Hire a teleconverter or a lens?

[dk]

i'm off to antarctica in 5 weeks and need to decide on what equipment i'm going to take.

As its going to involve wildlife i think i need something longer than what i have.

I have a 70-200F4 L canon on a 7D.

So i was thinking about hiring a 1.4x tc, or hiring a 28-300 F3.5-5.6 IS L instead. If i hire the converter i'll be taking my 17-55 F2.8 or my 24-70 F2.8L, but if i just hire the 28-300 i won't need those i'm guessing, but the lens is bloody heavy!

any advice on what i should do.

Looking at hiring from lensesforhire and its about £60 for 2 weeks of the TC or £180 for the lens. Will the lens be ok with what i'm guessing will be 5.6 instead of its normal 4 with the tc on, and i don't have the IS version.

thanks!

 

[Xanda73]

Worst 'I'm going to a continent that you poor sods won't ever see' post ever.

I'd hire the TC TBH. Or a proper 'tele - 400mm F/4. The lens should AF fine with the TC at f/5.6. Summer there soon yeah, so should be plenty of light? Just be carful of under exposing your shots with all that white snow/ice.

Jealous!

 

[dk]

lol, i didn't know how to put it without making it sound like that.

just been looking again and theres also the option of the new 70-300 F4-5.6 L IS too, that would be about £130 and i'm lead to believe is better than a 200 with tc and will give me IS.

What i need to do is limit what i take as i've got some pretty strict weight limits on luggage etc.

don't really want to take a 400mm as i'll need a lot in between, and i don't know how close or far away from things i'll be, so i need the zoom to give me options.

I'm thinking the 70-300 is a best bet at the moment, and if its a great lens i then might chop my 70-200 in for one, so kind of like a try before i buy.

The only thing i'm cautious about is that my 70-200 is absolutely pin sharp, the lens i hire might need micro adjustments which i don't really want to be messing with the day before i go.

Thehire place is only 10 mins from me though so its convenient for me to collect the lens and not worry about delivery etc.

 

[dunganick]

On a 7d i would probably go with a TC as the AF should walk that.

I would probably still look at hiring a 300 2.8 + tc though. Heavy yes, but well worth it i would say.

The 28-300 is a pretty heavy lump, more so than the rest of the push/pull series. Lots of people like them, but the one i tried was rubbish. Very soft. But I'm pretty sure it was a poor example.

 

[Andy.]

I also had a go with a 28-300 and had the same experience as Nick. The IQ was poor and the thing is silly heavy. I'd go for a 100-400 over it.

The 17-55 should definitely come along just for the wide(ish) angle landscapes.

Look forward to seeing the shots when you get back. It's somewhere I'd love to go to!

 

[Brazo]

I suspect with the quality of the L glass you'll just be able to crop!

 

[SamP]

The f**k you going to antarctica for? 10/22 - 24/70 - 100/400? Should have all bases covered?

 

[dk]

Because its going to be an amazing trip!

If you saw frozen planet last night, it's beautiful.

I have a 10-22, and a 24-70, it's just the zoom I'm trying to decide on.

 

[SamP]

Oh im not saying why are you going as in its a s**t hole, im saying for what reason? Just because you can? Or is it on the back of research? As above, grab the 100 - 400 dust pump, should serve you well and you wont need a TC. If anything I'd think about having two bodies, then you dont have to change things out in the cold?

 

[dk]

Oh im not saying why are you going as in its a s**t hole, im saying for what reason? Just because you can? Or is it on the back of research? As above, grab the 100 - 400 dust pump, should serve you well and you wont need a TC. If anything I'd think about having two bodies, then you dont have to change things out in the cold?

It's an incentive trip I was asked to go on with work, there are 50 of us going, not to do any work, just a free 2 week holiday for working my tits off for the past year

I have a 7d and 50d, but as said, luggage is already very tight. I'm only allowed 15kg for a case, and I have to take a lot of cold whether gear so it's going to be nearly impossible.

I'm thinking about lending my 50d to someone else on the trip to use maybe.