70-200 f4 USM or 300 f4 USM?????

Dom_Cabarete

Dom_Cabarete

Messages
1,615
Name
Dominic
Edit My Images
Yes
Hey guys due to salivating all over rusty's sale of his 300mm, i have come to ask myself a question that i cant answer.

When i move back to the carribean in march i will be mostly shooting kitesurfing and other watersports. The kiting will always be moderatly close to the beach but the surfing is a little further.

Which one of the above lenses would serve me best in your opinion?(y)
 
Both ;) (y)
 
Presumably it will be easier to get further away from the action than closer to it so the 300mm sounds a better bet.
 
MJ Stebbings said:
Both ;) (y)
Click to expand...

you dont even know how much i wish that were possible... :crying:

But i love my 70-200 so much. I just want to be practical as i will be opening a business up there as part of the kite schools so i really want the first couple of months were i cant have both to go the right way.

Any other suggestions?
 
considered the 100-400? should cover the best from both(budget dependant obviously)
 
the words "budget dependant" resonate through my head :D

The thing is i look at my kit and think this can do but its not amazing. I would like to keep my 10-20 for shooting other stuff. But i could easily sell that and the 70-200 for a 100-400. But then im stuff with a huge focal length and i dont know if the kit lens would "satisfy" me.

What would you do in my position?

p.s: let me know if you dont quite understand what my position is :D
 
so you have no budget for new lenses, and you got a 10-20 and 70-200, and absolutely no idea what focal length you actually need??

id stick with what you got, and swap once youve moved if need be(y)
 
I reckon that the 300 might still be a tad on the weak side for long range surf shots but the 70-200 will be great for the closer kite surfing shots.

Also, I'm guessing that you'll be mostly working in good light so the 70-200 would probably handle a 1.4 converter pretty well and get you near the 300 range for far less than going the whole hog on the lens.

Then when you do get the 300, it also works fairly well with the 1.4 for a nifty little 420 f5.6. :):)
 
yeah your right a 1.4 would be a good bet. (y)

Fletch its not that i dont know what i need, if i could i would have the 70-200 for the kiting shots and the 300 for the surf but its what i could do in the middle. I cant get anything in the country without flying to miami so i want to make sure ive got some angles covered before i do...:D

So yeah, dazz i'll be working in pure sun so i need not worry about light its just a small concern of leaving and not having the right kit to kick things off you see. :p
 
If you thinking about adding a 1.4x TC to the 70-200mm f4 then why not just buy the 100-400mm, light conditions in the carribean are 10x better than UK, so the f5.6 won't sting you as much and its a very versitle lens in good light. I own the 70-200mm f4 (mainly use it when hiking now because its light weight) and works well with 1.4x TC, but 70-200 just doesn't give you that reach (unless you want to heavily crop images or you in the water close to the action), 300mm is also a great lens, stays on my camera most of the time for airshows and motorsport, downside prime not zoom.

So the question is keep 70-200 or sell for 300mm (or another), I would have to agree with fletch5, keep combo for moment and wait and see what you actually need. If 70-200 is not enough, then the 100-400mm is a more versitile lens than the 300mm, you would need to think about composing your shots more with the 300mm, but it is still a great lens.

Peter
 
MJ Stebbings said:
Get a loan and flee the country :LOL:

Hope you get yourself sorted mate :)
Click to expand...

:LOL: i would never do that :naughty:

Cheers for the advice pete. I think that when i can afford it i will go for the 100-400 but im only in the UK recovering from a broken leg and im litterally skint all the time from putting every cent aside so that i have some sort of fallback when im there as ive already lived there 2 years and when there is no work....there is noooo work :|

hmmm i think the conclusion is sell everything and get a 100-400 and i will be able to get other lenses as and when.

Or... keep the 70-200 and get a converter and keep the 10-20. Its hard when you dont have the cash to splash out on a bunch of equipment :p
 
i know the feeling(y)
 
i wouldn't get the 300mm as i have a 70-300mm and have done a few shots of a friend that kayak surfs and found zooming in and out very useful, if the reach on the 70-200 isn't enough you could always fall back to cropping images.
 
yea its all good advice thanks :D but in an inperfect realistic world my options are few unfortunatly... But i do need to figure out whats best
 
I used the 300f4 for kite surfing photos in the UK... if that helps

The 100-400 would probably be the best bet though, just as others have said, the grey nasty UK weather won't be giving you the usual problems the 100-400 suffers from.

Should rock!
 
I think your best option would be to either shoot kitesurfing/surfing here and see what you find it the best focal length is, or even better wait until you get out there and see if you need more reach or not.
 
Well this was taken of me and that was with a 300 i think, thats with no crop and when i get home ill post some that i took with a friends 70-200 but that was near the shore break... if i stand away the 100-400 would be so awesome i think...

n505802161_362317_5096.jpg
 
if that shot was taken witha 300, then your 70-200 is way too short really imho
 
sorry i meant to say 200 and i was quite far out i think...
 
You wouldn't really have to stand away with the 100-400, it being a zoom :p

I'd say you'd have the best of both worlds, 400 so get a tight crop if need be and the rest of the range for everything else.
 
i see what you guys are saying but ive been looking around for one and their really quite expensive second hand.....whats a normal price to pay for one?
 
Sounds about right... but none of the stuff mentioned in this thread is cheap.... the longer you go, the more money it costs....
 
Jim.R said:
Have you considered a Canon 200mm F/2.8 L prime? Couple it with a 1.4 or 2x converter and you've then got the choice of 200mm @ F/2.8, 280mm @ F/4 or 400mm @ F/5.6 (if I've got my head around the maths correctly.

I've seen the lens around the £400 - £450 mark second hand. In fact, the're £484 new...
http://www.warehouseexpress.com/product/default.aspx?sku=12820
Click to expand...


hmmmmm sounds good to me...The only issue i would have with this is its not weather sealed and sand, wind and salt are abundent were im going :p

I would love a 100-400 and im sure i will spend upwards of a grand once ive established myself out there but its not viable right this minute. Its always good to know the options though :D
 
Isn't the 100-400 a bit of a dust pump, may not be he best in sandy conditions...
 
Oh gawd, wait for the backlash...
 
Because people who don't own them imagine they suck in dust because of the push-pull focus system and people who do/have owned them deny this happens...
 
oh fair enough, i just went to have a little read about it but if you say it might not be a problem... i think i should be fine getting a 1.4 converter until i can afford a bigger lens im sure ill get away with it :D
 
I didn't actually say whether it did or didn't suck dust... only that whenever the subject comes up it turns into a ***** storm of postings....
 
:LOL: fair enough...ill be putting a rash vest sleeve over whatever lens im using anyway...
 
I think that if a 70-200mm will be perfect for kitesurfing, a 300mm will be the minimum for surfing (a 300mm with a 1.4x TC will fit better and a 400mm will be perfect but expensive and heavy for ).
Personally I use for both my Sigma f2.8 70-200mm with a TC for surfing (1.4x or 2x) but often cropping is inevitable.
 
yeah i have lots of kitesurfing at 200 with a crop but the 1.4 would help loads, just need to find one for sale cos they go crazy fast
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top