Canon 70-200F4L or 70-300 IS ?

[Gulliver911]

Big dilemna here,

The 70-200 F4 L is down to 560$ at Amazon in the US

Same price roughly as the 70-300 IS (Non L).

What would you do ?

Use would be mostly outdoor and candid portraits with long reach,

70-300 is not L glass, but has more reach, and perhaps more usable with the IS option?

I am not an L snob, what is the best value and quality compromise ?

My credit card is ready with one click to go, but can't decide between the two....

[F308 MAN]

Gulliver911 said:

What would you do ?

70-200

d

[Gulliver911]

F308 MAN said:

Gulliver911 said:

What would you do ?

70-200

d

I never use a tripod, would the IS not make it more usable in everyday situation ?

I must say I prefer that white color on that 70-200 but not sure

[agent006]

The 70-300 is good but it's not L good. I'd venture that the 70-200L plus a 1.4 teleconverter would be better quality at 300mm or thereabouts.

[Ordinary Bloke]

Canon have regional warranties, so don't buy in the US and expect Canon UK to give a monkey's if it stops working.

Bought a few things from B&H 'New Yoyk' (I think it's bandhphotovideo.com) you pay a little more but the quality of service is very high, Adorama is the other decent one, most of the others are rip-off merchants. Go visit their shops if you don't believe me! Don't go to B&H or Adorama on Saturday though, they're orthodox jews, everything's shut.

Can I recommend Sigma EX 70-200 f2.8, I have one of these and a Sigma EX 1.4x teleconverter, excellent lens and, importantly, global warranty. I also have a sister living in NY and flying back regularly... convenient!

[Gulliver911]

Ordinary Bloke said:

Canon have regional warranties, so don't buy in the US and expect Canon UK to give a monkey's if it stops working.

Bought a few things from B&H 'New Yoyk' (I think it's bandhphotovideo.com) you pay a little more but the quality of service is very high, Adorama is the other decent one, most of the others are rip-off merchants. Go visit their shops if you don't believe me! Don't go to B&H or Adorama on Saturday though, they're orthodox jews, everything's shut.

Can I recommend Sigma EX 70-200 f2.8, I have one of these and a Sigma EX 1.4x teleconverter, excellent lens and, importantly, global warranty. I also have a sister living in NY and flying back regularly... convenient!

The company I work for is headquartered in New York, i can get stuff shipped back if I have a warranty issue.

I never bought L glass before and am not sure this all quality thing is not overblown, I know IS work wonders.

Mmmmm....

Any more advise from the pH photon watchers ??

[Ordinary Bloke]

OK, but give the Sigma a look, it's a really nice lens.

What type of photo's are you shooting, I'm into portrait so aperture is everything, and IS is not really an issue for me?

[Gulliver911]

Ordinary Bloke said:

OK, but give the Sigma a look, it's a really nice lens.

What type of photo's are you shooting, I'm into portrait so aperture is everything, and IS is not really an issue for me?

Same, my only interest is people, portraits is most of what I like doing.

This lens will be used for that, but outdoors, allowing to a bit of distance with teh 200 mm reach.

For indoors i have a Sigma 30mm 1.4 which i love in low light....

[Ordinary Bloke]

OK, I can't afford L lenses, would love to but it's only a hobby for now.

I have Tamron XR Di 28-75 f2.8, cheap build quality, lovely all-rounder. They also have a global warranty, which made me feel better.
Sigma 70-200 EX f2.8 and EX 1.4x teleconverter (the 2x is consider too much)
Don't forget the good old Canon 50mm f2 lens, mine was only around £55.

My friend has an L series 24-70 f2.8, luck bloke, but £900 quid I think.

[flat-planedCrank]

I had this dilemma a few months back, i decided on the 70-300. (with a 30D)


+'s
+More reach
+IS (has saved me a bunch of times, even pans well)
+Quality isn't quite L but is right up there. Check the forums, some people saying its a 'hidden L'.
+Slightly cheaper.

-'s ?
-Rotating front element.
-Slightly slower AF than the 70-200 (micro USM Vs. ring USM)
-Build quality not quite as solid as the 70-200 (though i've looked at the f4 and its not a massive difference)

I'm very happy with my choice

Some shots with the 70-300:











In fact all from this thread are the 70-300:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Cheers.

Edited by flat-planedCrank on Sunday 28th October 05:03

[Ordinary Bloke]

Very nice. And for sports photography, looks like you made a good choice...

[Gulliver911]

Very impressive results Flat pannel Crank...

[flat-planedCrank]

Gulliver911 said:

Very impressive results Flat pannel Crank...

Thanks
I do feel the 70-300 is a bit of a hidden gem.

I originally bought a 17-85 (a kit with the 30D) as my walk-about lens, but to be honest i normally have the 70-300 attached, only swapping to the 17-85 if i want a wider angle.
I know im not comparing like with like, but i find the 70-300 outperforms the 17-85 by an order of magnitude. I'd guess thats down to inheriting some UD elements similar to those found in the L series lenses.
(It would be interesting to see how it faired on a 5D actually (or even a 1ds mk2/3))


I'd go down to a local store with your camera and ask to try them out. You may find the 70-200 f4's focusing speed seals it for you, or perhaps you can't really live without IS at 200mm so the 70-300 is best suited.
I tried the 70-200 f4 at a store, and although nice, i managed to avoid white-lens-fever and decided that the 70-300 represented a better deal for me






(i'd still swap it in a heartbeat for a 70-200 f2.8 though )


Hope this helps

Edited by flat-planedCrank on Sunday 28th October 03:44

[Gemm]

Nobody's mentioned full-time manual focus feature? For that alone, I'd go for 70-200. I couldn't live without that feature but I guess it depends on your needs.

[jagdpanther]

the 70-300 IS is a cracking lens, Im using the earlier non USM/IS model and its always been a good lens producing nice results, but I would go for the 70-200F4L as that is one fantastic lens!

You shouldnt need a tripod for the F4L as its a fairly light lens (for me anyway) and produces top notch photos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

F4L is on my list of things to be ASAP

[Tracksport Dave]

Quinny said:

Ordinary Bloke said:

Canon have regional warranties, so don't buy in the US and expect Canon UK to give a monkey's if it stops working.

As I understand it, regional warranties apply to Cameras only.
Lens warranty is world wide.

Just got a 100mm F2.8 MACRO lense which is American. The warranty card is international and covers the UK

[5H4K]

There's also another option. The Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 HSM. I'm pondering that or Nikon's equivalent that is the 70-200mm AF-S Vibration Reduction, making it double the price!!

[RobDickinson]

I've a similar dilema, but I've a mate with the 70-200f4L wehich I can use pretty much when I want so I'll likely go for the 70-300IS.

The f4L is stunning tho, and relativly light & handholdable with it.

[Ordinary Bloke]

I was talking about the Sigma EX 70-200 f2.8 earlier on this thread, but I believe it's only HSM on Canon bodies. Not sure though.

Canon UK told me no international warranty on lenses, about 4 years ago, so maybe it changed or maybe they misundersood my question.

They're all nice lenses. In my opinion, f2.8 is good for portraits, IS good for sports. Macro is good for close-up etc. Depends what you need.