REALLY Stupid glass question

David Stallard

David Stallard

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Okay guys n gals, would love to hear your thoughts on this especially from anyone who has actually used both.

I have at the moment 70-200 2.8 mk2 (which is awesome) which I occasionally pair up with the 1.4 or 2x MkII extenders and get some pretty good results - however. . . . whilst I still have a bit of my redundancy money left I keep getting drawn to the 300mm 2.8 mk2

I guess my fear is that I spend all that money on one of the best primes out there and then end up not using it due to using the zoom all the time - trackside a lot of the time even 70mm can be too close, BUT I do like wildlife photography as well.

Going round and round in circles here - Anyone?

.DAVID.
 
It simple if you have the money that is disposable and think it will be of use to you buy it, you should be able to sell for no major loss ;)

If however you think it will get very rarely or could need the money for other stuff then no don't buy it but really only you can make that call
 
Hi David,

Once you get use to using a prime lens like the 300mm f2.8 you won't want to use anything else. Agreed, you don't have the flexiblity of a zoom lens but careful positioning and the use of TC's can overcome most of those problems. I very rarely use my 100-400mm lens (which I really like) when I'm out doing shows or trackdays. The only major downside to these new MkII lenses is their bloomin' price! I would have a look for a good secondhand MkI.

Neil
 
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I can't talk for the above lenses but I love the flexibility of a zoom.

I love the results from my 50mm but hardly ever use it just because it's a prime.

With the standards of today's zooms I doubt I'll be buying another prime...but that's just me.

Have you thought about the sigma 120-300mm f2.8 OS?
 
David Stallard said:
I guess my fear is that I spend all that money on one of the best primes out there and then end up not using it due to using the zoom all the time -
Click to expand...
You might find that the opposite happens, Dave and you stop using the 70-200 II (as I did). The zoom eventually moved on as it had become the "cupboard queen".

Bob
 
Hi David
I have a 70-200mm 2.8f and a 400mm 2.8f to be honest for the wild life the prime lens is the way to go for me get you close and that is the secret of really good Bird shot i find the weight is an issue so would suggest a good tripod as well would be a must just to save your arms and to reduce camera shack. mind you these are my thoughts and we all differ in our ideas. hope i was of some help.
Rob
 
Hi David

FWIW, I have the 70-200f2.8ISLII and 300f2.8ISLI with both x1.4III and x2III TCs and to be honest find these complement each other incredibly well. With these four lenses you have from 70-600mm covered with really nice glass in lots of permutations. For example, shooting football I put the zoom on a FF body for close-up shots and the 300 on a crop body for more distant stuff. Similarly, the 300 plus x2TC gives a good birding lens whilst the zoom is great for larger wildlife.

Personally, I love the idea of a 300mkII but really cannot justify the upgrade cost and probably would not buy one new even if I could afford it. I think if you can get a decent 300mkI for under 3 grand I doubt you will lose much on it if you cherish it ?

I might add that having had really sharp copies of Siggy 300f2.8, 120-300f2.8 and 120-300f2.8 OS lenses I would go for the Canon 300 if I were you. The Canon prime seems to focus A LOT faster, feels more durable, and IMHO takes TCs better than any of the aforementioned Siggy lenses.

Just my £0.02.

Good luck with your selection.

Gary
 
Evening David,

I may be able to offer some thoughts here, as this year I’ve upgraded from mk1 to mk2 versions of both the lenses you speak of, these are also utilised with both 1.4x & 2x mk3 extenders.

At no point have I really felt too overlapped with owning both lens’ but truth be told the 300 was more of an indulgent ‘hobby’ lens purchase for shooting wildlife and low level military aircraft. The 70-200 and 24-70 are more my earning lens which help towards paying for this hobby.

I spent a long time deliberating over which super telephoto to go for and I’m very pleased with what I now have; it allows me to shoot many subjects in varying conditions. Teamed up with the mk3 extenders it makes for a very versatile hand held solution which helps soften the outlay that it takes to get the equipment into your grasp.

If you plan on using a 300 bare then get a good mk1 version, the real world IQ difference is negligible. However, if you plan to utilise a 300 with extenders then go for the mk2 300 with mk3 extenders, but do make sure you have the latest lens firmware upgrade. I was not happy with the AI servo performance on the mk2 300 until this firmware had been applied; so much so I kept my mk1 300 which I was reluctant to move on until I was 100% happy with the mk2, so will probably now sell in due course.

Cheers
Sam
 
New to this said:
Hi David
I have a 70-200mm 2.8f and a 400mm 2.8f to be honest for the wild life the prime lens is the way to go for me get you close and that is the secret of really good Bird shot i find the weight is an issue so would suggest a good tripod as well would be a must
Click to expand...

Ah, one of the advantages of 300 f2.8 over 400 f2.8 is that the former is easily used handheld. So the overall weight needed to be carried around is substantially lower.
 
Get another camera, put the 70-200 on it and the 300mm on the other one.

There you go. Best of both worlds!

Primes are great but it requires experience and good intuition to know what you are going to take before you are going to take it. Need to anticipate the moment and move into position first to get the right shot. To help with that is basically have another camera (preferably a same one) with a different focal length prime on it.
 
I was on the point of selling my 300 IS mk1, and then made the mistake of taking it on holiday in preference to the 70-200. Result: I'm keeping it!!
Jonathan
 
I have both and as much as I love the quality from the 300mm, I've been toying with the idea of parting with it mainly because for the cost, it doesn't get as much use as I'd like...

Decisions, decisions! :)
 
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