Lens for cycling

Hi all,

I am planning on renting a decent lens for the upcoming Tour Down Under cycling event in January and i was wondering what lens would be best. I was thinking 100-400 but I could also go with a 28-300. What does every one think?

red

What are you plning on taking pictures of on this tour? Two lenses an option?

I've got my 17-70 for close and wider angle but I was looking for something with a bit of reach for when I can't get as close. There is a prologue on the Sunday and we will all be behind barriers. The rest of the time I'll be chasing them around the country side.

You will want a lens that will focus quickly. I think the 100-400 would do best... But I really haven't ever used the 28-300.

Many years ago I shot the Red Zinger bike race with film camera and 80-200 zoom... seated backwards on a motorcycle behind the driver. It was pretty exciting.

red snapper wrote in post #9179578
Hi all,

I am planning on renting a decent lens for the upcoming Tour Down Under cycling event in January and i was wondering what lens would be best. I was thinking 100-400 but I could also go with a 28-300. What does every one think?

red

i use the 70-200L f4 IS. i've used it on 1.3, 1.6 and FF sensors .

ed rader

You might need a faster lens than the 100-400 to keep from getting blurred images due to the fast motion. You might consider a 70-200 f/2.8 so you can have much faster shutter speeds. On a crop camera, 70-200 gives a reasonable reach.

I second the 70-200 2.8 and I would spring for the IS model. Has is for panning...

Definitely the 70-200 2.8L IS...

70-200L f/2.8, without question.

+1 for the 70-200 2.8 (IS)

You'll love the speed for higher shutterspeeds.
And on you 1.6 crop it'll have a great reach for your needs!

If you can get yourself very close to the riders, I've seen some very cool perspectives from a 10-22

Well it really depends on how close to the road you want to be.. We had a show-race here in Oslo this summer, with Lance, O'Grady, Hushovd, Arvesen, Pellizotti and bunch of other less know cyclists. I was mostly standing along the barriers and even though I used everything from 17mm to 250mm, I was mainly shooting at the wider angles, so if I were you I would make sure that your wide angle option is fast enough both regaring aperture and AF -cause these guys are moving insanely fast when you get close to the road..! In my case the race was late in the afternoon, close to the twilight hour and my 17-55 f2.8 became too slow pretty quickly as the light disappeared, so I ended up using my 30 f1.4 most of the time.. A fast telelens is also necessary for this kind of event and I actually purchased the 200 f2.8 prime as a direct consequence of my experience at that showrace.. Some pics from the showrace

Thanks all,

looks like the 70-200 2.8 IS will be the one.