the explorer’s lens disclaimer: our photography product reviews are based on what we like to do – shoot real life situations – not charts, brick walls, or dollar bills. If you are looking for a more methodical approach there are a number of sites that offer that service – not this one..

I think I’ve solved an equipment issue I’ve experienced recently… lens envy. Wildlife photographers covet big, fast, and expensive lens’; in the case of Canon those wonderful super telephoto white whales. I’ve been using a 400mm f/5.6L with great results for the past four years and it wasn’t until the thought of going to Africa, and on safari that I begin to dream of the great whites. The Big Five, khakis, a Land Rover, and a 500mm f/4L IS – what more could you ask for? Okay, the 600mm… maybe 800mm. All this lens lust can send you over the deep end until you consider two factors: weight and cost.

Weight – Most outfitters have a maximum weight and size allowance for what you can bring on safari. In our case we are restricted to a soft sided duffel 30″ by 14″ by 14″ not to exceed 33lbs. Not really an issue for a few days clothes, a point and shoot, and a pair of binoculars. However if you’re a photographer throwing a great white (500mm f/4.0l IS – 8.3lbs), supporting zoom (70-200mm f/2.8l – 2.9lbs), wide angle zoom (17-40mm f/4l – 1lb), and a couple of DSLR bodies (~6lbs) into the bag you are suddenly confronted with the ‘do I really need underwear for 5 days?’ conundrum. With my dream kit I’m at 18.2 pounds!

Cost – Going without gitch for a week is one thing. Declaring personal bankruptcy to feed a hobby is another. Even in this battered economy used lenses in this league sale for $5,000 – $10,000 (CDN dollars). I gave up considering purchasing new long ago. I don’t think Canon offers a food stamp rebate offer with these lenses so the ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ argument loses sway.

So as with everything photography, it’s a compromise. At a svelt 2.8lbs a Canon 400mm f/5.6l and a 1.4x teleconverter will get me to 560mm; 900mm if you factor in a cropped 1.6 body. I’ll lose autofocus (taping the pins will allow for AF), low light situations and action shots will be a challenge. On the positive side I already have this lens so I won’t be paid a visit by someone named Vinny and I’ll get to keep my kneecaps!

If I had any questions regarding the image quality of my chosen combination I don’t now. Tested at Jasper National Park – Marmot Meadows on the resident ground squirrel population; it’s the closest I could get to what I would consider savannah-like conditions. This image is straight out of the camera with no adjustments 100% crop (click on the image to enlarge). I found the AF (pins taped) to hunt, especially in situations where fore and background contrast was extreme (i.e. grass/sky (light) and grass/treeline (dark)). Manually focusing produced the best results. Tripod used.

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