Lens for Canon EOS 400D? ( for motorsport )

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Hi everyone.

I'm going to be taking up photography in the DSLR side of things.

After a while of posting and research i've opted to go for a Canon EOS 400D.


I'm a big Rallying fan, motorsport etc.

It would be great if anyone can give me suggestions for a decent lens to start me out, probably up to 250/300mm.

As i say i'm quite new into this lens malarky so i'm really needing some help :)

In terms of pricing, the body is going to cost me about £200 so for the lens my budget is about £150. I understand lenses are very expensive and £150 certainly isn't a great amount, but are there any lenses out there you reccomend i could get for this type of photography and this camera? I heard people mentioning Sigmas..

... I could maybe stretch to £200 for the lens, but please look at £150 first! :P I am only 17!

Thank you ever so much in advance.
 
You can pick up a brand new Tamron 70-300mm from jessops for about £170.
Not the best of lenses but good to start you out i suppose. I would also see if you could improve on the Body. Something like a 20D would be good offering you 5 fps over 2.7 on the 400D. and it's a simular price.
 
John Mc said:
You can pick up a brand new Tamron 70-300mm from jessops for about £170.
Not the best of lenses but good to start you out i suppose. I would also see if you could improve on the Body. Something like a 20D would be good offering you 5 fps over 2.7 on the 400D. and it's a simular price.
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Hmm a 20D... it's certainly a bit more FPS, but comprising MP's? Would that matter much?

a 20D actually looks a bit cheaper!
 
I'd always go for the xxD over the xxxD (well, few exceptions :D)

So a 20D or 30D (same sensor just better screen on the back and a few other tweaks) are where i'd be looking, not only will you get better fps but an entirely better autofocus system so you have a better chance of getting a car traveling at 100mph towards you

The difference between 8 and 10MP is pretty small so don't worry about that too much.

the Canon 55-250mm lens is usually fairly well regarded, they just today (er yesterday) announced a version 2 of it but i think its mostly cosmetic changes so you might be able to score a deal on the current version 1? Its only £158 or so anyway.

One random thought is that usually when i see 400D cameras for sale is quite a lot of the will include the 18-55 kit lens where the 20/30D cameras tend not to. They aren't especially great lenses but you have to pay a fair bit of money to improve on them so if you weren't wanting to be stuck with just a longish focal length then might be an idea to buy one with the kit lens included.

Remember to keep some funds aside for memory cards and an extra battery
 
Another vote for the 55-250 here! Saying that I'm thinking of a 70-200L now. Tsk tsk... Expensive hobby.
 
Sorry, I should have mentioned about the camera a little more but Nano done that for me. I don't have a 20D to comment on, But my flat mate has had a 20,30 and now a 40D and she hasn't had a problem.

As for using the Af on a rally car's, it'll take time. I like to see the shot in my mind and set manual for where the car will be. though this means you'll need a tripod or atleast a mono pod and a steady hand.
 
On a budget get a 55-250mm, if you could wait out and stretch your budget id go for a 70-200mm F4L
 
Thanks for the great advice folks.

Looks like i'll go for a 55-250 then :)

In terms of the body, is there much of a price jump between the 20D,30D & 40D?
 
Thanks again everyone.

My final decision is the 20D + 55-250mm lens. :)

One last thing, which memory card should i get?

The camera i am buying does not come with a usb.

I need a card which will allow me to take a lot of photos in a very short space of time ( as it is rallying, continous bursts are needed! ) and in general will hold a large number of pictures.

I'm not sure exactly how many photo's i'd take at a rally, but i imagine it wouldn't be hard to exceed 1k.

Thanks in advance.
 
nano said:
So a 20D or 30D... ...are where i'd be looking... an entirely better autofocus system so you have a better chance of getting a car traveling at 100mph towards you
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Are you sure about this? The 20D is an older generation than a 400D, I don't think it has any more cross sensors than a 400D, and I doubt it's AF system is really any better (in fact I think the 400D has the same system as the 30D). Within a generation the xxD is a better bet than an xxxD, but across generations? I'm not sure.
 
SixToes said:
Are you sure about this? The 20D is an older generation than a 400D, I don't think it has any more cross sensors than a 400D, and I doubt it's AF system is really any better (in fact I think the 400D has the same system as the 30D). Within a generation the xxD is a better bet than an xxxD, but across generations? I'm not sure.
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I'm more drawn to the 20D due to the faster shutter speeds and wider ISO range.
 
SixToes said:
Are you sure about this? The 20D is an older generation than a 400D, I don't think it has any more cross sensors than a 400D, and I doubt it's AF system is really any better (in fact I think the 400D has the same system as the 30D). Within a generation the xxD is a better bet than an xxxD, but across generations? I'm not sure.
Click to expand...

You know, now that you mentioned it i wasn't 100% sure.

Seems the 400D got the AF and metering from the 20D, the 30D (released 6 months before the 400D) adds the centre spot metering. Apart from that and the manual override they are the same.

I'm still going to stand by saying take the 20/30D tho :D
 
nano said:
I'm still going to stand by saying take the 20/30D tho :D
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I'd second that, but if you can stretch the budget, a 70-200mm f4 lens would be best, second hand or not, it would be a good lens to start with. Regardless of it's lack of IS
 
nano said:
You know, now that you mentioned it i wasn't 100% sure.

Seems the 400D got the AF and metering from the 20D, the 30D (released 6 months before the 400D) adds the centre spot metering. Apart from that and the manual override they are the same.

I'm still going to stand by saying take the 20/30D tho :D
Click to expand...
You might find this useful (although I only went back as far as the 30D):

5630405857_65f1ba3b1f_b.jpg
 
The 20D has an EF/EF-S mount, so the 55-250 is the one for you - cheap; good value; nice image quality; reasonably fast; IS; not too delicate. And shop around - available new for about £130.

The 20D does have a USB2 connector, but a USB2 card reader only costs a couple of pounds. So buy a card reader and an 8GB CF card for around £15, giving you greater flexibility. If you can't afford it just now, eventually get a second card. Rallies are unique events and things can go wrong even with CF cards.

A reserve second battery might be an essential - clones aren't noticeably inferior but are drastically lower in price than Canon-brand.

If at all possible, I'd stretch my budget to a 40D. It probably means spending about an additional £100.
 
Back in the day I had the choice between a 20D and 400D, I went for the 20D for the better handling and even after owning a 1D, my favourite motorsport image was taken with the 20D. I can confirm it is a good combination with the 70-200 f4 too.

If you were going up upgrade either the body or the lens, the lens will make a bigger difference.
 
Thanks for all the replies.

I've finally , after all your consultation, I have ordered what is listed below.


( D20 Body + 18-55mm kit lens , 55-250mm lens, 2x Sandisk CF 4GB Ultra II Cards, A card reader!, 4 in 1 Charger ( for car ) , 2 new batteries, Hoya Pro 1 Protection filter and finally a lens hood....) I'm excited! My budget was £400, but i suppose spending £410 is not bad, hopefully this kit will get me off to a good start and then i can build on it ...

Thanks again for the help everyone!
 
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