Full Frame Telephoto Lens - Motorsport

Sko77y

Sko77y

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Hi All,

I'll keep the question as simple as possible, looking for a telephoto lens for my Canon 5Dc.

Budget is between £100-200.

Will be used to shoot motorsport and static automotive.

Obvious choice would be the Canon 75-300, but it get's some bad reviews.

Not a brand snob so all things considered, I do want auto focus though, Image Stabalisation is not a must. constant F4/F2.8 would be brilliant.

Thanks all for the help,
Scott
 
Finding a constant F4/2.8 for that money is a very tall order. I would recommend the Tamron 70-300 VC which is very good value and gives good pictures even at the longest end.
 
Grumps1974 said:
Finding a constant F4/2.8 for that money is a very tall order. I would recommend the Tamron 70-300 VC which is very good value and gives good pictures even at the longest end.
Click to expand...

Agreed^^^

Constant fast aperture telephoto for £200 will be a near impossibility, but for that sort of money the Tamron 70-300mm VC is very good (don't bother with the non VR model as it is soft a sh*t), i use one as a walkabout telephoto when i don't want to lug around my 300mm f4

I have even used it at a Lotus Track day (albeit on a crop sensor body) with very good results, see link below

https://www.flickr.com/photos/richpicings/albums/72157655843849310
 
Raise your budget.

Canon 70-200 f4 L
Sigma 70-200 f2.8 EX
Sigma 100-300 f4 EX

About £ 300 used for a decent quality lens.

OR

Sigma 70-300 APO

£ 150 ish.

However, the quality difference between an entry level Sigma to a decent quality used lens not too much more expensive will be amazing.
 
Grumps1974 said:
Finding a constant F4/2.8 for that money is a very tall order. I would recommend the Tamron 70-300 VC which is very good value and gives good pictures even at the longest end.
Click to expand...

rpsmith79 said:
Agreed^^^

Constant fast aperture telephoto for £200 will be a near impossibility, but for that sort of money the Tamron 70-300mm VC is very good (don't bother with the non VR model as it is soft a sh*t), i use one as a walkabout telephoto when i don't want to lug around my 300mm f4

I have even used it at a Lotus Track day (albeit on a crop sensor body) with very good results, see link below

https://www.flickr.com/photos/richpicings/albums/72157655843849310
Click to expand...

andrewc said:
Raise your budget.

Canon 70-200 f4 L
Sigma 70-200 f2.8 EX
Sigma 100-300 f4 EX

About £ 300 used for a decent quality lens.

OR

Sigma 70-300 APO

£ 150 ish.

However, the quality difference between an entry level Sigma to a decent quality used lens not too much more expensive will be amazing.
Click to expand...

Thanks guys, yes constant aperture would be very tall order, but I might have missed something!

I was worried I'd need to stretch the budget, I've had a Canon 70-200 f4 L previously but had to sell when funds were needed elsewhere.

See if I can sell some of my kit I don't use to fund the glass upgrade or I'll have a look at that the Tamron.

Much appreciated.

Does the Sigma 70-200 f2.8 EX get as good a review as the Canon 70-200 f4 L?
 
The Sigma 70-200 EX f2.8 was always highly regarded, as it delivered f2.8 goodness at a similar price to Canon's f4 L version.

For motorsport though, you'll want more than 200mm on a full frame camera - thats why I mentioned the Sigma 100-300 f4 which is very underrated.
 
andrewc said:
The Sigma 70-200 EX f2.8 was always highly regarded, as it delivered f2.8 goodness at a similar price to Canon's f4 L version.

For motorsport though, you'll want more than 200mm on a full frame camera - thats why I mentioned the Sigma 100-300 f4 which is very underrated.
Click to expand...

Thanks Andrew, hopefully underrated means not as expensive also :-) I'll have a look and get my clearcut sorted.

I'll update when I've had a look
 
Another vote for the Tamron 70-300 VC.


You could also check:

- Canon EF 70-210 f/3.5-4.5 USM
- Canon EF 100-300 f/4.5-5.6 USM

Both very cheap, good image quality and lighting fast focus!
 
andrewc said:
Raise your budget.

Canon 70-200 f4 L
Sigma 70-200 f2.8 EX
Sigma 100-300 f4 EX

About £ 300 used for a decent quality lens.

OR

Sigma 70-300 APO

£ 150 ish.

However, the quality difference between an entry level Sigma to a decent quality used lens not too much more expensive will be amazing.
Click to expand...

Agree with Andrew 100%.
 
I shoot most of my Motorsport stuff on a Sigma 70-200 f2.8 BUT I'm using a crop body
 
Thanks everyone.

Had a quick scan on MPB and Ebay at the following: Canon 70-200 f4 L, Sigma 70-200 f2.8 EX, Sigma 100-300 f4 EX.

As far as I can tell both Sigmas are going for around 400+ (but I did only have a quick look) and the Canon with non-IS for 330.

Contemplating getting something that'll tide me over (like the Tamron) and upgrading my walk around lens that I use more (with something like a Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro, Canon EF Fit)
 
Be aware that 200mm on full frame isn't very long at all! It's my longest focal length and, since ditching crop completely, it's become an issue at things like motorsport events, to the point that I'm now hankering after a 100-400 II
 
I agree, for your budget I would say the Tamron is the best bet though when I was in a similar position I saved a bit longer and bought the Sigma. Great lens.
 
Sko77y said:
Hi All,

I'll keep the question as simple as possible, looking for a telephoto lens for my Canon 5Dc.

Budget is between £100-200.

Will be used to shoot motorsport and static automotive.

Obvious choice would be the Canon 75-300, but it get's some bad reviews.

Not a brand snob so all things considered, I do want auto focus though, Image Stabalisation is not a must. constant F4/F2.8 would be brilliant.

Thanks all for the help,
Scott
Click to expand...

Hi Scott

I used to have the Canon EF 70-300 IS lens and was pleased with it and got some great results from it, I sed it at my local motorsport track and it gave a good focal range. You should be able to get one 2nd hand within / just over your budget...
 
Looking at the lenses suggested, for the price of a tamron 70-300 vc you can get a non is canon 70-200 L.

Zoom range isn't a huge issue, but lack of IS may be.

Thoughts are, the tamron has the features but the Canon has the IQ.

The f2.8 Sigma is just too much money at the minute.
 
As I said, 200mm on full frame is going to be limiting for motorsport I think. My 70-200 is almost a walkabout lens on full frame.
 
It depends where and what form of motorsport you're shooting. All of these were shot with a 50-140 on crop at Castle Combe and Goodwood from behind the public fence, so as near as darnit 70-200 on FF. 16mp as well so not exactly room to crop the bejeezus out of them.

https://www.flickr.com/search/?user_id=43894860@N00&view_all=1&text=fuji 50-140 motorsport

Using a very long telephoto for motorsport is a creative choice, just like using any other focal length for any subject really, but it's not the only way.
 
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Thanks guys, enough here to go away and look into. My previous 70-200 F4 L seemed to give me a good enough range for Knockhill, but this is predominately for an impending visit to Driftland as media and trying to sort something out.

THe lens will also get used for my static automotive work, so I'd considered a prime (100mm/105mm/150mm) but these don't seem to come with image stabilisation.

Starting to get a wee bit lost on what will suit best.

Edit #1:

Looked into both the Sigma 105mm f2.8 EX DG MAcro and Tamron SP AF 90mm f2.8 Macro, although both have rubbish AF speeds.

Edit #2:

Looks likely that the the Canon 70-200 F4L (£340) or the Sigma 70-200 F2.8 (£380) may be the best bet, thinking of taking what I have and looking into a telephoto at a later date after some saving.
 
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Ok Guys, watched reviews on youtube, read reviews online, searched all the usual second hand lens outlets....and this is where I'm at, for everyone still reading my ramblings.

Option #1. - Chop in all my lenses and get a Canon 24-105mm F4L - Cost me £300.00

Option #2. - Get the Tamron 70-300mm VC - Cost me £180.00

Option #3. - Found a Sigma 70-200 f2.8 second hand local-ish, but would need to wait till payday - Cost me £300.00.

So either upgrade my walkabout lens, buy a dedicated telephoto or get a lens that bridges a few gaps.

Only things that concern me are the speed of the AF on the Sigma and whether or not the VC works for panning on the Tamron.

In regards to the whether a 70-200 would be long enough on FF, the event I'm gonig to photograph I should get away with a max of 200mm.

Somebody decide for me! :oops: :$
 
Hi all, wee update:

Upon the initial recommendation to look into the Sigma 70-200 f2.8 from @andrewc.

I managed to pick up a used example for £275 locally. Very nice lens but it's huge! Will be using it all weekend for automotive/motorsport, so will update a few examples and thoughts next week.

Thanks for all the help folks.
 
Sko77y said:
Hi all, wee update:

Upon the initial recommendation to look into the Sigma 70-200 f2.8 from @andrewc.

I managed to pick up a used example for £275 locally. Very nice lens but it's huge! Will be using it all weekend for automotive/motorsport, so will update a few examples and thoughts next week.

Thanks for all the help folks.
Click to expand...

Excellent. Enjoy your new toy :)
 
As promised, said I'd update with how I got on with the lens (maybe it'll help some others in the future).

70-200 on a FF camera worked out quite well, yes the extra 100mm and image stabilisation would have been useful and probably would have given me a much higher keeper rate, but the lens performed very well and allowed me to get at least 70% of the shots I wanted. The potential to get a tele-converter/extension tube in the future is always an option.

Something I hadn't accounted for was the weight of the lens, 5 hours of almost constant shooting/panning and I was feeling it in my lower back, potentially because I'm a fat pie!

Anyway, couple of images on my Flickr, but here's one I'm quite happy with:

DriftlandUK 01.11.2015 #1 by Scott Reid, on Flickr

Yet to try it on anything other than automotive, but I'm sure it'll be a star performer.

Scott
 
That's a very, very odd photo (in a good way, I might add). Was the venue floodlit or something? The lighting just seems strange. I actually prefer the first shot on your Flickr stream of that car from the event, the composition works quite a bit better than this one in my opinion.
 
ukaskew said:
That's a very, very odd photo (in a good way, I might add). Was the venue floodlit or something? The lighting just seems strange. I actually prefer the first shot on your Flickr stream of that car from the event, the composition works quite a bit better than this one in my opinion.
Click to expand...

Thanks Chris, there was a car following it that had its headlights on, hence the odd lighting :)

I thought so too, but played it safe with a "not squint" option, thanks for the feedback!
 
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