If I had an XLH1 ...
 

If I had XLH1 or any Canon Camcorder with interchangeable lens facility what difference would there be in the videoing performance I could get (of big bird flight) using either:

Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM

or

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM ?

... all answers to the question welcome, or alternative suggestions in the price bracket ($1000-$1500), please.

lenses
 

Brendan,

First, as you know I love my gl2. But what I am able to do with my xl2 is vastly superior if for no other reason than reach!!!

I bought the 100 to 400 and it is an awesome lens; but, I do a lot of off the shoulder shooting of birds and If I were to repurchae the lens today I would opt for the canon 28 to 300 l series lens. It is about 2200 dollars as apposed to 1400.

I found that finding flying birds with the 100/400 darn difficult even off the tripod non the less the shoulder. By having the lower 28 mm lens you will be able to locate the birds more easily and then zoom into them as you hold on them.

You might also consider the sigma 50/500. No image stabilization but I now I often wonder if it is worth it for the extra money. I did quite a bit research on this lens and numerous people fell it is clearer at 400 than the canon.

Also, I find I do not often zoom up to 400 mm, equivalent to something like 3200mm, hense I think the 300 is adequate for 90% of flying birds, particularly off the shoulder!!

I will be saving to buy the 28/300 this spring, but I am still considering the sigma.

Brendan,

I have the 70-210 2.8L for my H1 and it would require a lot of patience and practice (not to mention a high end tripod/head), to shoot birds on the wing tightly. The biggest trick (but not the only one) is finding the subject in the EVF. The 7.2 magnification works on both ends of the focal length, so even the 28-300mm that Dale mentions is somewhere around 200mm on the wide end.

That being said, if you can do it, you will have some awesome images. The benefit of the H1 is that you can recompose and zoom in in post without losing too much quality.

The biggest difference would be target acquisition. That means
it is MUCH harder to get the bird in the viewfinder when you
start at 400mm than starting at 100mm with the zoom and once
you have the target in the viewfinder zooming in to 400mm.

The 400mm being a fixed lens might be a bit sharper, though since
I have never used it, this is pure speculation. The big negative
with the fixed lens is just that whereas the zoom allows for MUCH
more framing choices.

When considering the extra money the zoom costs, I would choose the zoom.

.... sounds like the voice of experience. The zoom is my first choice ... even though I'll be using it for stillls with my Digital Rebel until I can afford a cam with interchangeable lens facility. Thank you all.