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View Full Version : Lens Help for close up detail and ranged motorsport


AStevens
3rd of June 2005 (Fri), 19:11
Hi all

could someone help me please on some lens recommendations.

Hopefully by wednesday next week my Canon 20D with the 15-55 kit lens should arrive :D . Ive read through the lens forums but im still a little confused. My last camera was a Canon Powershot G1 which ive had since it first came out.

Now Ive bought the 20D to help me take high detail close up shots of say plant leaves, bark paterns, brick texture, metal texture, etc, as it helps me with my day job as a 3D computer artist, but I would also like to take pictures of bugs just for the fun of it. Im guessing I would need a macro lens for the sharpness of detail, am I right in thinking that a 100mm plus is the way to go or is the Canon EF-s 60mm good for the job? If instead a close up lens is needed, what type would I be looking at.

Im also a keen Formula One fan, and will be off to Silverstone F1 GP this July in the grandstand overlooking the start line and staring into the pit garage. Im estimating I will be about 10-30 meters from the track and probably 35-40 meters from the pit garage ahead of me. Would a Canon 70-200mm be good enough to show clearly faces of drivers on the track, even the pit crew? or is the size of the lens overkill. If its not enough, should a extender be considered. With my Powershot G1, even with its telephoto lens on, the F1 car seemed to fill only half the width of the picture on full zoom.

In terms of budget, bit difficult, if for example 70-200mm is the way to go, f/4 is well within my budget, but I could afford the IS version if I had too, though I might feel a little ill :cry: for a while until I realised its worth the cost :). Same applies to the close detail lens.

Finally, anyone in the UK know of camera shop that allows hiring on lenses in the East Midlands?

I appreciate any help given, thanks in advance

Tony

CoolToolGuy
3rd of June 2005 (Fri), 19:54
Hi, and welcome to the forum.

The 70-200 f4L is an outstanding lens, but it is probably not long enough to get the detail you suggest if you are in the stands. A better bet might be the 100-400 f5.6L IS. It has the length as well as Image Stabilization. The price is slightly less than the 70-200 f2.8L IS.

Hope this helps. Good Luck.

Have Fun,

RbrtPtikLeoSeny
3rd of June 2005 (Fri), 21:27
For your macro photography I'd definately suggest getting the 100mm f/2.8 macro lens. Don't even bother considering any others. That lens rocks, and is super sharp! Good working distance too. It's a pain when you have to put your lens right in the face of the bug you don't want to fly away.....

As for the other stuff, I'd recommend the 100-400L. I have the 70-200 f/4 and it doesn't have nearly enough reach for most of what I want to do. I manage, but it's an inconveinence. So, if you can afford it, put some serious thought into that lens.

If you can't afford that, but a few hundred less, another possability is the 70-300mm DO IS lens. Great lens, wicked sharp, has the new DO technology. Very small, portable, and has good reach. It's a good $250.00 less than the 100-400L.

Even cheaper would be the Sigma 50-500mm or the 80-400mm at $999.00. But meh, canon's better.

Just a few possabilities. Not sure if the price ranges I gave are of any use to you since you live in the UK, but oh well.

RbrtPtikLeoSeny
3rd of June 2005 (Fri), 21:29
Oh yea, and if you really wanted to save some cash, you could go with the canon 75-300mm IS lens. It's kind of soft, and doesn't have great AF, but for the price it's a decent lens once you get used to it. I've seen some fantastic shots taken by it.

AStevens
5th of June 2005 (Sun), 08:03
thanks CoolToolGuy and RbrtPtikLeoSeny

Ive decided to get the Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro lens, hopefully it arrive about the same time the 20D gets delivered :) , just have to find a place that has it in stock and order it some time tonight or tomorrow morning.

Is it worth getting the lens hood for the Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro lens?


As for the range lens, 100-400 is a possibility, but I might hire one first for July's Silverstone weekend, and see how I get on with it.

a question on 100-400L IS though. As im used to the powershot G1 zoom button , how is the zoom handled on the 100-400L? push pull, rotate or someother type, as Im very new to the EOS lens and full SLR camera's.

If I did go for a 100-400 or a 70-200, have I understood right that a teleconverter eg the Canon 1.4 would make them 140-560 and 98 - 280 mm equivalent with a slight loss in overal quality? And is it possible to put a teleconverter on the 100mm f/2.8 macro lens or will that its image sharpness or just not possible at all?

thanks again

Tony

AStevens
5th of June 2005 (Sun), 08:04
Ah just noticed the teleconverter sticky, that cleared that up :o

GyRob
5th of June 2005 (Sun), 08:26
the 100/400 is push pull.
Rob.

JulianL
5th of June 2005 (Sun), 09:18
70-200 will not get you close enough. I go to Long Beach every year for the CART race and used the 70-200 f/4. It's great for close up shots in the pits but from the distance you'll be shooting you won't get as close as I suspect you'd like.

BTW-I'm jealous, I'd love to go to a Formula One race. Maybe next year I'll get to Indy or Montreal.

I wish I had some shots to show you but all my good pics were taken on film and I don't have a scanner. I didn't get down in the pits this year and I didn't take my zoom lens. Just not enough interest in CART.