I am buying a Canon 7D & Need a really good Telephoto Lens

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RSVMutley

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Hi guys I am a newbie & need a bit of help as I have got slightly stuck

I am buying a Canon 7d thats sorted but I need a telephoto lens for high speed ski racing I was thinking of a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS Mark II USM but I am now thinking I might need a longer lens, anyone got any suggestions I want to do length but also slightly closer when the racers approach certain gates etc.

most of all it needs to be quick:thinking:

Thanks for any help, cheers
 
The 7D and 70-200 2.8 are a great combo that I use a lot (albeit I have the Mk I), however the question as to what focal length you need depends on distance to the objects.

If you're not sure, might be worth hiring a lens to see what focal lengths you need.

Saying that, the 70-200 is a great all purpose lens that you'll likely use a lot, so may be you might want to buy one anyway.

Do you have a budget? Fast telephoto's aren't cheap, knowing how much you can spend will let people make relevant recommendations.
 
If you need a bit more reach, add a 1.4 extender to a 70-200 f/2.8.
 
RSVMutley said:
Hi guys I am a newbie & need a bit of help as I have got slightly stuck

I am buying a Canon 7d thats sorted but I need a telephoto lens for high speed ski racing I was thinking of a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS Mark II USM but I am now thinking I might need a longer lens, anyone got any suggestions I want to do length but also slightly closer when the racers approach certain gates etc.

most of all it needs to be quick:thinking:

Thanks for any help, cheers
Click to expand...

Quick as in Aperture or AF?
I hear the 100-400 is quick Af, the aperture obviously isnt but for ski action I guess there would be plenty of light (unless there are night races of course :) )
Matt
 
Why does it need to be "quick"?

Skiers don't move that fast, compared to cars and bikes say. You don't need a lens with fast autofocus to keep up with them.

And unless I'm mistaken, skiing usually takes place outdoors, during daytime, with lots of white areas to reflect the light around. So you surely aren't going to be very short of light, so you probably don't need a fast aperture either.
 
I would go for the 70-200 F2.8 IS and add either a 1.4x, 2x or as I have, both.
Its a rare combination where the AF and IS still work perfectly well together making them awesome.
 
Stu Blackpool said:
I would go for the 70-200 F2.8 IS and add either a 1.4x, 2x or as I have, both.
Its a rare combination where the AF and IS still work perfectly well together making them awesome.
Click to expand...

Stu,

Are you sure that you still retain AF with both extenders (+ I assume, a EF12 tube)?
 
Bawbee said:
Stu,

Are you sure that you still retain AF with both extenders (+ I assume, a EF12 tube)?
Click to expand...

Yes, with the EF1.4 MKII and EF2.0 MKII - The cameras AF and IS works fine (Albeit slower in my opinion) on any Canon lens that is F4 or faster.

Sorry, not sure what an EF12 tube is?
 
In fact, I seem to recall they still work when stacked together as a 560mm too... could quickly stack them tonight to confirm if anyone cares.
 
From my personal experience you lose one stop on max exposure with a 1.4 extender and two stops with a 2x extender. So an F4 lens becomes a F5.6 with a 1.4 and an f8 with 2x. I have used both a 70-200 f4 and a 100-400 f4 with both these extenders. Auto focus worked ( a little more slowly) on both with the 1.4 but not with a 2x. I would not recommend stacking extenders as you will lose three stops (assuming this would work) at all.

Of these two lenses in my case the 100-400 was the sharper. However you might not like the trombone zoom mechanism. Try to get hold of both before you make your choice and get a feel for the weight and balance.
 
Here is Canons Chart.
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StewartR said:
Why does it need to be "quick"?

Skiers don't move that fast, compared to cars and bikes say. You don't need a lens with fast autofocus to keep up with them.

And unless I'm mistaken, skiing usually takes place outdoors, during daytime, with lots of white areas to reflect the light around. So you surely aren't going to be very short of light, so you probably don't need a fast aperture either.
Click to expand...

I'd disagree Stewart. There's a reason that Canon picked slalom skiing to showcase the 1DIV AF system and that's because it can be extremely random ( presuming that we're talking about competition level here). Motor sports are linear focus whereas skiing ( particularly slalom & GS tend to be random like field sports). If you've got tandem competitions or pipe work, even more so.

Without a few more pointers its difficult to suggest anything accurately ie;

Which disciplines
What sort of access/distance from the action & piste
Budget
Portability

Etc
 
Hi Guys thank for the support what I am after is the cheapest but best lens possible for ski competition races GS, Slalom & super G, I will be taking shots from distance & as they approach my position I dont what to over spend if I don't have to but I dont what to say I wish I'd bought the other lens etc LOL

So if you have any recommendations please don't hesitate to suggest one thanks very much so far
 
RSVMutley said:
I will be taking shots from distance & as they approach my position
Click to expand...

Having some feel for the actual distance is going to be very important. Many people here can make suggestions for good telephoto lenses; but I'd expect most of them haven't shot competitive skiing and therefore won't necessarily have a good feel for the distances involved. And it's the distance which determines the suitable focal length range.
 
Incidentally I wrote a blog post a while ago which was concerned with working out how long a lens you need. I think it might be helpful for you. It's here:
LensesForHire blog: How big a lens do I need?

You'll see a load of photos of my colleague Richie, photographed at various ranges in the office and at various focal lengths. (And you can extrapolate from these easily: for example f=200mm from a range of 30m will look the same as f=100mm from a range of 15m.) I reckon that, for a full-length photo of a skier, the 70-200mm f/2.8 lens you were contemplating would be good from a range of about 7m out to about 30m without leaving excessive amounts of space around the subject.
 
Another lens used by a lot of sport photographers is the Sigma 120-300 2.8. The OS version is supposed to be very good and sharp and may help you with the distances you are talking about.
 
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