Motorsport Lens ??

I am wanting to start doing more motorsport photography but cant decide on a lens that wont break the bank..

At the moment i have a 40D + 70-200mm F4 + Kenko 1.4TC

Here are the options i have come up with:

Canon 100-400mm L (cant seem to work this lens out)
Canon 300mm F4L (could use 1.4tc with this but would it be any better than the 100-400)
Canon 400mm F5.6L
Sigma 120-400mm F4.5-5.6 OS

Any comments on the above lens or anyone got any comments on other lens that might be of interest

Sigma 100-300 F4, 1.4x TC and a good monopod. A better all-round option than any of the above IMHO.

However if you're keeping the 70-200 then the 300 prime and 1.4x might be the way to go.

Have you considered the Canon 70-300mm with the two-stage IS? The second IS stage is to control/minimise vertical movement, so it would make it ideal for panning, I'd have thought..

Agree about the monopod, though I'm waiting on mine coming through the post, ready for Santa Pod at the weekend!

GSH wrote in post #5611218
Sigma 100-300 F4, 1.4x TC and a good monopod. A better all-round option than any of the above IMHO.

Would the lack of IS on this lens have any affect on longer reach shots..

I do own a Manfrotto 681B monopod which will be okay for any of these lens and i am totaly happy with it.

lnk wrote in post #5611423
Would the lack of IS on this lens have any affect on longer reach shots..

Well it's never bothered me...

I have the 681B too. It's about as good as monopods get

GSH wrote in post #5611665
Well it's never bothered me...

I have the 681B too. It's about as good as monopods get

I will look into the 100-300.......

Geoff I think we met briefly at Croft last weekend on the last race before the fun Cup

120-300 2.8 + 1.4x

turbodude wrote in post #5611921
120-300 2.8 + 1.4x

If only the money would stretch that far...........

lnk wrote in post #5611704
I will look into the 100-300.......

Geoff I think we met briefly at Croft last weekend on the last race before the fun Cup

I believe we did

Taking a price range from the lenses you quoted i'd definitely consider the 100-300 F4. Have a look at some of the shots posted by Brands (John) down in Motorsports.

GSH wrote in post #5612597
I believe we did

Taking a price range from the lenses you quoted i'd definitely consider the 100-300 F4. Have a look at some of the shots posted by Brands (John) down in Motorsports.

Just been looking at the price of the 100-300 F4 and i can get it for £550 inc delivery which seems a good price.

How would the AF work with a 1.4TC on the lens and woud IQ drop by much........the 70-200 f4L seems to work well with the Kenko 1.4tc

I use only a 70-200 F4l and the holy grail of M Sport lenses the 135 F2 L.

I would say the majority of my M-Sports work, I shoot with the 70-200. Once in a while I need the reach and use the 100-400, but I would say I use my 24-70 more than I do the 100-400.
We all get stuck in wanting new glass (me included) but sometimes we just need to spend more time find a better spot to shoot from....
If you are shooting from the stands, the reach is nice. If you can get track access, generally you won't need the reach. JMHO

I can only endorse Geoff's suggestion. The Sigma 100-300mm f4 is a cracking lens for motorsports. I had one and was so impressed that I got it's big brother the 120-300mm f2.8 - another cracking lens.

The f4 takes a 1.4x convertor very well and is a solidly built lens with fast AF even with the convertor mounted. On your 40D that would give you the option of a 160-480mm f4 or a 224-672mm f5.6 with the convertor.

IQ with or without the convertor is first rate.

I've recently traded my Sigma 170-500 f/5.6-6.3 in for the Canon 100-400 L IS. The Sigma did a good job for the money, but would not autofocus on my 30D, which meant pre-focusing like wot we used to do in the old days. The 100-400 allows me to autofocus in AI Servo again and it is sharper I'll admit, but I would still choose the Sigma if you are on a tight budget.

They have been around long enough to find 2nd hand examples. I've read that the newer Sigma 50-500 is pretty good as well.

Richard