropping, but the focal length is a little longer at 550mm.
The Star71 seems to be pretty unusual in that it's supposed to be flat across a whole full frame sensor and be short focal length.
Nothing stopping you using it for daytime of course, although I'd expect it's a little heavier than the Canon lens
Cheers mate, yes I noticed the imaging circle was too small for a full frame chip. Its a real shame as I would obviously have gone for the Esprit 80 being f/5. All good, I am not exactly in a super rush to pull the trigger yet, just gives me time to do some more research to make a better educated decision.
Hi Jason,
I haven't been on IIS for ages but I was a devotee of the 400mm f5.6 lens - great for astro and daytime work as stated.
links to a couple of astro images taken with this lens and a modded/cooled 40D... http://s327.photobucket.com/user/dou...ml?sort=4&o=33
Hi Jason,
I haven't been on IIS for ages but I was a devotee of the 400mm f5.6 lens - great for astro and daytime work as stated.
links to a couple of astro images taken with this lens and a modded/cooled 40D... http://s327.photobucket.com/user/dou...ml?sort=4&o=33
Thanks for posting some of your shots with this lens. They are great by the way. That has pretty much confirmed for me it will be great for astro as well as doubling up as a daytime lens.
Jason as Chris says it's a great lense.I got mine after seeing Chris's pics years ago.It is sharp far better than my tamron zoom and with converters great for moon closeups.And with a bit of patience you can even use it with a polarie. I would never get rid of mine even if I got a 400mmf2.8.
No they have not updated this lens, its one of the oldest lenses in their line up. I know Photozone rated it 3.5/5. They rated the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L II at 4.5 stars and that is the worlds best 70-200mm lens. Probably one of the best lenses in the world. I don't know how you could fault that lens.
From what I can see from the images the guys have supplied above and the ones I have found on the net, I think the lens would be fine. B&H rate it at 4.5/5 (312 reviews), while Amazon has it at 4.8/5 (126 reviews) although they come from users and not actual quantified testing.
Ha, I would love to rent one. I looked up a few places. Of the places I looked up, they do not stock that lens. However, the lenses they do stock for hire you're looking at upwards of $100 per day minimum! Far too costly. I don't know of other options that fit the price range I am looking at that can exceed the results of this lens and suit a full frame chip.
