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Lens advice
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Hi. I have just moved into proper DSLR photography and would like advice on lenses. I will be doing a lot of motorsport photography, both rallying and closed circuit racing. I need a lens that is around 300mm (minimum of 250mm) and preferably with some sort of built-in stability. It can be Canon, Sigma or Tamron. Canon L-series is out of the question because of cost. I’m looking to spend around £300 but can go up a little.
I will be using the lens at maximum focal length quite regularly so the lens can’t be soft at the extreme. I shoot with a Canon EOS 1000D.
Any and all help will be much appreciated.
I think you will struggle to find such a lens for 300.00, your options are limited to
probably a 70-300 which is a grand lens but not particularly “quick” which you will
need for motor sport. What you really need is a 70-200 2.8 which will give you
the speed and the option to use a tele-converter also giving you a little extra reach.
But you wont find one for 300……if I were you I would hold on until you can afford
the lens you need, buying decent glass is an investment and you will reap the rewards
later, good luck :)Hi
I shoot alot of motorsport as well, it is my main interest. I recently purchased a 500D and I am using it with the following lense:
http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/592701/art/canon/ef-s-55-250mm-f-4-5-6-is.html” onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false;
I find it to be excellent so far, have not tried it at rallying but I think 250mm is more than long enough if you position yourself nicely at a rally. I didnt get to a rally with it yet but I got to a motorsport show where there was drifting going on and took some photos with it. Here’s a link to the pictures on facebook I took with it, bear in mind it was my first day with the camera and it was a steep learnign curve, so I expect to get even better shots in the future hopefully.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150192769896624.331123.514181623″ onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false;
I just looked at Pixmania (surprisingly, I never noticed them before!). Found these three:
http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/532983/art/tamron/af-55-200mm-f-4-5-6-di-ii.html” onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/14606/art/sigma/70-300-mm-f-4-5-6-dg-macr.html” onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/533001/art/tamron/macro-1-2-af-70-300mm-f-4.html” onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false;They are all much the same, though none are stabilized. I would just like to know what people’s opinions of them are.
The Canon 55-250mm IS lens is for sale at £147 from a crowd called Photo Direct on ebay. Seems like a good bet, though I’ve heard horror stories about buying from ebay.
Shutterbug The 70-200mm 2.8 is a bit expensive, with the cheapest I’ve found being around the €2000 mark. However, if you’re giving one away, give me a shout!
Hi – i’ve bought approx 150 bits n bobs items on ebay over the years – and never once had an issue. You are protected via PayPal if anything ‘horrid’ happened.
I read quite a few magazines – and any budget super-zoom test/reviews has the Canon 55-250mm a winner every time. Can’t go wrong with this if you get it for €150. It’s €300 on pixmania.
bren
brendancullen wrote:
Hi – i’ve bought approx 150 bits n bobs items on ebay over the years – and never once had an issue. You are protected via PayPal if anything ‘horrid’ happened.
I read quite a few magazines – and any budget super-zoom test/reviews has the Canon 55-250mm a winner every time. Can’t go wrong with this if you get it for €150. It’s €300 on pixmania.
bren
What could you compare the Canon 55-250mm to? Ie. Sigma or Tamron Versions, or other Canon lenses?
Hi again – Many magazines usually compare a group of lens of similar focal lenghts within a certain budget and come to conclusions based on sharpness, value for money etc etc. – and the 55-250 nearly always comes out on top in the “best budget zoom” tests.
Its obviously not as good as an L class lens – but its not in that price range either.
Get the best you can afford at the time you want it.bren
You can get a Tamron 70-200 2.8 on Simply Electronics for €599 delivered, some
say steer clear but I have never had any problem with them, here is the link
http://electronics.simplyelectronics.net/search?currency=eur&w=Tamron+70-200mm&gclid=CKbB5riYs6kCFQoY4QodOD36LQ” onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false;Also on ebay Sigmas http://shop.ebay.ie/?_from=R40&_trksid=m570&_nkw=Sigma+70-200+2.8+canon+fit” onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false;
I shoot alot of motorsport mostly track. I started with the 1000d and bought a 70-200mm f4 L lens. Its perfect for me ;)
MartyMoore wrote:
I shoot alot of motorsport mostly track. I started with the 1000d and bought a 70-200mm f4 L lens. Its perfect for me ;)
Is the 70-200mm f4 L what you started out with, or did you upgrade to it at a later date? If you did upgrade, what was your first big lens?
shutterbug wrote:
You can get a Tamron 70-200 2.8 on Simply Electronics for €599 delivered, some
say steer clear but I have never had any problem with them, here is the link
http://electronics.simplyelectronics.net/search?currency=eur&w=Tamron+70-200mm&gclid=CKbB5riYs6kCFQoY4QodOD36LQ” onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false;Also on ebay Sigmas http://shop.ebay.ie/?_from=R40&_trksid=m570&_nkw=Sigma+70-200+2.8+canon+fit” onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false;
Jenny, have you ever Googled Simply Electronics…horror stories everywhere…there address is a house on a suburban street in London…they deliver smaller items but bigger stuff and you can say goodbye to your money…lad in the camera club gave them €2,700 for Sony gear 12 months ago…he is still waiting…took him ages to get his money back through the credit card company….anywhere you see an item that is less than most others are charging on e-bay, well you have to ask yourself is is ok…usually not…lots of good places to shop on e-bay…but I have heard of too many horror stories as well…stick to the well known names and you wo’nt go wrong.
Noel.
The Canon 55-250mm IS lens is for sale at £147 from a crowd called Photo Direct on ebay. Seems like a good bet, though I’ve heard horror stories about buying from ebay.
The cheapest I could find tonight was £247.00….so I would wonder about the £147 price tag above
Noel.
This supplier has sold 127 of this model- and has a 99.4% Positive feedback from 11703 transactions. Its paypal protected.
Get one from here i’d say.
bren
I see the difference…EFS model is different to what I was looking at…thanks Brendan.
Noel.
Thanks everyone for all the advice. Changing the subject a little here. Can anyone recommend an all-in-one superzoom ie. Tamron 18-270mm? Does anyone have the Tamron mentioned above? I’ll be doing a bit of pit lane shooting this summer and the kit lens (18-55mm) won’t cut it. The simple reason is because if I’m up one end of a pit lane and something happens at the other, I’ll need a zoom, and I’ll need a wide-angle for when the car comes into the pit lane.
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