Future Spotter Looking for His Next Lens? Would You Like to Help?

Hi guys... I am sure that veterans here are quite familiar with the "Hi, my very first post here, which lens I should buy?" posts and I am sorry for bringing another of these into your consideration.

Yes, this is one these boring questions as well.

One of my hobbies is aviation and as I get my 550D, I now have the opportunity for some spotting. Sadly my kit only has a 18-55 IS. So I am planning to buy a zoom lens.

At first, my plan was to buy a 55-250. As I kept browsing amazon pages, decision process became a serious pain in the ass and I started feeling a total lostness. Each day I looked into more expensive lenses and things got complicated.

Here are my options:

55-250 IS II
70-300 IS USM
70-200 F4 USM

I checked the photo archives section and saw that all of these lenses produced great images. My favorite at the moment is 70-200 but I am not sure whether that focal lenght would be appropriate for spotting.

Looking forward for your recommendations and comments on the subject.

Thanks in advance for your guidance.

The 100-400 is the lens to get for this, but on a budget the 55-250 does quite nice for the money. Do you see yourself upgrading to some big white glas in the future once you haves saved more up? If so I would probably get the 55-250 for now. Otherwise another good choice on a budget would be the Tamron 70-300 VC.

I was planning to go for an extender when I have the money. But that's not going to be in the near future I'm afraid.

Bogac Erkan wrote in post #14455609
My favorite at the moment is 70-200 but I am not sure whether that focal lenght would be appropriate for spotting.

Exactly what is "spotting" to you? To me it means observing severe weather situations. I'm certain that I don't understand your meaning of "spotting".

It would be helpful if we know what your subject size is and the expected distance from your camera to the subject. That way, we can help with a focal length recommendation.

Sorry, you're right. What I meant by spotting is photographing airplanes.
Therefore my subject will definitely be airplanes landing or taking off. In terms of distance, its hard for me to tell, but something like 100+ meters will be all right I guess.

The longest lens you can afford will be ideal. Canon 100-400L, Sigma 120-400mm or 150-500 OS, or on a lower budget Canon 55-250 IS or Tamron 70-300mm. I wouldn't drop back to a 200mm lens, even if it is an "L".

Save for the 100-400 and don't "settle" for shorter lens + TC.

The extra glass in adding a TC is a built in IQ hit.

Sadly I can't afford 100-400L or the Sigma's you've mentioned. Tamron 100-300 seems an interesting choice though.

Jay (FlyingPhotog) is probably your best resource on this forum for the info you're looking for.

Thank you... I've already had a look to his site, and he has some great stuff.

It seems -400 or -500 lenses are out of my budget at the moment and I am an impatient person. Probably will go for the L.

200mm is pretty short for aircraft. If you can't afford the 400-500 at least get a 300mm.

tkbslc wrote in post #14455759
The longest lens you can afford will be ideal. Canon 100-400L, Sigma 120-400mm or 150-500 OS, or on a lower budget Canon 55-250 IS or Tamron 70-300mm. I wouldn't drop back to a 200mm lens, even if it is an "L".

I agree, if you cannot afford the 100-400 then something like the 55-250IS will work, just crop it


for example, this is cropped 50% and you should be able to "spot" it

XSi (450D)
Canon 55-250IS
250mm (cropped)
1/1250

Thanks a lot for the advice and the sample. I've been browsing image library for some time and I got the impression that the L has a better IQ.

What do you think in terms of IQ?

You should consider the Tamron 70-300VC or Canon 70-300.

Personally i found myself a cheap 100-300mm USM and cannot wait to test it at my first airshow of the year next week! Should be good as long as i stop down aperture for sharp results.

Bogac Erkan wrote in post #14456138
Thanks a lot for the advice and the sample. I've been browsing image library for some time and I got the impression that the L has a better IQ.

What do you think in terms of IQ?

L is probably better, but you'll have to crop it way down because it is too short. The net result is worse images.