Is it worth upgrading to a 28-300IS L from a 35-350L?

30psi

Suspended / Banned
Messages
610
Name
Martin
Edit My Images
Yes
I've currently got a 35-350mm L.

Is it worth upgrading to the 28-300 given how much extra this will cost?

The main benefit is obviously the image stabilisation but is it really worth it when say nature or motorsport type pics are moving. Does the 'mode 2' IS actually work when panning?

Thanks for any advice.
 
Martin, 'mode 2' IS does actually work if your technique is good. Remember, what it does is cancel out little movements at right angles to the direction in which you're pannng. But if there are movements which are too big for it to cancel, then the image will jump a little as the IS gives up and then re-engages.

I've never shot motorsports so I don't know from first-hand experience how useful it is. At a guess I would say not terribly useful, since from what I understand the sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 is a big favourite of motorsports togs and it doesn't have IS.

On the other hand I think IS is useful for nature shots. (I love the 100-400 IS, and I'm sure I wouldn't love it so much if it didn't have IS.) Not for moving targets, obviously, but most of the time most animals tend not to be doing very much; and the best time to capture them is often at one end of the day when the light may be a bit dodgy, and that's where IS helps.

If you want to try a 28-300 IS against your 35-350, .... oh, you know what I'm going to say. ;)

Alternatively, given that you have a 28-105, you might find that the 100-400 IS complements it quite well. It's pretty much the same size and weight as the 28-300 IS, and it's still f/5.6 at the long end, but you have the extra 100mm to play with.
 
Thanks for the reply Stewart. I think I prefer the versatility of the range of the 28-300, and for the environment I'll be taking the shots in, it will be very handy to go to 28mm instantly.
I guess I can only give mode 2 a try and see how I get on. With drag racing where I will be shooting at the end of this month the cars accelerate pretty quickly so this makes panning harder, be interesting to see how mode 2 can deal with acceleration whilst panning.
 
Practice makes perfect with the mode 2 shots, but if you're used to motorsport photography then it should just be perfect!
 
How sharp are these lenses? Seems like they must have to make an awfully large compromise to cover such a wide range?
 
Not as a sharp or as fast as a prime lens, but then you have the big advantage of a lot of range which is great when you don't want to swap lenses on the move.
 
Back
Top