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Which would you buy

gsgarygsgary Registered Users Posts: 1,350 Major grins
edited October 21, 2005 in Cameras
I want it mainly for motorSport and football i'm thinking Canon 300 F4L i have a 1.4x which would give me 420 F5.6 i think or 400 F5.6 L i am edgeing towards 300mm because of IS and F4 any help would be great or other lens that may be better i have read about the Sigma 100-300 F4 on FM good reviews but think the Canon may be stronger and better built
Regards
Gary

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    AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited October 21, 2005
    gsgary wrote:
    I want it mainly for motorSport and football i'm thinking Canon 300 F4L i have a 1.4x which would give me 420 F5.6 i think or 400 F5.6 L i am edgeing towards 300mm because of IS and F4 any help would be great or other lens that may be better i have read about the Sigma 100-300 F4 on FM good reviews but think the Canon may be stronger and better built
    Regards
    Gary

    wait long enough and you're going to get a 50/50 split on this answer :D they're both great lenses. make the decision on i.s. or not i.s. is my recommendation. a point in favor of the 300 + tc is that you have two focal ranges, not one.
    Andy

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    gsgarygsgary Registered Users Posts: 1,350 Major grins
    edited October 21, 2005
    Thanks Andy thats why i was thinking 300mm
    andy wrote:
    wait long enough and you're going to get a 50/50 split on this answer :D they're both great lenses. make the decision on i.s. or not i.s. is my recommendation. a point in favor of the 300 + tc is that you have two focal ranges, not one.
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    gusgus Registered Users Posts: 16,209 Major grins
    edited October 21, 2005
    400 f/5.6 no question. Sharp & fast focusing...i have convinced seamus/ginger & mick to buy one & if i get one more person to buy one .. i will get a free 5D.
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    pathfinderpathfinder Super Moderators Posts: 14,699 moderator
    edited October 21, 2005
    As good a results as 'Gus gets with his 400 f5.6, I tend to go with Andy. The 300 F4 IS L can be used with a 1.4 TC at f5.6, and with a 1 series body a 2x TC at f8.0
    At the end of the day, F4 will still be faster than f5.6 too.
    Pathfinder - www.pathfinder.smugmug.com

    Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
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    gsgarygsgary Registered Users Posts: 1,350 Major grins
    edited October 21, 2005
    When i was at Cadwell Park race track i had the 1.4x on my 70-200 F4 2 weeks ago it started to rain come 3.00pm i had to remove the 1.4x and even go up to 800 iso so if i had the 400 i think that would have been it for the day. Do you think i would be wasteing my money if iget the 300mm i have the 70-200 already

    Gary
    pathfinder wrote:
    As good a results as 'Gus gets with his 400 f5.6, I tend to go with Andy. The 300 F4 IS L can be used with a 1.4 TC at f5.6, and with a 1 series body a 2x TC at f8.0
    At the end of the day, F4 will still be faster than f5.6 too.
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    AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited October 21, 2005
    Humungus wrote:
    400 f/5.6 no question. Sharp & fast focusing...i have convinced seamus/ginger & mick to buy one & if i get one more person to buy one .. i will get a free 5D.


    right - good points, 'gus - but i was thinking that gary wants to do motorsports and football, and so the extra flexibility offered by the two different focal ranges would be of benefit to him. i think sometimes, 400mm may be too long for that application.
    Andy

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    pathfinderpathfinder Super Moderators Posts: 14,699 moderator
    edited October 21, 2005
    gsgary wrote:
    When i was at Cadwell Park race track i had the 1.4x on my 70-200 F4 2 weeks ago it started to rain come 3.00pm i had to remove the 1.4x and even go up to 800 iso so if i had the 400 i think that would have been it for the day. Do you think i would be wasteing my money if iget the 300mm i have the 70-200 already

    Gary

    400mm MAY be too long at times - I agree wth Andy. (Especially with an APS sensor body like the 10D) A 300mm will be a lot lighter than a 70-200 + a 1.4 TC, and a lot sharper too.
    One other consideration - how a about a 100-400 L, the zoom feature would be dynamite for fast changing auto racing I would think? Or the Sigma 120 - 300 even.

    Other things being equal, I prefer the build quality of Canon's L teles - better tubes, iris diaphragms, mechanicals. Shooting high speed auto sports is going to put the iris through lots of fast actuations. IS may or may not be important though if you're shooting from a tripod or monopod.
    Pathfinder - www.pathfinder.smugmug.com

    Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
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    gsgarygsgary Registered Users Posts: 1,350 Major grins
    edited October 21, 2005
    I have heard that the 100-300 can draw dust into the camera don't know how true this is, one of the tracks i go to most 400 would probably be too long i don't use a tripod or mono something extra to carry most of the time i go on my motorbike so i can nip through the traffic, i find the 70-200 and 1,4x very light i think the 300 will be the one for me

    Gary
    pathfinder wrote:
    400mm MAY be too long at times - I agree wth Andy. (Especially with an APS sensor body like the 10D) A 300mm will be a lot lighter than a 70-200 + a 1.4 TC, and a lot sharper too.
    One other consideration - how a about a 100-400 L, the zoom feature would be dynamite for fast changing auto racing I would think? Or the Sigma 120 - 300 even.

    Other things being equal, I prefer the build quality of Canon's L teles - better tubes, iris diaphragms, mechanicals. Shooting high speed auto sports is going to put the iris through lots of fast actuations. IS may or may not be important though if you're shooting from a tripod or monopod.
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    SeamusSeamus Registered Users Posts: 1,573 Major grins
    edited October 21, 2005
    I have the 400 5.6. All of the shots from donington were taken with this lens. It is really sharp and is light enough to handhold for panning shots. I use a monopod with it most of the time. The 5.6 aperature could be a problem with nature shots but in motorsports you only go up to 400 or 500 shutter speeds. iso 800 on a cloudy day will still give you 320 or 400 shutter speed.

    I have found that a 70-200 and the 400 are a great combo. When photographing bikes the 400 is a great focal length. It could be a little long for cars but it really works a treat for bikes. The is feature on the 300 is nice to have.

    As others have said you could toss a coin between these two lens, you won't be disappointed with either.
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    gsgarygsgary Registered Users Posts: 1,350 Major grins
    edited October 21, 2005
    I have just bid for a 400 on ebay so will see what happens if someone bid higher than my max they can have it
    Seamus wrote:
    I have the 400 5.6. All of the shots from donington were taken with this lens. It is really sharp and is light enough to handhold for panning shots. I use a monopod with it most of the time. The 5.6 aperature could be a problem with nature shots but in motorsports you only go up to 400 or 500 shutter speeds. iso 800 on a cloudy day will still give you 320 or 400 shutter speed.

    I have found that a 70-200 and the 400 are a great combo. When photographing bikes the 400 is a great focal length. It could be a little long for cars but it really works a treat for bikes. The is feature on the 300 is nice to have.

    As others have said you could toss a coin between these two lens, you won't be disappointed with either.
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