Canon 100-300....should I?

[Wrench]

I'm looking for a decent lense for Drag Racing season when it opens up this spring. I'll be using the lense for other things too, but primarily motorsports. How is the Canon 100-300 4.5/5.6 USM? Looked at it at Ritz and it seemed nice but I didn't take any pics with it. B&H has it now for $275, Ritz wants $440. AF seemed fast and quiet. Any suggestions or opinions? Thx.

[tim]

If you look on review sites (http://www.photographyreview.com/Lenses/PSC_3787crx.aspx) it gets generally better reviews than the 75-300 for its optics, but it lacks the IS. If you don't need IS then i'd say it's a good buy.

Another option is the sigma 70-300 APO Super Macro II (or something in that range, I forget) - I had one but returned it, and now I regret that. It's a good lens, takes nice pics, but it was a bit slow for me. With the 20D now I could just up the ISO and it'd be fine.

[Wrench]

Thanks for the reply! IS isn't really an issue for me.I'll be using a tripod if I'm at the long end of the lense.

Anyone else with opinions on this lens?

[FlyingPete]

The focusing speed to the 100-300 is far superior to the variants of the 75-300, could be important for drag racing? IS may not be an issue as you will have to keep the shutter speed up to stop motion (if you want to do that).

[Tom W]

I'll add that if you're panning, the version of IS on the 75-300 probably isn't going to be as good as it could. IIRC, it doesn't have mode 2, meaning IS isn't effective when panning.

The 100-300 would be my choice.

[ron chappel]

The 100-300 usm is a very good lens!
It has a genuine ring USM focus motor that is faster than the 75-300 series and also allows full time manual focus overide
Build quality is very good and -most important of all- the optics are better than the 75-300 series
Here is an example http://members.dodo.net.au/~l8r_ron/index_2.html (also the next page)

The sigma APO lens mentioned by Tim is also a very good lens http://www.pbase.com/argylemonkey/lens_comp
it has good close focus and is abit cheaper than the canon but (i've heard) the focus is slowish
Definitely buy from B&H ! They are a good reliable seller

[gcogger]

I took a bunch of motorsport shots using the Sigma 70-300 a while ago. Pics at
http://www.gcogger.dsl.pipex.com/goodwood
(the images are small and don't tell you much - sorry!)
A friend was at the same event using the Canon 100-300 on the same camera (300D). Having compared the images, I'd say that mine were perhaps a tiny bit sharper, although I could be imagining it! Focussing on the Sigma was a mixed bag - it was slow to focus initially, but once the camera was in continuous focus mode (AI Servo), it tracked at least as well as the Canon 100 f/2 USM that I also had with me.