Sports shooter lens advice needed

  • Thread starter Thread starter Deleted member 11679
  • Start date Start date

Deleted member 11679

Deleted member 11679

Over the next few weeks all the money will be in place for me to get my first telephoto zoom for use with the sports I am shooting this year.

And I'm genuinely stuck for choice! Basically over the coming year or 2 I imagine myself to be shooting these sports in order of occurance:

1. Motorsport
2. Swimming
3. Football
4. Other indoor/general outdoor sports

The biggest will be Motorsport, this is the one I am mad about and will be scheduling in up to 20 events over this year alone as long as time allows. The rest are more for general interest and with a hope to improve my skill. I have my 50mm F/1.8 lined up for Swimming (already have this lens) and the other sports I was hoping to cover under the telephoto I am posting about here.

Now, from my perspective, the 3 choices I have so far in regards lenses are:

1. Canon 70-200mm F/4 L
2. Sigma 70-200mm F/2.8 EX DG
3. Sigma 100-300mm F/4 EX APO

Now, in price terms the Canon is the cheapest, with the Sigma 70-200 coming in next and then the longer range Sigma being the most expensive. But what do people honestly advise I choose!

I can also afford to buy the teleconvertors for the Sigma and Canon lenses, and would be looking at the 1.4x in both cases. So therefore if I went for the Canon I would get the Canon teleconvertor, and if I went for the Sigma I would buy the Sigma teleconvertor.

From the shots I have seen from the Canon, it has the edge regards optical quality over the other 2, however the other 2 hold there own in regards I am either getting a wider initial aperture or a longer range focal length.

Just want some gut reaction really, I can afford one of the 3 and just can't make my mind up which!

Thanks for reading,

Tom
 
I'd be tempted to agree with Joe. There aren't many places where you can shoot motorsports with a 200mm lens so if you're looking for 200+1.4xtc then the Sigma is going to be the better bet because you'll get better AF performance with a 280mm f4 combo than the 280mm f5.6 Canon setup.

Another option might be the sigma 80-400 EX APO OS. I've not heard much about it but it's just been replaced by a DG version so there might be some left in the dealer channel - my usual supplier had them for less than £700 but all the Canon fit ones have gone.
 
When looking for a tele recently I considered both Canon and Sigma 70-200 2.8, but ended up deciding on a Canon 200 2.8L. Must you have a zoom or could you get away with using primes?
 
i was looking at the sigma 70-200 f2.8 and the 100-300 f4 and i`m still undecided, cheapest ive seen the 70-200 is £570 but ive also seen the 100-300 f4 + free 1.4 tc for £650 (not sure what warranty come with them but sigma ex range is 3yrs at a few places)
 
Dfhaii said:
When looking for a tele recently I considered both Canon and Sigma 70-200 2.8, but ended up deciding on a Canon 200 2.8L. Must you have a zoom or could you get away with using primes?
Click to expand...

i had the same thought yesterday. i was at donnington taking some shots of the track day and very rarely adjusted the zoom at all.

i was shooting with a sigma 70-200 2.8 and a 2x tc most of the time. i only used it at 200mm for a few shots when i was standing infront of the fence at a marshall point on the first corner. the rest of the time i had it at 300-400mm depending on where on the course i was.

i was worried about autofocus speed before i started but once i got going i realised i was using the lens at the end of its focusing range anyway so it wasnt doing much focusing at all. i could even have left it in mf since i was using it at f8-f11 most of the time.

bearing this in mind im considering wether to sell all this and get a 300mm f4 IS. primes are so much more interesting to use.
 
TRiP - Can you post some of you pics please. Would be interested to see what results you got from the lens/2X converter.
 
I would personally go for a 200mm and a TC. The Sigma may be the best one, perhaps the 100-300mm, but I would compare the autofocus performance. My f/4-5.6 75-300mm Minolta lens is really really slow at focusing.
 
Dfhaii said:
When looking for a tele recently I considered both Canon and Sigma 70-200 2.8, but ended up deciding on a Canon 200 2.8L. Must you have a zoom or could you get away with using primes?
Click to expand...

Ouch, this just threw a spanner in the works...had not thought about a prime lens! I couldn't get away with using primes from the point of view I could only afford 1, and obviously moving around a track you find yourself in all sorts of different place. I am also thinking the lower zoom range is probably going to help me for general things as well.

I am seeing the common sense behind a F/2.8 lens over an F/4, but, with the exception of dod's recent shots, the far superior both track and general shots are coming from the Canon F/4.

^ Probably not the best thing to use for deciding with!

I think the term is 'spoilt for choice!!'
 
Don't underestimate the darkness of swimming pool environments - depending on what exactly you'll be shooting, of course. I'd really try and go lower than F/4 for swimming shots if possible :)
 
TomWilko said:
the far superior both track and general shots are coming from the Canon F/4.
Click to expand...

The F4 is easier to use. It's lighter with super quick focussing. The sigma takes a bit of getting used to, it's big, heavy and tiring for a full day. The first time I went out with it I was really disappointed even though I did get some decent shots. Depth of field at F2.8 is small and you really need to be spot on with the focussing to get good results. Like any bit of kit though you need to get used to it and how to get the best from it.

I was getting shots yesterday I couldn't have got with the F4 unless I'd gone up to ISO 800.
 
For reference I just purchased a Canon F/4 L off Ebay secondhand. I decided at this present time I do not have a skill level or usage level to justify me spending more than I have paid for this secondhand.

It's only 9 months old and comes with a full UK warranty from a certain high street camera store...still 3 months left which gives me plenty of time to make sure its ok.

Very happy!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom