Canon 300mm f/4 versus 300mm f/2.8 II - Which is better for butterflies and birds in flight?

[Henry Domke]

I'm looking for the best lens to photograph butterflies and birds in flight.
CPS (Canon Professional Service) loaned me the 300mm f/2.8 II lens and I like it a lot. It's like a smaller version of my favorite bird lens, the 600mm f/4 II.

However, the 300 f/4 L lens is almost half the weight, the MFD (minimal focus distance) is 1.5-feet closer and it is about 5 thousand dollars cheaper.
The MFD is important when photographing butterflies, but the f/2.8 II lens gets me to within 6.5-feet which is pretty good. Plus I could add an extension tube to get me even closer.

The MTF charts and user experience verify that the f/2.8 II has outstanding optical qualities; as good as it gets. Still, the f/4 lens is an "L" lens and reports and MTF chart look very good.

For a variety of reasons the f/2.8 II is much better with teleconverters but I'm not sure how often I'd be using them on this lens. Likewise the better weather sealing of the f/2.8 II is not a big deal to me.

One thing that I've not found in reviews is focusing acquisition speed. Would there be a difference? That would matter on moving wildlife.
The other thing that the f/4 was introduced in 1997 and the f/2.8 II was introduced in 2011. The newer design might have components could impact performance. For example, the chip in the lens might work better with newer cameras.

Thanks for sharing any thoughts you might have on the topic.

[Roger Clark]

I have some numbers on AF speed of the 300 f/4 versus 300 f/2.8 version 1 at:
http://www.clarkvision.com/articles/autofocus.speed/
using 1DIV and 7D. Yes, the version 1 300 f/2.8 is faster. But what is not shown is the AF accuracy. AF is more accurate at f/2.8 than at f/4.
Consider also a 300 f/2.8 version 1 used.

Roger

[Grady Weed]

Roger pretty much nailed the question for you Henry! I use the Canon 300 2.8 Version 1 and it rocks, rather screams. I use it with my Canon MK2n, frame rate of 8. But...when I started out I used my Canon 5d with my 100-400. It taught me patience! I captured some amazing images with that combo. As Roger said, find a used 300 2.8 v1 for around $3,000-4,000. Charles Glatzer just sold one on this site a while ago. Ask one of our moderators on here, Daniel Cadieux, he takes stunning images of birds using equipment most would give up on using.

[Henry Domke]

I have some numbers on AF speed of the 300 f/4 versus 300 f/2.8 version 1 at: http://www.clarkvision.com/articles/autofocus.speed/

That is VERY interesting article! Thanks for doing the research and making it available to us. Amazing that the 2.8 lens with a 2X TC achieves focus faster than the f/4 lens without a TC.

What impact does voltage from the battery have on focus acquisition speed? I ask because when I recently borrowed the 1DX and shot it side-by-side with a 5D3 using my f/4 600 II lens the 1DX seemed to acquire focus much faster. I've been told that the speed difference is due entirely to the voltage differences in the battery and not to the cameras processors. Thoughts or comments?

The recent frigid temperatures have made me wonder about the impact of ambient temperature on speed of autofocus. I could speculate that colder temperatures might negatively impact focus speed in a couple ways, but I don't really know. Thoughts?

Thanks much!

[arash_hazeghi]

Henry,

IMO there is no reliable method to measure AF performance for flight as there are too many parameters involved.

You can measure servo drive speed, in that case it heavily depends on the camera body you use. There is a significant difference between the 1DX and old bodies. Jacob and Greg have done a good comparison measurement : http://www.naturescapes.net/forums/v....1mFkK0J5.dpuf

as you see the 1DX drive speed with MKII lenses is usually <0.4 seconds and it does not slow down when you add a TC.

As for temperature I routinely shoot in temperatures ranging from +80F to 0F (two weeks ago in Canada). My files are tack sharp in all conditions and it doesn't affect AF speed at all. The AF circuit has TCO compensation so it corrects for thermal drifts. When shooting in extreme temperatures you have to watch for heat refraction (in very cold and hot days) which many people confuse with focus.

As for 300 f/4 it is not comparable to 300 f/2.8 KII, the difference is day and night as is the price (7X difference). The servo drive is much faster with 300 f/2.8 MKII, especially when you add a TC III.

[Kester Clarke]

I have the 300mm F/4. Image quality is good, but it is very slow.

[Gary Kinard]

Wow, great article Rodger. Thanks for the hard work. You steered me to the Mark IV for the AF difference. What a wonderful camera. Best advice I have ever gotten.
BTW, I steer people to your site for quality researched info using the 7D and mark IV. And the other articles of course. Amazing!

Cheers, Gary

www.flickr.com/photos/avianphotos
www.birdsthatfart.com

[Julie Brown]

Hi Henry,

All good advice above with great technical info. Here is my 2 cents regarding the 300mm f4L IS. This was my first L lens and I still have it. I was a very serious butterfly chaser at the time. I love this lens for butterfly photography. The MFD and how light the lens is to carry make the difference. You normally do not need fast AF for sitting butterflies. It has great IQ, IMO. Although I do not use it as much because of my bird photography obsession, it will be my primary lens when I attend the NABA meeting in Chattanooga in June.

[Marina Scarr]

When it comes to BIF, there is no doubt the 300/2.8 is great. However, if you are a butterfly chaser, the 300/4 makes more sense b/c it's lighter and you can still handhold with flash and extension tubes. However, if you have a 70-200, this is also a viable option for chasing butterflies.

[arash_hazeghi]

I see, butterfly and BIF are entirely different subjects, there is no lens that's good for both. 300 f/4 has a short MFD and a pseudo-macro mode which makes it a good choice for butterflies as mentioned above, but ultimately if you want to get great photographs of butterflies you need a real macro lens or extension tubes for that. I'd personally buy the 300 MKII and then a macro lens for butterflies.

[Henry Domke]

if you want to get great photographs of butterflies you need a real macro lens or extension tubes for that

I do have macro lenses and I've used them for the majority of my butterfly pictures. However, the extra reach of a telephoto can let me get closer without spooking them. Plus sometimes I find it very useful to use the "wrong" lens to get a fresh perspective. For example I took this picture of a Tiger Swallowtail with a 600 f/4 lens and a 1.4X TC but no extension tube.

[Henry Domke]

if you are a butterfly chaser, the 300/4 makes more sense b/c it's lighter and you can still handhold with flash and extension tubes.

The weight of the 300 f/2.8 II does not bother me; probably because I've been practicing hand-holding the 600 f/4.

What excites me about the 300 f/2.8 II is the nearly instant focus acquisition and increased focus accuracy. Too many times I seen an interesting butterfly but it flies before I'm able to achieve focus.

Maybe I'm sensitive about focus speed since the lens I've used the most is the 180mm f/3.5L Macro. I've never seen a lens focus more slowly!

[Don Lacy]

You need to decide what your main subject is going to be for the lens if its BF then the 300f/4 with a 25mm extension tube is just about a perfect set up as it gives you enough working distance from the subject to isolate it from the BG, if your main subject is BIF then the 2.8 is the better lens. Ninety percent of my Dragonfly images http://lacy.smugmug.com/Animals/Drag...3464&k=Wc5C5HS were taken with the 300 f/4 and 25mm ext tube you can also add a 1.4tc to this combo to get the subject even larger in the frame.

[David Stephens]

For butterflies, remember that with the 2.0x TC-III on the 300/f2.8 II, you'll AF as fast as the 300/f4 with the 1.4x TC-III on. So, even though the AF distance is longer, you'll get more magnification. Then if you add an Extension Tube or two, you'll get close and gain even more magnification. Still, you'll need some calculation to see if you gain more than your 600/f4 II and the 2.0x TC-III and the same ETs. That's actually a pretty good rig for butterflies.

[Roger Clark]

Henry,
I agree with the above comments regarding the 300 f/4 as a macro lens for static subjects. but if you want to photograph butterflies in flight, the 300 f/2.8 is the fastest AF telephoto lens available from Canon. Butterflies in flight are much harder than birds in flight, even small fast birds in my experience. The 300 f/4 is too slow. But the 300 f/2.8 can still do a great job with a 1.4x TC if one can keep an AF point on the subject. which is really difficult, at least for me. Here is where I set AF servo acquisition speed to fast to acquire and lock on as fast as possible and get the image before the butterfly changes direction (usually out of the frame.)

Roger

[Chris Cooke]

No one has mentioned my favourite combination for butterflies the 135 f/2 + 1.4X I love my 300 f/2.8 1 and II and for close up the 300 f/4 ISL 25mm.

[Julie Brown]

No one has mentioned my favourite combination for butterflies the 135 f/2 + 1.4X I love my 300 f/2.8 1 and II and for close up the 300 f/4 ISL 25mm.

I have that lens and extender, but never considered it for butterflies. What is the MFD?

[Henry Domke]

What is the MFD?

For the 300mm f/2.8 II here are the minimal focusing distances:
No extension tube: 6.5 feet
12mm extension tube: 5.5 feet
25mm extension tube: 4.9 feet

[Chris Cooke]

Julie the combo of the 135 f/2 + 1.4X Con. focuses to 4.5 Feet and blindingly fast I also us it with the 2X at f/4 still very fast and sharp, but my 2x is on my 500 f/4 #1 which is on Raymond Island some 300 Kilometers away and we are in a 5 day heatwave here in Melbourne Australia and we have had temps over 111 F for five days and I won.t leave my air-conditioned Study except at Gun point. :)


As usual the State of Victoria in on fire at present and our cool change due 5 pm today with South Westerly winds will only make matters worse.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/vic...-1226802241861

I will measure the MFD with the 2X for you on Monday.

[Henry Domke]

I will measure the MFD with the 2X for you on Monday.

Does adding a teleconverter alter the minimal focusing distance?

Stay cool!

[Chris Cooke]

From Henry Domke

Does adding a teleconverter alter the minimal focusing distance?

No Henry it does not

http://photo.net/canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00XQEg

[Julie Brown]

Julie the combo of the 135 f/2 + 1.4X Con. focuses to 4.5 Feet and blindingly fast I also us it with the 2X at f/4 still very fast and sharp, but my 2x is on my 500 f/4 #1 which is on Raymond Island some 300 Kilometers away and we are in a 5 day heatwave here in Melbourne Australia and we have had temps over 111 F for five days and I won.t leave my air-conditioned Study except at Gun point. :)


As usual the State of Victoria in on fire at present and our cool change due 5 pm today with South Westerly winds will only make matters worse.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/vic...-1226802241861

I will measure the MFD with the 2X for you on Monday.

Thanks for the info, Chris. I can't wait till spring to try that out. You stay cool while I try to stay warm. The power went off during the last snowstorm and I had no heat for two days.