Cheap - Fast - Long Glass
Discussion
Ok no such thing I know.
I'm using a 7d with 75-300mm f/4~5.6 II IS USM, and this is the main subject matter.
http://s198.photobucket.com/user/motorvator1/slide...
I won't splash out a fortune on a lens as it will very likely end up in the drink at some time, the question is whether a better bit of glass exists to suit my needs for say £500 that would give worthwhile benefit?
Length is all as we can't get that close to them without putting them at risk. And high shutter speeds important as the platform is likely to be tossed around under the feet as well so panning shots often result in either feet or sky.
I'm using a 7d with 75-300mm f/4~5.6 II IS USM, and this is the main subject matter.
http://s198.photobucket.com/user/motorvator1/slide...
I won't splash out a fortune on a lens as it will very likely end up in the drink at some time, the question is whether a better bit of glass exists to suit my needs for say £500 that would give worthwhile benefit?
Length is all as we can't get that close to them without putting them at risk. And high shutter speeds important as the platform is likely to be tossed around under the feet as well so panning shots often result in either feet or sky.
Rent or buy second hand - http://www.mpbphotographic.co.uk/used-equipment/us...
If you can find a copy of "The Art of Bird Photography II" by Arthur Morris it contains probably the most detailed breakdown of the different Canon telephoto lenses.
From his list, probably the 300f4 and the 400 5.6 are the only ones anywhere near your budget.
What you really want though is the 500 f4 USM, but it is very, very expensive. Even the older 500f.45 still goes for 1800+. The reason being it was *the* professional choice for a long telephoto lens for a long time, Canon were first out with image stabilisation and lots of pro's switched over specifically for this lens.
There is a Canon mount Sigma 500 f4.5 but again it is over 1700+ and comes up very rarely on Ebay.
From his list, probably the 300f4 and the 400 5.6 are the only ones anywhere near your budget.
What you really want though is the 500 f4 USM, but it is very, very expensive. Even the older 500f.45 still goes for 1800+. The reason being it was *the* professional choice for a long telephoto lens for a long time, Canon were first out with image stabilisation and lots of pro's switched over specifically for this lens.
There is a Canon mount Sigma 500 f4.5 but again it is over 1700+ and comes up very rarely on Ebay.
Don't you worry that Bacardi fellow is booked for a few freebies. Must get round to telling him. 
To be honest we have a few serious togs that follow us around but as always it is where you happen to be sitting that gets the shot not necessarily the equipment (4-6 mile courses). That's Jack's new ride for the 3A Nationals and World Championship and we also have the London to Monte Carlo race this year for the marathon stuff so when I haven't got a helmet on myself I can be behind a lens.
I suppose the question is really more whether there is a cheap hop up to what I am hanging on the end or is this ageing lens about the best there is for the money?
To be honest we have a few serious togs that follow us around but as always it is where you happen to be sitting that gets the shot not necessarily the equipment (4-6 mile courses). That's Jack's new ride for the 3A Nationals and World Championship and we also have the London to Monte Carlo race this year for the marathon stuff so when I haven't got a helmet on myself I can be behind a lens.
I suppose the question is really more whether there is a cheap hop up to what I am hanging on the end or is this ageing lens about the best there is for the money?
MOTORVATOR said:
I suppose the question is really more whether there is a cheap hop up to what I am hanging on the end or is this ageing lens about the best there is for the money?
I read here recently that the Canon 75-300 isn't very good and that there is a much better 70-300 one.I'm not convinced you need 'fast' as you're in daylight and these days you can crank up the ISO to compensate for lower light or get an acceptable shutter speed. If you want shallow DOF to isolate the subject/blur the b/g it will happen anyway at that length. What might assist you is an IS lens, to help compensate for all the gin you drank prior to the off...
So if you want the length for a budget you'd be happy to drop overboard I'd suggest a 70-300 IS. You also then have some pulling back room for when the blighter comes in for a close pass and won't fit in the VF at 300...
Sigma 150-500 is f/5-6.3 which should be more than enough in daylight and can be had for less than £500 second hand. I have one and it's a very good lens. Or if you want to spend a bit more there's a new Tamron 150-600 which apparently is also very good and on a crop body that's almost 1000m lens!
Edited by rottie102 on Monday 7th April 20:16
Bacardi said:
MOTORVATOR said:
Don't you worry that Bacardi fellow is booked for a few freebies.
I only had about £6k round my neck last time, I nearly went in with it all once....
If someone wants my services, I usually offer to them 'you can have it good, fast or cheap, pick any two'
The worst part is that if you tell 'em it's six grand round the neck everybody goes to save that falling overboard rather than you.
What you really need is a 1DX, the 200-400 with the inbuilt 1.4x Extender and, given that would be about £16k at list iirc, a commission for a fully waterproofed floating case for the combination (if canon don't already have one for some of their 'special' users).
So, about £20 to £25k I would think. Perhaps a tad more.
For a little extra you could probably mount it on a remote controlled platform to follow the action while you enjoy some R&R. (If you could still afford the R&R.)
Please note that felt it necessary to provide this answer due the evident lack of typical PH'ers in this thread and the consequential total absence of good advice at any price.
It might be easier all round to just buy a media company that specialises in CGI techniques and get them to program the shots for you in super reality mode.
On a more serious note - other than (perhaps, maybe, just about) giving you a steadier viewfinder image, I'm not sure that IS would be of great use to you. From my understanding of it the desuign intent is do deal with micro movements inherent with, mainly, hand holding type activities at relatively low shutter speeds for the focal length employed. However I don't often attempt to shoot anything from a randomly unstable platform (at least not intentionally other than my sometime weary legs) So I guess you would really need to ask other boat photographers for their opinions. Unless you are trying for something 'arty' a higher shutter speed seems a more likely answer to the problem.
So, about £20 to £25k I would think. Perhaps a tad more.
For a little extra you could probably mount it on a remote controlled platform to follow the action while you enjoy some R&R. (If you could still afford the R&R.)
Please note that felt it necessary to provide this answer due the evident lack of typical PH'ers in this thread and the consequential total absence of good advice at any price.
It might be easier all round to just buy a media company that specialises in CGI techniques and get them to program the shots for you in super reality mode.
On a more serious note - other than (perhaps, maybe, just about) giving you a steadier viewfinder image, I'm not sure that IS would be of great use to you. From my understanding of it the desuign intent is do deal with micro movements inherent with, mainly, hand holding type activities at relatively low shutter speeds for the focal length employed. However I don't often attempt to shoot anything from a randomly unstable platform (at least not intentionally other than my sometime weary legs) So I guess you would really need to ask other boat photographers for their opinions. Unless you are trying for something 'arty' a higher shutter speed seems a more likely answer to the problem.
A couple of links - there must be thousands available .... who knows which ones are authoritative?
http://www.apnphotographyschool.com/concepts/demys...
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/forums/thread2054...
The comments on the first page are interesting and varied. Have not read the subsequent pages.
And just to provide some support to my earlier post .... Canon on the IS in the 200-400 lens.
http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/tech/report/201...
You may come to the conclusion that reading between the Canon lines could be important and then consider how that interpretation might be applied to older/lesser lenses.
http://www.apnphotographyschool.com/concepts/demys...
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/forums/thread2054...
The comments on the first page are interesting and varied. Have not read the subsequent pages.
And just to provide some support to my earlier post .... Canon on the IS in the 200-400 lens.
http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/tech/report/201...
You may come to the conclusion that reading between the Canon lines could be important and then consider how that interpretation might be applied to older/lesser lenses.
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