 Brett Dolsen |
Telephoto Lenses Just looking for a few thoughts on choice of lenses for surfing and action with budget restrictions. The camera will be a Canon 7D and will most likely be used with a 2by extension when rquired for greater focal lengths. (1) Canon EF 70-200 mm f2.8L IS USM Image quality will be the priority. I have done a fair bit of web research but unable to draw a conclusion as yet.
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StoneHorseStudios.com - Eric Highfield Contact Eric Highfield Eric Highfield's Gallery |
I'm not a Canon shooter, but do have some experience with telephoto lenses and can make the following observations: You'll lose 2 stops with a 2x extender. I don't see buying #1 with an extender as practical if you are buying for solely maximum reach, it would be cheaper to buy #2 without the extender. However, the advantage of this option plus extender is it provides versatility for many types of photography (on and off the beach) as it would be 70-200mm 2.8 without extender and a 140-400mm f5.6 (equiv) with extender. That covers a broad range! If that flexibility appeals to you, it might be worth the extra dollars. #2 with an extender would be slow, likely manual focus only, and require good light. If you go this route I'd consider skipping the extender, or get something in a 1.4x instead to minimize the f-stop impact. This lens without the extender appears to be more economical than the 70-200mm with the extender, and seems to be the best "dollars to reach" ratio of the three. #3 The 400mm 2.8 will give you the reach and is fast enough to use the extender, you lose the zoom of course, so will be shooting a 400mm or 800mm (not factoring crop factor), but the price tag is staggering!
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StoneHorseStudios.com - Eric Highfield Contact Eric Highfield Eric Highfield's Gallery |
Just realized you were probably referring to the canon 400mm 5.6 and not the 400mm 2.8 (we can all dream, right)! You will have the same extender limitations as #2, but appears that the 400mm 5.6 without extender is least expensive of the three, but also the least versatile (but maybe as a prime it makes up for it in image quality???).
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Lynn R. Powers |
Leave the extenders at home. Both the 100-400 and the 400 f5.6 will have to be manually focused when using them. For best clarity the 400mm f5.6 will be better. With the camera that you are using the Field of View (FOV) will be equivalent of 640mm. That should be enough. Also take a tripod or monopod. Raise your ISO if necessary to get higher shutter speeds of 1/500" minimum.
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- Usman M. Bajwa Contact Usman M. Bajwa Usman M. Bajwa's Gallery |
Brett, I think what you are interested to shoot is something like David W. Orias type surf shoots. Here is one example below, http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/dynoGallDetail.php?photoID=9499948&catID=37443 Suggest you get in touch with him, as he is an expert in catching light on waves and panning and uses more than 600mm focal lengths usually. UB.
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Bob Cammarata |
To echo what others have stated, you should not need the 2X T/C for shooting surfers since you can just move in closer to the beach to get fuller frames. Personally, I prefer fast prime telephoto lenses over zooms but the costs can be prohibitive unless you can find a good deal on a used one.
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Brett Dolsen |
Hello and thankyou Eric,Lynn,Usman and Bob. All great advice and helped me to make the decision on the 400mm Prime Lense without extension.This will get me a little closer than the 300mm kit lense and something to really look forward to after five years.
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- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
If you shoot from the beach, where the waves break will determine if just a 400 will be enough. You may need an extender. Also depends on the image size you're willing to settle for.
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