EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS VS. EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS

[Csst]

i just order a EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS and i heard good stuff about it and its very light and i was loking into the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS becuase i have also heard great stuff too but its very heavy ..what do you people think?

[Tom W]

I'd probably wait a month or so to see how the test reports come out on the new DO lens. The 100-400L is known to be a very good lens, though it is heavy. The new 70-300 DO is just too new to have much information on it.

But that's my opinion.

[Csst]

its just i'm going on vacation this month and need a good lens to bring with me to vegas and i alrweady have the 70-300 DO on order when was wondering if i should cancel my order and go with other.

[Tom W]

That's kind-of a tough question to answer, but I'll reply with another question - what kind of shooting do you intend to do?

If you're going to take plenty of shots of buildings and people along the strip, you'll want something considerably wider than either of those lenses.

What lenses do you have now?

[J. Cobble]

Want heavy? Try a 100-400 on a 1Ds :D

[Csst]

i own the EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM and thats it this is my second lens i want to use it for mostly sports like hockey games and some outdoor shots day and night shoots i also own the 550EX flash.

Csst

[Tom W]

i own the EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM and thats it this is my second lens i want to use it for mostly sports like hockey games and some outdoor shots day and night shoots i also own the 550EX flash.

Csst

OK, so you're probably not buying this lens simply for the vacation, but you'd probably like to have it before you leave town.

To be honest, if you're intent on shooting sports, and indoor sports especially, you would probably be better off with a lens such as the 70-200 f/2.8L. Why? Because you'll need all the light gathering ability that a lens can offer indoors and f/2.8 is going to work much better in medium-lit situations. An f/2.8 lens will let twice the light into the camera that an f/4.0 lens will - this will allow you to use a shutter speed twice as fast so that you can stop action better without blurring.

The 550EX flash is a good one, but you'll be hard pressed to get it to reach all the way to the hockey rink, unless you're up close. And if you are, there's a good chance that they won't let you use flash anyway due to the distraction that it may cause.

BTW, that 28-135 is a great lens to take with you on vacation. It has a pretty good range for general shooting, plus it has IS. I think it will serve you well if you're just sight-seeing and such. The only place it might be deficient is indoors, such as if you want to take a few shots at a Vegas show. Again, you'd probably want that 70-200 f/2.8 lens there.

[PacAce]

I totally concur with Tom on this one.

Also, I heard that the 70-300 DO won't be available until sometime in June. B&H doesn't even have it listed yet. And if anybody's going to have it first, it's going to be them. You might be waiting a while for that lens if you ordered it from someplace else.

[Csst]

Inside info there not online order just over the phone i got it from B&H if you call them they have it already.

Csst

[PacAce]

Inside info there not online order just over the phone i got it from B&H if you call them they have it already.

Csst

Good stuff! I'm sure a lot of people waiting for it would be glad to hear this. :)

[Tom W]

Inside info there not online order just over the phone i got it from B&H if you call them they have it already.

Csst

Good stuff! I'm sure a lot of people waiting for it would be glad to hear this. :)

I've heard of others having orders in through a couple of other forums (DP, FM). I'm kind-of interested in seeing how the lens performs, though I'm partial to something faster myself.

[Andy_T]

MAybe if you don't really need the IS (which will not help you much at hockey, as the players move, and not the lens :lol:), the Sigma 120-300/2.8 might be interesting for you.

Receives a lot of praise everywhere here on the forum.

Best regards,
Andy