Canon 7D: On His Way
Photographer on his way to photograph a Northern Hawk owl at Westham Island click on image for gallery
He's on his way, carrying a Canon 7D with a 500mm f/4 and a 1.4 Extender attached to a monopod. He gets:
- 500 * 1.4 = 700mm
- 700 * 1.6 = 1120mm
The 1.6 is the Canon 7D crop factor. At 1120mm, he still gets a blazing fast autofocus. It's sharp at 18 megapixels and 8 frames per second! He can then crop by a third which gives the equivalent of a 1456mm lens and still a good photo!
In the “days of my youth” to be wildlife photographer, you just got a 300mm f/2.8, then Canon revolutionized the world by introducing a very good extender. At almost $3,500, in the late 70s, the 300mm was so expensive that only big photo agencies could afford it. AFP only had 3 to be shared among a dozen of photographers. Professional photographers had to take loans. $3,500 then is like now spending around $30,000 (inflation)!