Skydiving (100-400L advice sought)

[Jonny]

I spent yesterday down at the local airfield snapping the landing skydivers.
As the spectators area is a way back from the landing zone i found my 70-200 L a little short even with the 1.4 extender on.
I am thinking of buying a 100-400 L which should give me the reach i am looking for. Does anyone have any shots from this lens with the 1.4 extender on? Is there a site with some examples somewhere?

Thanks.

Heres a couple from yesterday, comments welcome.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/j.speed/Forums%20Pictures/sky1.jpg

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/j.speed/Forums%20Pictures/sky2.jpg

[cmM]

Johny, these are great, especially the first one

[mr.photoguy]

well with the 1.4x your 70-200 should be at about a 100-400 .. or close to it. If you need more reach, it would seem that a 100-400 with a 1.4x/1.5x/2x would work wonders.. It does look like you could have done good with a bit more reach in those images.
Are they Crops? What does the original look like.

[lomond]

That first shot is a killer.

On the subject of the 100-400 and a 1.4 TC.
I looked into buying the TC for my 100-400 and decided against it.
The lens is softest at 400 and using the TC would soften the image a little more plus AF would be lost.

Have you considered a prime eg 300 f4L and use your 1.4TC to bring it up to 420 and retain AF.
It would also be the cheaper option.

[Jonny]

That first shot is a killer.

Thanks


Have you considered a prime eg 300 f4L and use your 1.4TC to bring it up to 420 and retain AF.
It would also be the cheaper option.

I hadn't considered it but since you posted that i have.
But.
Is a prime really a good option for sports that cover a distance? If i was sat on a landing zone it would be next to useless once anyone decended below a certain point.
As i cannot justify nor afford a second body just for hobby shooting am i right in thinking that zooms are they way to go?

How do other sports shooters get on with primes? i suppose for sports where the action always passes a set point (motor racing, horse racing etc...) they are pretty cool but what of other sports?

[lomond]

Jon, I take your point.
I'm not, lets say, very knowledgable on skydiving.
I will say this, you'll love the 100-400......TC or no.

Good hunting.

[blackviolet]

the larger primes are fantastic, regardless of the sport. 300 f4 without the 1.4x TC is going to be almost exactly what your 70-200 is with the tc (280). so if you really want to know the usefulness of the prime: put the tc on, zoom to 200, and try using it for a day without zooming out.

but the 100-400 is also a very popular lens here. you might try renting one to see.

if you are using the 70-200 2.8, you can also get a second 1.4x tc and still maintain AF. that would put you at 392 f5.6

good luck and Blue Skies!