surf photography 300 f/4 or 400 5.6

[brisa_main]

Hi
Im looking to buy a new lens for my 10D for surf photography in the uk and abroad.
im currently looking at the 300mm f/4 and 400 5.6.
which do you think would be best.
taking into consideration af speed, quality and the fact that it does get quite grey in the uk for shooting surf.
thanks alot

[Tareq]

I vote for 300mm f4L IS

[ed rader]

Hi
Im looking to buy a new lens for my 10D for surf photography in the uk and abroad.
im currently looking at the 300mm f/4 and 400 5.6.
which do you think would be best.
taking into consideration af speed, quality and the fact that it does get quite grey in the uk for shooting surf.
thanks alot


300 may be too short but okay if you use a 1.4 TC. i have used the 70-200 with TC and it is usually too short unless the waves are breaking close to shore and even then i can't fill half the frame.

ed rader

[Lightstream]

300mm is pretty good. Image stabilization will really, really help you out when wielding a long telephoto especially when the light is lower. I know the old argument about "IS doesn't stop motion" Is sure going to come up here, who cares, get it anyway, it helps for all those situations where you may not need ultra high shutter speeds or when the speed is too slow to combat handshake but still high enough for you to freeze action.

And besides, the 300 is an f/4, which has the big aperture anyway....

For brighter light, you can add a teleconverter and that will extend your reach out to 420mm.

[mdr]

Have you considered the 100-400 L IS?

[GyRob]

The sharpest of the 2 is the 400 5.6 and the af is a tad quicker, but the 300f4 is sharp and works well with a tc and would be better for our grey day's also for surf shots im sure the af will be fast enough even with a tc on it.
Rob
i got a 300f4is for sale by the way :)

[paulhillion]

Taken with a 300 f/4, which I recently sold to get the 300 2.8. Still the f/4 is a great lens and perfect if you prefer to hand hold, it's not too bad with the 1.4x although a tad slow on the AF side.

http://www.paulhillion.com/images/Byron_Surfer.jpg