Newbie Lense Question

[GuildfordPaul]

Hi Guys,

Just about to purchase a Canon 450d with an 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens included.

Now i want to purchase a lense suitable for motorsport, i'm new at all this so don't want to go silly with prices, but want a reasonable piece of kit.

I was thinking something up to about 300mm (is this ok for F1 etc), and wanted to know what the difference between buying the following lenses is?:

Canon EF 75-300mm f4/5.6 USM MK3 (£249)
http://www.jessops.com/online.store/categories/pro...

or

Canon EF 100-300 f/4.5-5.6 USM (£329)
http://www.jessops.com/online.store/categories/Acc...

Why would you go for a lense that is more expensive but has less focal range and same f/stop figures.

I hold my hands up, i really don't know what i'm talking about when it comes to DSLR's, so a point in the direction would be really appreciated.

Thanks.

Paul.

[horacethefrog]

Looking at the reviews here I'd say it was image quality - I guess they tried a bit harder with the 100-300. Also you will generally tend to get better image quality with a zoom with a narrow range as the optics are less compromised .

[onomatopoeia]

I don't know anything about Canon lenses, but as a general principle it's not just the zoom range and minimum f numbers that are important, it's also the quality of the resulting image.

Some lenses will not be sharp until the apperture is opened up a bit, some lenses capture colour better than others, some will leave purple fringing around objects, some will distort near the edges of the frame (see this less nowadays as most lenses are designed for full 35mm frame film and most DSLR sensors are smaller).

I'm sure someone will be along with the correct technical terms and a better explanation shortly!

[GuildfordPaul]

thanks so far guys, all appreciated.

[lowdrag]

Motor racing isn't easy to photograph, especially since you are pretty far from the action nowadays. To give you a clue, I use a 200/400 zoom and a 500mm lens, all expensive and very heavy and I am trackside thanks to press passes. The 75/300 will be OK but only really in pretty good light since it is a consumer lens with, at the long end, an aperture of f5.6 only. I would advise you on the following settings for your new DSLR if you buy it.

1. ISO quality set on auto
2. Use the camera on shutter priority and set the shutter speed at 1/250th of a second minimum, depending on the type of cars.
3. Focusing set to continuous.

You'll need some practice and may need to crop to get good results - I recommend you buy either Paint Shop Pro or adobe Photoshop to get the best results. here are two examples taken trackside with the 200/400 f4 lens:-





Best of luck and post some results!

[GuildfordPaul]

lowdrag said:

Motor racing isn't easy to photograph, especially since you are pretty far from the action nowadays. To give you a clue, I use a 200/400 zoom and a 500mm lens, all expensive and very heavy and I am trackside thanks to press passes. The 75/300 will be OK but only really in pretty good light since it is a consumer lens with, at the long end, an aperture of f5.6 only. I would advise you on the following settings for your new DSLR if you buy it.

1. ISO quality set on auto
2. Use the camera on shutter priority and set the shutter speed at 1/250th of a second minimum, depending on the type of cars.
3. Focusing set to continuous.

You'll need some practice and may need to crop to get good results - I recommend you buy either Paint Shop Pro or adobe Photoshop to get the best results. here are two examples taken trackside with the 200/400 f4 lens:-





Best of luck and post some results!

thanks mate, some great tips which will i certainly follow, and lovely pics too!!

Which of the 2 lenses would you recommend?

Thanks, Paul.

[angryS3owner]

I think you can get okay results with a cheap lens though, helps if it's a nice day mind:





Both taken on a D50 with a sigma 70-300.

[GuildfordPaul]

angryS3owner said:

I think you can get okay results with a cheap lens though, helps if it's a nice day mind:

Both taken on a D50 with a sigma 70-300.

thanks mate, love the lambo pic.

[onomatopoeia]

lowdrag said:

Motor racing isn't easy to photograph, especially since you are pretty far from the action nowadays.

Here's one from the Silverstone 1000kms last year to demonstrate one of the problems of not having a press pass.

[angryS3owner]

There are places you can get to at silverstone quite easily (on most race days) where there shouldn't be a fence in the way. The lambo pic above was from a GT race weekend.

LeMans is the biggest pain in the arse for fences now as they closed all the good bits...

[lowdrag]

Personally, I would probably be tempted to go for this one:-

http://www.sigmaphoto.com/lenses/lenses_all_detail...

Compare the reviews and you'll find it is slightly better all round with macro thrown in.

[lowdrag]

onomatopoeia said:

lowdrag said:

Motor racing isn't easy to photograph, especially since you are pretty far from the action nowadays.

Here's one from the Silverstone 1000kms last year to demonstrate one of the problems of not having a press pass.

You can actually dial out the chain link fencing somewhat by changing the depth of field. If you set the aperture to the widest possible then the lens will focus (hopefully!) on the car and the foreground and background will blur out. Not a perfect solution but I suggest you try it. here's an example of how it works:-



You'll see that the foreground and background are not in focus and that draws your eye to the middle of the picture.

Here, by contrast, is the lens stopped down and the whole of the car is in focus.

Edited by lowdrag on Thursday 16th July 13:14

[GuildfordPaul]

lowdrag said:

Personally, I would probably be tempted to go for this one:-

http://www.sigmaphoto.com/lenses/lenses_all_detail...

Compare the reviews and you'll find it is slightly better all round with macro thrown in.

thanks for that, does it have the equivalent of Canons USM? or is this feature not important?

[onomatopoeia]

lowdrag said:

You can actually dial out the chain link fencing somewhat by changing the depth of field. If you set the aperture to the widest possible then the lens will focus (hopefully!) on the car and the foreground and background will blur out. Not a perfect solution but I suggest you try it.

Here's one taken at the same event where you can see the effect of reducing the f number on the fence. Since the lens is a Sigma 135-400, at longer zooms f/5.6 is a low as I could get. I've had a bit more experience of what the camera will do in different situations now (I'd owned it for about three days before the Silverstone race) and manage a bit better.



Perfectly splendid that everyone is prototype / GT racing pics .

[lowdrag]

Now it doesn't cost anything to post a photo we can all see! Here a similar one at the start of the race at the Classic last year.

[kybo]

I'm not a pro in this field but I'll add my 2p

You need a lens which will focus fast: as you're not talking L or F2.8 lens money (same for me), look for a lens with Canon's USM or Sigma's HSM - these will help the lens focus faster. I use the Sigma 50-500mm HSM and get good results (for me anyway).

I've heard good comments regarding the following budget lenses:

Canon 75-300 USM III - £185
Sigma 70-300 APO - £160
Canon 55-250 IS - £200.

I wouldn't recommend any cheaper than this - the 100-400mm F4 is very popular with Motorsport 'togs.

As someone has already commented - a bright day is not necessarily a must but definitely a bonus!!

HTH
Scott

[GuildfordPaul]

kybo said:

I'm not a pro in this field but I'll add my 2p

You need a lens which will focus fast: as you're not talking L or F2.8 lens money (same for me), look for a lens with Canon's USM or Sigma's HSM - these will help the lens focus faster. I use the Sigma 50-500mm HSM and get good results (for me anyway).

I've heard good comments regarding the following budget lenses:

Canon 75-300 USM III - £185
Sigma 70-300 APO - £160
Canon 55-250 IS - £200.

I wouldn't recommend any cheaper than this - the 100-400mm F4 is very popular with Motorsport 'togs.

As someone has already commented - a bright day is not necessarily a must but definitely a bonus!!

HTH
Scott

thanks Scott thats great.

[GuildfordPaul]

so guys, going back to the original 2 lenses in my first post, which one would you go for for msport pics, or neither?

Thanks.

[rasputin]

If one has bigger focal range and slightly faster at wide end, is a fair bit cheaper and there doesn't seem to be any definite answers to which lens is better...

Go for cheaper one

[cbcbcb]

The 55-250 IS lens is best option for a consumer grade Canon telephoto. Next step up is the 70-300 IS USM. You could also look for a non-IS 70-200 f/4L, which is a little more again. The 75-300 is notoriously poor, and I didn't know the 100-300 existed, and I'd expect to have read about it on some forum or another if it was any good.

The 55-250 IS is optically pretty good. The autofocus on the 70-300 IS USM will be significantly better, but it depends on whether you want to spend the money.