Motorsport and Wildlife Lens on a Budget

Mini Matrix

Mini Matrix

Mini Matrix

Associate
Joined
29 Apr 2008
Posts
14
Guys, I just can't make my mind up on this at all.....please please offer me some advice.

I've got a Canon 40D with a 50mm fixed and want a lens for the above for approx £500. I like the look of the Canon 70-200m F4 but are there any other options at all?

Ta

Mini
 
I doubt that 200mm is long enough (unless used with a tc).
I would have thought that 300mm would come in handy for motorsport & for wildlife 400mm or more.
Perhaps a s/h 100-400 IS if you can find one?
 
you could go for a 200mm f/2.8 L and then add a 2x and/or 1.4x tele convertor to give you 400mm f/5.6 and 280mm f/4 options. not entirely sure on how it performs with the converters though.

200mm definately wouldn't be long enough for wildlife though. if you want a zoom i'd probably go for the canon 70-300 IS.

i really doubt you being able to find even the most abused 100-400 for £500
 
At that price, the 400mm F5.6 seems like the obvious choice. Not the fastest of lenses, but affordable, relatively light, very sharp and as faster AF than say the 100-400.
 
how about the bigma - aka, sigma 50-500, or even the 170-500 not pro by any means but still capable lenses.
 
for sports/wildlife, many people use the 300 F4 IS, or the 400 F5.6, both cracking lenses, really sharp with brilliant AF, far sharper than any of the zooms at a similar length, although the 70-200 F4 is very very good.
Both work well with a 1.4x, AF speed is reduced by around 25% but your overall IQ is pretty much unaffected. They're also pretty lightweight.

Both lenses can be had for around £500 from the obvious places.

Some people are put off by primes because of the obvious missing convenience (zoom), for sports I tend to find that subjects frame themselves if you get the timing right, and with Wildlife its not often at all that you get too close, every time i've been around someone with say a 100-400mm, its constantly bolted at 400mm and they're reaching for the 1.4x :D
 
V-Spec said:
...and with Wildlife its not often at all that you get too close, every time i've been around someone with say a 100-400mm, its constantly bolted at 400mm and they're reaching for the 1.4x :D
Click to expand...
This is very true! Especially with full frame - my how I miss the crop factor :rolleyes:

Its worth pointing out, that if you want really nice stand out shots of wildlife then even with a 600mm your going to need to improve on your stalking technique and also have the time to sit and wait for the wildlife to play nice. Good wildlife photography is about so much more than just having magnification unless all you really want to shoot is tame birds that will come over for a bit of bread or some seed at a feeder lol
 
eos-classifieds is a pretty good site for second hand canon kit, I don't *think* it classes as a competitor as its all second hand kit.

Some good stuff pops up on there from time to time, both lenses in question are available on there now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom