Zoom Vs Prime

deb22

HI I would like to know how much lighter or heavier a prime 400mm or 500mm lens would be? I currently have a 100x400 stabilizer for the rebel xt but have only part use of left arm and find that it is soooo heavy.I do mostly birds so I don't use a tripod[sit in wetlands and ditches and you have to be fast with panning]I hold the base of the lens and short remote ,both with my left hand and it is getting to heavy.I want to keep the xt because it is light and small enough and all the new ones need two hands[to big and heavy. Thank you for any advice on the primes you may have.

Scott_Quier

A quick look at the specs on the Canon site shows that the 400 f/5.6 is the lightest of the three I listed below. The 500 f/4L is a real beast in comparison.

• EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM - 1,380g ... 3.042lb
• EF 400mm f/5.6L USM - 1,250g ... 2.756lb
• EF 500mm f/4L IS USM - 3,870g ... 8.532lb

kdog

In addition to the dramatic weight differences as Scott pointed out, the 500 F4 is also a beast in cost compared to the 400 F5.6. The 500 goes for $6,000. With a bad arm, you won't be hand-holding the 500.

You might look into a tripod and gimbal head. Gimbal heads are designed for rapid panning. You could put one of the monster teles on a gimbal head and pan with one finger. They're really, really nice. Here's the Cadillac of Gimbal heads http://www.tripodhead.com/products/wimberley-main.cfm

deb22

Thank-you for the info gentlemen,I think I will check out that gimbal head it may save me a lot of pain and it would be much more comfortable in the long run.That would allow me to get the lens I need for those little fliers too. THANKS AGAIN

NikonsandVstroms

deb22 wrote:

HI I would like to know how much lighter or heavier a prime 400mm or 500mm lens would be? I currently have a 100x400 stabilizer for the rebel xt but have only part use of left arm and find that it is soooo heavy.I do mostly birds so I don't use a tripod[sit in wetlands and ditches and you have to be fast with panning]I hold the base of the lens and short remote ,both with my left hand and it is getting to heavy.I want to keep the xt because it is light and small enough and all the new ones need two hands[to big and heavy. Thank you for any advice on the primes you may have.

I feel your dilemma my wrists are really weak requiring braces and this has basically driven my camera choices.

All of these Canon choices do seem very heavy, one place you might want to look is Olympus (which is what I did when mine were at their worst) since they have bodies that are lighter than the XT and especially for birding the smaller sensor would be a big help. You could get an E-620 and 50-200 (which would equals a 100-400 in 35mm) F2.8-2.5 which is 3/4 the weight of your lightest choice. And you would have IS plus SWD (USM) focusing..

deb22

Thank-you I think I will do a little research on some new equipment,I may even find something for us one armed crazy bird lovers.

NikonsandVstroms wrote:

I feel your dilemma my wrists are really weak requiring braces and this has basically driven my camera choices.

All of these Canon choices do seem very heavy, one place you might want to look is Olympus (which is what I did when mine were at their worst) since they have bodies that are lighter than the XT and especially for birding the smaller sensor would be a big help. You could get an E-620 and 50-200 (which would equals a 100-400 in 35mm) F2.8-2.5 which is 3/4 the weight of your lightest choice. And you would have IS plus SWD (USM) focusing..

borrowlenses.com

The 400 2.8 is about 12 pounds or so -- it is gigantic. The 600 f4 is about the same size. There's also a 400 DO too that is much smaller than normal but its an f4 lens.

If you can get them on a beefy tripod with a gimbal they basically float in the air and are so easy to use. You can always rent the big stuff too if you can't afford to purchase one