Canon 70-200mm L HELP!!

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thacko

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hey guys, i need some help

At the moment i have a sigma 70-300mm 4.5-6 iirc its served me very well for the £190 it cost me :lol: i do mainly motorsport photography and the majority of that is drifting or trackdays, i also do static car shoots aswell.

Now im in a positon to upgrade to an L or equivilant. I know i want a lens that is f2.8 throughout because it will be super fast for high speed shooting and also versatile for the static shoots i do aswell.

Obviously there are 3 choices, the Canon EF 70 200mm f 2.8 L NON-IS USM
Canon EF 70 200mm f 2.8 L IS USM
And the Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 DG OS

The NOn IS is obviously cheapest at around £980 brand new the sigma would be £1200 ish and the IS version would be £1500.

The question i have is .......... will i miss/need the IS? i dont have it on my £190 but is worth spending the extra £500 odd on it? or do i go for the slightly cheaper sigma? i have a couple of other sigmas and they are brilliant lenses. Also the other factor for me personally is that i would actually like to finally own a L :lol:

Thanks in advance for any advice you guys can help me with :thumbs:
 
I've seen differing opinions on this sport and lens. The majority state IS is needed for the sports, but then others have come back with a lot of extremely good photos with non IS, often citing knowing where you plan on taking photos from is a key factor, which can mean not needing IS.

Personally I'd say that if you're going for the 2.8 you might as well just save the extra and get the IS, then you're covered for everything. I've got the F4 non IS, and have yet to try that sort of thing so can't really offer any experience, other than what I've read.
 
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When you want those panning shots using slower shutter speeds IS in a necessity. You could look at a second hand 70-200 f2.8L IS MkI - will be a lot cheaper than the MkII and is still a cracking lens.
 
thanks for the quick responces

To answer your question Tina i dont really think i have hehe BUT i probably havent been at a low enough shutter speed to notice anything below 1/60 is nearly impossible with the sigma i have. But after speaking to a photography friend he reckons 1/15 is easily achievable with IS

JD , your recommendation is perfect!, i didnt actually realise there was a mk1 and mk2 until tonight when u mentioned it and i had a read. there are a few MK1's for sale on the bay ranging from £500- £850 so this would be perfect for me and leave me with some extra cash for more lenses :nuts:

Thanks again guys

Now i wonder who has a Mk1 L haha
 
neil_g said:
quite the oposite, IS will not help you with sports when it comes to freezing action :)

the 2 mode IS on some lenses may help you with panning.
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I think that's what I said :)
 
thacko said:
thanks for the quick responces

To answer your question Tina i dont really think i have hehe BUT i probably havent been at a low enough shutter speed to notice anything below 1/60 is nearly impossible with the sigma i have. But after speaking to a photography friend he reckons 1/15 is easily achievable with IS

JD , your recommendation is perfect!, i didnt actually realise there was a mk1 and mk2 until tonight when u mentioned it and i had a read. there are a few MK1's for sale on the bay ranging from £500- £850 so this would be perfect for me and leave me with some extra cash for more lenses :nuts:

Thanks again guys

Now i wonder who has a Mk1 L haha
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You'll not get a 2.8L IS for £450! If you do buy it now!
 
I was actually referring to car racing when I mentioned sports, as it's this area people mentioned needing IS. I personally have never used it so I'm not sure when I'd use it :D I'm assuming it would be for panning, which is why the people I've seen mention it relating to cars were saying it.

If I'm wrong, please tell me as I'm a nub and was simply parroting what others that use it have said :D
 
This thread has been done loooooooooads of times. Albeit less so with the 70-200 Sigma OS thrown in.

The general concensius is buy the best you can afford. If the IS is within reach then buy that. Otherwise dont...

Personally i have the Non IS Canon and love it. Handles a TC very well and is built like a tank. However its not weather sealed. The IS models are.

Just to clarify, Motorsports photographers almost always turn IS OFF. It is more of a hinderance than anything. The panning modes are all good and well but in reality you wont use them and if your panning is any good it will make precious little difference anyway. The normal IS mode is fine for shooting stationary objects at slow shutter speeds (say in a dark pit garage when you cant be bothered/forget to adjust the ISO, the IS will allow you to pull off shots you shouldn't be able to) However for a car that is moving (but not panning) the the IS will be trying to stop you from moving.
 
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Bluesmachine said:
I was actually referring to car racing when I mentioned sports, as it's this area people mentioned needing IS. I personally have never used it so I'm not sure when I'd use it :D I'm assuming it would be for panning, which is why the people I've seen mention it relating to cars were saying it.

If I'm wrong, please tell me as I'm a nub and was simply parroting what others that use it have said :D
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For freezing action you need a pretty high shutter speed so IS does not help.

When panning however you want to blur the background so to do so you need slower shutter speeds and when you come down to lower than 1/300th you are starting to get into the camera shake territory (depends on the camera you use). Lower than 1/200th and IS will certainly play its part. Mode 2 is used when panning and helps with the vertical movement of the lens.
 
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I bought a 2nd hand 2.8 IS (Mk 1) about a month ago and think it's fantastic. Would be happy to meet up some time and let you try it out if it helps?

John
 
thacko said:
hey guys, i need some help

At the moment i have a sigma 70-300mm 4.5-6 iirc its served me very well for the £190 it cost me :lol: i do mainly motorsport photography and the majority of that is drifting or trackdays, i also do static car shoots aswell.

Now im in a positon to upgrade to an L or equivilant. I know i want a lens that is f2.8 throughout because it will be super fast for high speed shooting and also versatile for the static shoots i do aswell.

Obviously there are 3 choices, the Canon EF 70 200mm f 2.8 L NON-IS USM
Canon EF 70 200mm f 2.8 L IS USM
And the Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 DG OS

The NOn IS is obviously cheapest at around £980 brand new the sigma would be £1200 ish and the IS version would be £1500.

The question i have is .......... will i miss/need the IS? i dont have it on my £190 but is worth spending the extra £500 odd on it? or do i go for the slightly cheaper sigma? i have a couple of other sigmas and they are brilliant lenses. Also the other factor for me personally is that i would actually like to finally own a L :lol:

Thanks in advance for any advice you guys can help me with :thumbs:
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I have the non IS (OS) Sigma version - Sigma 70-200 EX DG HSM mk II, it costs nowhere near that much! I paid around £600 new at Amazon (though I think rrp is a lot more!) and its an absolute corker of a lens! I can highly recommend one of these, and honestly, I cant see where the extra money for the Canon L would go?? The IQ, focusing speed and build are supurb.

As for IS/OS, its not really needed for sports lenses in general where freezing the action is normally the aim, but in my opinion, if you can afford it, get it as it can only help!
 
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Digitalrev are doing the sigma 70-200mm OS for £799.99
 
odd jim said:
As for IS/OS, its not really needed for sports lenses in general where freezing the action is normally the aim
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If you want all your images looking the same then yes..... But a typical sports tog will look for ways to be creative with SS and IS is almost an essential tool in the bag.
 
EOS_JD said:
If you want all your images looking the same then yes..... But a typical sports tog will look for ways to be creative with SS and IS is almost an essential tool in the bag.
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I agree entirely, which is why I have telephotos with and without IS. It also depends what type of sport you are shooting, my IS is very useful for motorsport panning shots while my 2.8 telephoto is better for freezing indoor equestrian.
 
odd jim said:
I agree entirely, which is why I have telephotos with and without IS. It also depends what type of sport you are shooting, my IS is very useful for motorsport panning shots while my 2.8 telephoto is better for freezing indoor equestrian.
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So a 2.8 with IS will do both :)
 
EOS_JD said:
So a 2.8 with IS will do both :)
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Couldn't afford that! A 70-200 2.8 non IS/OS and a 55-250 IS was cheaper than a 70-200 IS/OS!
 
It can depend with sports, you are either going to have the shutter high enough to freeze the action ,no IS needed if faster enough, or if you do panning shots you wont need IS. But what you need to think is what sports to you shoot, if the light is bad the IS can help out with a slower shutter speed which could mean a pants shot for a non IS but good for IS.

So i would say depending on what you shoot, but if you have the dollar the IS will cover you if you are ever in the situation where you can't get a high enough shutter speed for the focal length.
 
Tyler138 said:
or if you do panning shots you wont need IS.
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?

Canon's Mode 2 IS stabilises the lens from vertical motion caused by slow shutter speeds - perfect for preventing vertical camera shake in panning shots with slower shutter speeds

Tyler138 said:
But what you need to think is what sports to you shoot, if the light is bad the IS can help out with a slower shutter speed which could mean a pants shot for a non IS but good for IS.
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If the light is bad then you need to think about the shots you are likely to get altogether - no fast action shots at all if you can't get the required shutter speed.


Tyler138 said:
So i would say depending on what you shoot, but if you have the dollar the IS will cover you if you are ever in the situation where you can't get a high enough shutter speed for the focal length.
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IS is a help in certain situations as we've noted above.
 
Some 'interesting' views in this thread.

I doubt many people wandering around taking photos at a circuit will remember or bother to turn their IS mode from 1 or off, to 2. In reality nearly all Motorsports togs turn this off. I might be recalling this incorrectly, but i recall someone saying Nikon's panning mode destroys photos if you introduce angles into shots. In other words if your not panning flat it doesn't work. In reality lots of pans are taken at angles.

At the end of the day the only time normal IS will really help is when the subject is not moving. It can dampen your movement as much as it likes but if the subject is moving more than the shutter speed allows then its not going to help. Generally speaking for action this will not be the case.

Anyone that believes not having IS will effect how creative you can be is in my opinion wrong. I've never wanted for IS doing motorsports, when i've used it i've usually turned it off.

But if you have the cash for the IS - but it. You can always turn it off. (swear i've said this before)
 
IS just gives you flexibility. Whilst I bought mine for sport (motorsport, rugby) it also gets used in gig photography when IS becomes invaluable and results in more keepers. I rarely turn the IS off, unless the camera is on a tripod. Occaisionally I'll knock it down to mode 2 for panning.

If you hunt around you can pick up bargains. I got my 70-200 f2.8 IS almost new for £900
 
I find the non-IS Canon very heavy, and quite tricky to use handheld. I would go with the IS if at all possible.
 
Just reading your thread and could not help but think..... 200mm is still a bit short for motorsports. For economic reasons my first L was 100/400 as it was the max zoom I could afford. A highly respectable lens, 640mm on cropped sensor body:thumbs:, I've enjoyed the lens for 3 years. I use it for sports and wildlife all the time. When there is light it's tops, really nice IQ at 300-350mm/f8 and with the ISO of new bodies it is a very useful lens.

A 400 2.8 prime would be about 5 times more expensive:thumbsdown:.

I just picked up a 70-200 MkII:clap:. I love the speed but it's just not long enough for many of the shots I want even with a 1.4exIII:'(. It will do some sports shots ok, panning for example, when you are physically close tot he action. At 200mm you would be at the extream end of the optics:nono: plus you’ll be cropping a lot of pixels I suspect. I find I crop even with the 100/400 sometimes. It don't bother me but the 100/400 is also lighter than the 70/200 2.8. Sorry for throwing a spanner in :bang:but would not want to see anyone splash out only to find it’s not quite what was expected.
 
Ref the post immediately above, I assume that the if you do need 70-200, and only you know what FL is what you want, then basically you should be looking at the Canon mk2 if you can afford.

To me the mk1 version of this lens is fantastic stopped down a bit but the mk2 is much better wide open.

Ok, the mk2 costs a lot of cash but you will recover a lot of that if you ever sell and you will have the pleasure of playing with a fantastic lens in the meantime.

Most people (like me) who swore their mk1s were the sharpest thing out there have been utterly delighted with the new version of this lens.

You know you want it .....
 
bogmanfan said:
I find the non-IS Canon very heavy, and quite tricky to use handheld. I would go with the IS if at all possible.
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I thought the IS version was heavier
 
EOS_JD said:
I thought the IS version was heavier
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Maybe he was referring to the weight of the non IS hand held and then IS will help in that department, if your hands start to shake a little, like mine do ;)
 
Wow some great responses many thanks guys and girls

This will be used on a 7d so will be cropped. In regards to fl I do mainly grass roots drifting where you rarely need anything longer than 150mm and then the occasional knockhill trackday or event where it's easy to get right into the action. I probably will get a 1.4x aswell at some point in the future if it doesn't quite reach. Tbh tho if I really do need the extra length at any time I could pull out my trusty sigma I have just now as I won't be selling it cos it's worth about 5p lol

I think I will go for the IS tho, just because I wouldnt mind having it for half held paddock shots etc

I've also rented a mk1 for an event in the next couple of weeks so I'll get to iron out any problems I can find with the lens such as fl haha
 
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