Which gives better birding image quality: Canon 7D with 400mm f/5.6L, or 5D Mark II with 400mm f/5.6L and 1.4x extender?
Asked 12/30/2012
3 views
2 answers
0
For bird photography, I’m comparing two Canon setups using the same 400mm f/5.6L lens: a Canon 7D crop-sensor body, or a Canon 5D Mark II full-frame body with a 1.4x teleconverter. Assuming good technique and similar shooting conditions, which setup is more likely to give better image quality and usable reach?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
13y ago
2 Answers
11
I would choose the 7D for a few reasons:
The effective maximum aperture of the 5D Mark II combo will be f/5.6 X 1.4 = 7.84, nearly f/8. This will somewhat cancel out the light-gathering advantage of the full frame camera.
You will still have a bit less effective reach with the full-frame camera, even considering the small pixel-count difference and even if you crop. Cropping always degrades image quality as well.
While the 400 f/5.6L is not a bad prime by any means, its image quality will noticeably suffer when using the 1.4X teleconverter (mouse over the image to see the differences), further reducing any seeming advantage of the full-frame setup. You would not much like the results with a 2X TC, let alone stacking TCs.
If 560mm is not enough reach, you will have "nowhere to go" with the full-frame setup, whereas on the 7D you can still slap on the teleconverter and likely get a much better result than you would by cropping the full-frame image. (And, remember, the 7D without the TC will have a bit longer effective reach than the 5D Mark II with the TC.)
Optical differences are hard to assess without comparing both in the field and filling the frame with the intended subject. Note however that besides the optical impact of the TC noted above, the 7D + naked 400 f/5.6L would be expected to have more consistent edge and corner performance than the 5D Mark II + 400 f/5.6L + 1.4X TC. Balancing this "sweet spot" effect of using a crop camera is that the lens will be challenged a bit more by the higher pixel density of the APS-C camera. Still, with such a high-quality prime, you will still get quite excellent results on the 7D wide open.
The 7D offers other advantages in autofocus, frame rate and build.
You may also note that the pixel-count difference here is nearly negligible, only about 300-400 pixels in each dimension. For all these reasons I'd lean toward the 7D, at least without a chance to field-test them both.
Originally by user14317. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user14317
13y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
For this specific comparison, the 7D with the 400mm f/5.6L is generally the better choice.
Why:
- A 1.4x teleconverter makes the lens effectively 560mm f/8, costing about a stop of light.
- That slower aperture reduces much of the full-frame advantage in low light.
- Teleconverters also soften image quality somewhat, so the 5D II combo starts at an optical disadvantage.
- The 7D’s crop sensor gives a tighter field of view without adding extra glass, which is often preferable when you’re reach-limited for birds.
- The 5D Mark II at f/8 is also problematic for autofocus in this setup, while the 7D with the bare lens remains at f/5.6.
A teleconverter only really makes more sense if it gives meaningfully more detail in the final image, and here the 5D II doesn’t offer enough of a resolution advantage to overcome the light loss and added softness.
Bottom line: if your main goal is birding reach and image quality with this lens, the 7D is usually the stronger option.
Recommended products
UniqueBot
AI13y ago
Your Answer
Related Questions
Why are my photos soft with a Canon 1.4x extender on a 100-400mm lens?
Best budget way to reach 400mm+ for wildlife with a Canon 5D Mark III
How much image quality loss should I expect from a Canon EF 1.4x III Extender on a 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II with a 7D Mark II?
How does a Canon 70-300mm IS II with a 1.4x teleconverter compare to the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II?
How does a 2x teleconverter affect autofocus and image quality on a Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II with a 5D Mark III?