Lens conundrum

cowboy

cowboy

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At present I have the 70-200 f4 L for motorsport but at times it's a bit on the short side so I'm looking into adding a longer lens and this is where I could do with a bit (lot ?) of advice.

Camera is a Canon 40D.

I've read up on lens advice and comparisons and I think it's down to one of these three.

Canon 100-400 IS f4.5/5.6 L
Reviews say it is a little soft at the long end.
I wonder if it might struggle in low light at the long end at the end of the day or if I add a extender.

Canon 300 IS f4.
Read good things about this lens, same aperature as the one I'm used to, wouldn't be too bad in the light I've shot in or with an extender.

Canon 400 f5.6.
A good sharp lens.
As the 100-400 in low light or an extender.

At the moment I'm edging toward the 300 but as each of these lenses in about a grand I don't want to be buying the wrong one.

I've had a chat with other photographers at my local circuit (Croft) and they all recommend whichever lens they are using :), 300, 70-200,100-400, Bigma which hasn't helped at all.
 
cowboy said:
At present I have the 70-200 f4 L for motorsport but at times it's a bit on the short side so I'm looking into adding a longer lens and this is where I could do with a bit (lot ?) of advice.

Camera is a Canon 40D.

I've read up on lens advice and comparisons and I think it's down to one of these three.

Canon 100-400 IS f4.5/5.6 L
Reviews say it is a little soft at the long end.
I wonder if it might struggle in low light at the long end at the end of the day or if I add a extender.

Canon 300 IS f4.
Read good things about this lens, same aperature as the one I'm used to, wouldn't be too bad in the light I've shot in or with an extender.

Canon 400 f5.6.
A good sharp lens.
As the 100-400 in low light or an extender.

At the moment I'm edging toward the 300 but as each of these lenses in about a grand I don't want to be buying the wrong one.

I've had a chat with other photographers at my local circuit (Croft) and they all recommend whichever lens they are using :), 300, 70-200,100-400, Bigma which hasn't helped at all.
Click to expand...

The only 1 of your lens choices I would add a teleconverter too is the 300mm. The canon TCs won't autofocus with either of the other lenses as your 60D limited to f5.6 added a TC to either of the other lenses would make them f8 lenses. You could use a Kenko TC which doesn't report the aperture to the camera and will still autofocus by it will require a lot of light to get anything worth while.

As for a lens, depends what you want, a zoom would give you the flexibility or a prime which has the benefits of better IQs and faster focusing, but you have to tailor your shooting to a fixed focal length.

Been using both versions of the 300mm (f4 & f2.8) for a while and very impressed with their performances. The 400mm f5.6 probably more a wildlife lens than a Motorsport lens.

300mm f4 with 1.4x TC
IMG_4393copy2.jpg


300mm f4
IMG_3794_edited-2.jpg


300mm f4
IMG_2159_edited-2.jpg


300mm f4 with 1.4x TC
IMG_3362_edited-2.jpg


Great lens, works well with the 1.4x TC but to get the best you need the light conditions. The bird Fraternity really like the 400mm f5.6 and its a fast focusing sharp lens, but I've seen it struggle, especially with aircraft in gloomy light, the f4 does make a difference over the f5.6, both very good lenses and I've been impressed with the images from the sigma, however, the jury's still out on action shots that require high shutter speeds, unless the lights perfect, no been impressed with the motorsport or aviation shots, a tad soft, but as a wildlife lens, very good value for the money. Sigma 50-500mm is suppose to be the slightly better (sharper) lens than the Sigma 150-500mm.
 
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depends on your level
for me...happy snapper but not a pro
I prefer a 70-200 f2.8 and a TC
2x TC is nice but I'm changing to a 1.4xTC instead.
nearly the range of a 300mm and hugely versatile.
if you can live with a TC then you can carry a lot of options with you with a decent 70-200mm.
I have the sigma OS and although it's not as good as the canon it's a decent piece of kit for the price imho

p.s love the shot of the f15e btw.
 
I've the 300 F4 IS and it works wonderfully onto 40D, takes a 1.4 TC as well nicely.

I was in the same position a few years ago and opted for the 300 over the 400 and 100-400 lenses - don't regret it.

The only other lens to possibly consider is the new 70-300L, there are a few on here that have gone from the 100-400 to it and love it.
 
Cheers Pete, I thought that might be the answer as I have searched and seen you give advice many times.

Cheers Matt, I've looked at the link and I'm not entirely convinced.

Cheers Andy, just when I thought I had made a decision you throw another decent one into the mix.

If I decide to go down the tc route (very likely) I'd only really want the 1.4 (he says) :D
 
cowboy said:
Cheers Andy, just when I thought I had made a decision you throw another decent one into the mix.

If I decide to go down the tc route (very likely) I'd only really want the 1.4 (he says) :D
Click to expand...

Haha, sorry didn't mean to make things more difficult.

As I said, I opted for the 300 and don't regret it - got the TC last year and very pleased with it.

Pete used to use one as his main lens before the lucky bu££er got a 2.8 !!!
 
DizMatt said:
just read this
http://www.giantsquiddesign.net/blog/canon-ef-100-400mm-l-series-usm-lens-plus-1-4x-extender-review/

tbh I don't rate the shots with the extender, but the 400mm shots look good.
Click to expand...

If you could guarantee the light condition all the time and free of light pollution (clear skies) then there's no problems using a 100-400mm and TC (1.4x), but we can't in this country, so it limits your options with a TC unless you're forking out a fortune on the large primes, but taking images with TCs ain't impossible and you can even stack TCs if you have the right conditions, ok shot below taking in SA, but it can be possible, but I think you have to pick your subjects.

300mm F2.8 (MKI) + 1.4x and 2x TC (MKII) stacked
IMG_6377_copy_1.jpg
 
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When I had my 30D I had a Canon 70-300 IS (which wasn't too clever beyond about 200mm) and a Canon 300 f4 IS with a 1.4x TC.

The 300 f4 is a good lens (I have the Nikon equivalent now) and although there's some debate about whether the 400 5.6 is better than the 300+1.4x the logic is simple - with the 300, you have two focal lengths possible!

If you've never used a long prime before you will find it a little challenging to start with. Zooms make you lazy, primes need a little working out before you are comfortable, but the results are execellent. Having that little bit of flexibility is something you will be greatful for...

The 300 f4 is only really bettered by the fully awesome Canon 300 2.8. That's pretty much THE lens to have, but if you are limited in budget (like me I might add!) then the f4 is a winner - second hand you can get a mint one and a TC for less than a grand too.

Where the f4 comes into its own though is that its nice and light, the 2.8 is a bit of a monster.
 
I had this decision a couple of months back and I decided to go for the versatility of the zoom and it has paid off as the amount of shots I would of missd and clipped parts of cars. When people say its soft at 400 I would agree but when stooped down to f8 mine is really sharp and ive been glad with the pics ive gotten from it.


IMG_7275 by Maximum Revs Photography, on Flickr


IMG_7309 by Maximum Revs Photography, on Flickr


IMG_8309 by Maximum Revs Photography, on Flickr


IMG_9620 by Maximum Revs Photography, on Flickr
 
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