Need some help on what lens I need!

I have an xt, and I would like to shoot, Supermodified's at night. What lens do I need to get, at a good price? and what would the prices be?

70-200 2.8 ? 300 2.8 it all depends what you are looking to spend maybee even 300 F4L

I'd take my 70-200 2.8 and 1.4x TC. B&H are doing the lens for about $1600 and the TC for around $275.

How about a AF28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 XR Di VC Tamron lens ? Good or no good, better then Canon 70-200 2.8?

edriley39 wrote in post #8160896
How about a AF28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 XR Di VC Tamron lens ? Good or no good, better then Canon 70-200 2.8?

Canon is WAY better. 2.8 throughout the focal range where that Tamron is 3.5 at the short end and drops to 6.3 pretty quickly. It will not be fast enough for the type of shooting you want to do.

Action at night? Don't even mention slow lenses like the 28-300.

OP has 3 posts on POTN, so possibly new to the entire game. He just wants to shoot the races at night - and have a little versatility in his new lens purchase. So let's work our way up...

55-255mm EF-S IS f4-5.6 = $250 new / $200 used (just bought one today for my wife)
70-300mm EF IS f4-5.6 = $500 new / $400+/- used
70-200 f4 L = $600+ new / $500+/- used
70-200 EF IS f2.8 L = $1500 new / $1300+/- used

The first two are basically the same in regard to shooting at night. The third is a little better at a fixed f4.0. But only the last one - f2.8 - will really help you out shooting at night. So, get the most expensive one you can afford from the list above and move on.

Shoot in "Av" mode, wide open (largest possible aperture), at ISO-1600 (your camera's max) and in AI Servo mode. If you don't know what all this means, look it up, make the settings in camera, and practice before you go to the races.

If all else fails, change to "Sports" mode (little running man on the dial) and keep going.

The reality is you will probably not be entirely happy with the results because - despite what your eye perceives - there usually isn't enough artificial light at local race tracks to pull off night photography w/ consumer grade equipment.

So just do what you can and have fun!!!

One more thing - if you have big CF cards, shoot in RAW+JpgFine mode. You can process the RAW files to synthesize more exposure than adjusting JPG files.

Don't forget non-Canon lenses.

Tamron 70-200 f/2.8 Macro - about $700
Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 EX APO HSM - about $800

Given the prices above, I'd spring for the Sigma for racing; the HSM will focus much faster.

Invest in lighting gear and one 0of the aboive mentioned lenses.

Crank the ISO as high as possible.

good points on adding non-C brands...

Thanks alot you all have put some light on the subject! WOW Thanks

Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 EX APO HSM - about $800 does it have a type of Vibration Control?

No "OS" on sigma 70-200 f2.8

"OS" is available on the Sigma 18-200 but you loose the f2.8 and you'll have to shop around for a "sharp" copy - price is in the $300 range used I think...

edriley39 wrote in post #3300585
Supermodified's

It's "supermodifieds"
http://en.wikipedia.or​g/wiki/Possessive_suff​ix

Sigma 120-300 f2.8