Looking for lens ideas

[poorman]

Hi my name is Damien im looking for a lens possible a f/2 maybe 70-200 to take fast photos as in rc helicopters i have a canon 550 D abd are new to this era and its driveind me mad..Photo shots will be around the 100-150 ft mark and heres a eg of what im after in a pic hope to here from you ..merry xmas

[ricktas]

Hi,

Reading your post it sounds like the attached photo was not one you took, I have therefore removed it as members are only allowed to post photos they own copyright over

[Roosta]

f/2 maybe 70-200 to take fast photos as in rc helicopters i have a canon 550 D will be around the 100-150 ft mark

Hi Mate, can you tell us what lenses you have? The Canon 70-200mm L F2.8 IS is a very capable lens, but they're not cheap. Sigma make a 150 - 500 F4 - 5.6, also a 70-200mm F2.8. There are quite a few lenses that will happily do the job, but you need to be able to use your camera correctly to obtain quality images of very fast moving objects.

Do you use auto on your camera, or have you moved on from there ?

[poorman]

Hi ive only got a 55 mm lens at the moment " i do use auto and tv ect on the 550 d im undecided on the 70-200 f/2 second hand or a affordable 70-200 f/4 is L usm lens.. some pics ive seen in sports ect on this site show a f/4 doing what i need "The question is how fast is the f/4 for Drag raceing - rc hellis and possible air shows ???? thanx any help would be appreciated , merry xmas all:xmas31:

[fabian628]

the f/2.8 and f/4 are 1 stop apart in aperture value, means that twice as much light is let into the f/2.8 lens.

If you want fast shutter speeds at low light conditions, the f/2.8 is the better lens. If you imagine your uses to be in good light, ie sunshine, then the f/4 lens will do perfectly well. other things to consider is the Af capabilities of the camera body and lens. The lens is USM motor so it will do well, however you may find the AF speed of the rebel body not sufficient to track dragracing or small flying objects :th3:

[jjphoto]

I don't believe there are ANY F2.0 70-200 zooms from any lens maker for a 35mm SLR camera. They would not be very affordable in any case. You mean F2.8, don't you?

A Canon 70-200/2.8 IS is an excellent lens. You can hire one from several places if you'de like to try before you buy.

JJ

[poorman]

Yeah sorry f/2.8 thats rite lol stressing to pick wich one to buy i think ill have to settle for the f/4 is usm and hope it will do the job thankyou

[Roosta]

Hello Poorman, Merry Christmas, Mate as Fabian has state some of the limitations of your body, but I feel you should be able to get what you want with a 70-200mm L F4 lens, this lens is tack sharp and very light compaired to it's brother the F2.8. Here is a very good link, http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-Zoom-Lens-Reviews.aspx read up on the lens, also, if price is an issue you can try this, http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/sigma_70-200_2p8_os_c16/ This lens has OS (optical stabilisation) in Sigma talk. There is an earlier model that didn't and is a hell of a lot cheaper, good option if you have steady hands. Also this link http://www.sigmaphoto.com/shop/telephoto-zoom-lenses has got more of the Sigma lens options. A lot of the birders on this site use the bigger/longer Sigma's with great results. Also take into account (DG) and (EF) designate lenses for Full Frame cameras. You'll have to multiply them x 1.6 with one of the above lenses. My EF 70-200mm L 2.8 on my 50D is equal to 112 - 320 mm.

Look, bottom line, tele zooms and fast glass (I.E low F Stop number 2.8) means high price. Choose wisely and you will be happy for a long time, choose poorly due to price restrictions and you'll be dissapointed, there are plenty of kit style lens that will achieve the focal reach, but aren't fast enough (i.E F5.6 and above). In other words, the speed the camera can absorb the light coming through the lens, the better the ap of the lens, the quicker you can use the camera settings. So if it was me, and I could only afford a say 70-300 F5.6 at $800, I wouldn't buy it, I'd say my bickies till I could afford the lens I need not want. But in saying that, the Tamron is getting some great reviews, goto their site and have a read, also need to be aware of the way they brand size for APS-c or not DI or DI 11, it's all on their site.

But the choice is yours. Being your in Victoria, there should be a store where you can hire photographic gear from, look at hiring a lens over a remote weekend or a drag weekend, try it and see how it works, I would suggest you use manual mode and set ISO, Higher shutter speeds and play around with the Ap to get desired results. Write down what works and what didn't, weather dependant of course.

Have fun.

[fabian628]

I think you should be ok with your body, the focus motor in the lens is much more important than the auto focus in the body. For example, i used a 1000D in japan with the 135mm USM lens, i was able to shoot pidgeons in flight and track crows flying. The 1000D is entry level, but with a good lens it did very well. I did however also use a cheap telephoto zoom on my 1D mk 3, which has a very good auto focus system, but the lens was cheap and had the basic auto focus motor. I could not get one image infocus :eek:

picture with the lowly 1000D and 135 f/2
http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg60/natural_defence_plant/Japan/IMG_2383.jpg

[poorman]

Thats a great photo thats the 135 L with no zoom year i still don;t understand how that works as u have to be a certain distance so it just focuses yeah hmmmm :xmas31:

[fabian628]

yep, just a fixed focal length, and it just has a focus ring, no zoom ;)
There are a few wide aperture fixed focal lenght lenses from canon that are around the price of the 70-200 f/4 IS.
135mm f/2 = ~ $850-900 second hand
200mm f/2.8 = ~ $750-850 second hand
100mm f/2 = ~300-400

I was tossing up between the 100 f/2 135 f/2 and 200 f/2.8, i eventually went with the 135 f/2 and a 1.4x teleconverter which I can put on to get a little bit more reach, 189mm f/2.8.

[Roosta]

i eventually went with the 135 f/2 and a 1.4x teleconverter which I can put on to get a little bit more reach, 189mm f/2.8.

Is it the 135mm L and if so DWI has it at $964

Canon 70-200mmL F4 is $671.00 - http://www.dwidigitalcameras.com.au/store/advsearch.asp?action=search&keyword=70-200+mm+F4 - http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-70-200mm-f-4.0-L-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

The 70-200 F4 will give you a better focal lenght I feel. Not that there's any thing wrong with 135mm L - http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-135mm-f-2.0-L-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

[poorman]

Finally got my lens lashed out waited 6 weeks and bought a canon f/2.8 70-200 L lens and i couldn't believe how much difference it is to normal lenses...Like to thank all for info and helping me decide on what to buy..:)

[in2fx]

nice lens, you'll have a lot of fun with that :)

[rookie]

Show some pics

[Roosta]

Well, Now to post some copters with the new investment. I know you'll be happy with it. :th3:

[wazonthehill]

still waiting on the chopper shots

[fabian628]

Finally got my lens lashed out waited 6 weeks and bought a canon f/2.8 70-200 L lens and i couldn't believe how much difference it is to normal lenses...Like to thank all for info and helping me decide on what to buy..:)

True. The L telephoto lenses have a really good reputation for nice colours and contrast. The wide aperture should make for some nice shallow depth of field.

[poorman]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/quickpics000/