Airshow (and motorsport) lens advice

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UKBorgs

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I am looking at buying a new lens for the specific reason of moving into Motorsport and Airshow photography. I have a 5DII and a 600D and would like to make the most of the bodies that I have. I know that the cropped sensor on the 600D will extend the lens, but currently I am confused by the reviews of

1. Canon 70-200 F2.8 USM IS L
2. Canon 100-400 F4.5-5.6 IS USM
3. Canon 400 F5.6

Anyone fancy trying to help me out here? It would be appreciated. Obviously the cost is a driver and I know that I can use an extender on the second two for about the same price as the first lens.
 
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100-400 for definite
70-200:good for motorsport probabley to short for airshows and with a 2x teleconverter I expect the 100-400 to be alot better
400 F5.5: Cracking lens but lacks the versatily of the 100-400
 
Chuck the Canon 70-300mm L IS into the mix too. Cracking lens!

Much much sharper than my 100-400mm was so I can confidently say a cropped shot from that lens will retain the same quality as the 100-400mm at the long end.

That said, if you get the 70-200mm F2.8 MkII lens and pair with Mk3 converters you get quality near that of the 100-400L with a 2x on it. Another consideration...

I wouldn't want to 400mm F5.6 at an airshow unless I had a second lens on a different camera.
 
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I'd also consider the 300mm f4L IS both with and without a 1.4x. You'll be fine for most acts unless you're wanting shots of the Red Arrows or BBMF when they're directly in front of you. 300mm has also been fine for me when I've shot superbikes. I do find that being 'stuck' at 300, 420 or 600mm has made me think a bit more about my shots rather than just going for the obvious which is what I tended to do with the 100-400.
 
UKBorgs said:
That link gives a confusing message on the L status of the lens, which for the price I am sure is not really a L lens.
Click to expand...

That's because when you click on the link it shows a 70-300mm IS not the new 70-300mm IS L

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-70-300mm-f-4-5.6-IS-L-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

As for an airshow lens, the canon 100-400mm still a good lens, although 13 years old, the tech has be surpassed with better optics and IS, but its still a good lens. I've used the 300mm f4 (with 1.4x TC) for years, although upgrades to the 300mm f2.8 its a great comination, but its not a zoom, so you'll have to think about your photography using this lens.

The 400mm f5.6 another great lens, but would suffer in poor light conditions, then you have the sigma 50-500mm OS, 150-500mm OS or 120-400mm OS models, the 2 latter ones working well in good light, but not great when the light falls off because being f6.3 lenses, although the new OS system apparently is rather good.

Forget about a 70-200mm f2.8 as an airshow lens even with the crop factor, extra mega pixels and possible addition of a TC. Its a very expensive option and I would probably choose the sigma 120-300mm f2.8 OS over it which would be cheaper than the 70-200 and TC which could set you back close to £1800. Most airshows I go to nowadays require a minimum of 400mm.
 
Just thought I would drop a quick message and say that I went and got the F4 70-300 L lens.......I LOVE IT. Good for the price and not too heavy when connected to my 5D. I will be out with it soon but the initial shots I have got with it match the pure sharpness and shallow DOF as my previous 24-105 L.

Now I have to find the right opportunity to go out and test it properly.

Thanks to all for the advice and I will post here when I have some shots for others to examine.
 
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