200mm prime lens for motorsport - daft?

[FunkyNige]

Hi everyone,
I'm looking at upgrading my lens for motorsport and possibly airshows. At the moment I've got a pretty old 70-300mm 4.5-5.6 attached to my 400D and the problems I'm having are mainly down to the lens being quite slow at full zoom and not really that sharp so I'm looking at what my options are...
Having a look round, I see Canon do a 200m 2.8 L lens for £570 (at WEX) which seems to be a well reviewed, fairly light, decent quality lens for a decent price.
However... is 200mm enough for motorsport? I'm a bit worried that everything will be that bit too far away.
Does anyone else use a prime for this type of photos?

Edited by FunkyNige on Wednesday 18th May 12:54

[Lynchie999]

bundle it with a 2x teleconverter = happy days...

depends where you mainly shoot... silverstone 200mm would be too short... but other smaller club tracks its not too bad..

[ashleyman]

I've got a 70-200 and a 300.

If you've got 1 body then go for the 70-200 - having the extra range between 70 and 200 is a lifesaver if you end up stuck somewhere where a 125mm range would be fine - being stuck at 200 would kill your composition.

If you've got 2 bodies then get the 200 prime and put something else to cover you on the other body for stuff that might be happening closer.

I tend to stick with 1 body with a prime and use my feet for what I shoot, but the odd time I might need to be flexible I'll take 2 bodies, 1 prime and 1 zoom on each - plus the other lenses close by in case I need to change quickly.

Having said this I have no idea how close/far away you are in motorsport so change focal lengths as you see fit.

[nellyleelephant]

You're almost in used 100-400 (original version) territory. Can the budget be stretched at all?

[Russwhitehouse]

Although I don't do motorsport, I would think a 200mm is a bit short unless you can get up close. A prime would be lovely, but will restrict your framing if you want to do different shots during the day. But it's all down to budget. The canon 200-400 would be perfect, but costs a fortune. A 2x converter is a cheap alternative, but you will drop a stop which might cause issues too.

[nellyleelephant]

Russwhitehouse said:

.....A 2x converter is a cheap alternative, but you will drop 2 stops which might cause issues too.

[Ed_P]

Why not just go the whole hog and get the 200mm F/2.0. You'll get change from £5,000 as well!

Of course I'm joking, but some of the best sports shots I've seen have been with this lens.

[Fordo]

nellyleelephant said:

You're almost in used 100-400 (original version) territory. Can the budget be stretched at all?

What the good man said. I think its a great lens for sport, when you have one body. I quite like the push / pull zoom of the mk 1. You can quickly push into something if you need to react quickly to something happening

[-Pete-]

It doesn't need to be Canon, how about this? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CANON-FIT-Sigma-APO-EX-D...

I have a Sigma EX 70-200 f2.8 and love it, but would want more focal length for motorsport. I also have a 1.4x teleconverter but then it becomes f4, so if motorsport's the main use, I wouldn't recommend it... there's no substitute for large apertures imho.

[pidsy]

-Pete- said:

It doesn't need to be Canon, how about this? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CANON-FIT-Sigma-APO-EX-D...

I have a Sigma EX 70-200 f2.8 and love it, but would want more focal length for motorsport. I also have a 1.4x teleconverter but then it becomes f4, so if motorsport's the main use, I wouldn't recommend it... there's no substitute for large apertures imho.

Im in exactly the same boat as the OP and I used the lens you linked to at brands hatch last week. It's great but I was definitely lacking at 200mm.

I've been looking at the newer sigma 500mm lenses but the contemporary lens is in my budget £800 ish, but the sport version is £1300. So I keep putting it off. I've been looking for a canon 400mm in budget but can't find any.

[Nigel_O]

I use a Sigma 50-500 for big-event motorsports (where I'm always a fair way from the action). Pretty sharp, but needs decent light for the best results. I very much like the ability to get close if I need to without swapping lenses.

At club events and hillclimbs, where I'm much closer to the track, I use a 70-200

[-Pete-]

pidsy said:

Im in exactly the same boat as the OP and I used the lens you linked to at brands hatch last week. It's great but I was definitely lacking at 200mm.

The lens I linked to is up to 300mm f2.8

[tilley441]

http://www.hdewcameras.co.uk/canon-ef-200mm-f28l-i...

£479 here

[pidsy]

-Pete- said:

pidsy said:

Im in exactly the same boat as the OP and I used the lens you linked to at brands hatch last week. It's great but I was definitely lacking at 200mm.

The lens I linked to is up to 300mm f2.8

Sorry Pete, I saw the bit about the lens you use then forgot about the link.

[-Pete-]

pidsy said:

-Pete- said:

pidsy said:

Im in exactly the same boat as the OP and I used the lens you linked to at brands hatch last week. It's great but I was definitely lacking at 200mm.

The lens I linked to is up to 300mm f2.8

Sorry Pete, I saw the bit about the lens you use then forgot about the link.

No problem. Anyway, we're agreed that 300 or 400mm is probably the lower end of what's needed, and f2.8 - and that Canon isn't the only choice for lenses. Although I suppose of you have enough Megapixels you can crop, and I believe many people think IS makes up for lack of light... personally I'm not convinced.

[droopsnoot]

I also use a Sigma 50-500, though I am finding that the majority of shots are no longer than 300mm.

[Craikeybaby]

I shot a lot of motorsport with a Canon 70-200 f2.8 and it was very rare that I used anything less than 200mm on it. Most images needed cropped too. At bigger circuits, like Silverstone I hired a 300mm or 400mm lense, as 200mm wasn't enough.

[ukaskew]

I guess I might be the only one here who has used the 200 prime for Motorsport, it's a superb lens with fast AF and usefully compact compared to the 70-200. I shot at Brands, Combe and Goodwood with it just fine.

On a 5D Classic...

Ferrari 458 Italia by -Harry_S-


I find it's easy enough to work with whatever reach you've got, I took a 100-400 to the Silverstone 24hr this year and most of my shots were well under 200mm. One of the best Motorsport photographers in the business learned his trade shooting at Silverstone from public positions with a 70-200.

Edited by ukaskew on Thursday 19th May 19:21

[S47]

Canon 200 'L' F2.8 - awesome and much lighter to carry compared to ANY zoom.
However a zoom suits more people more of the time.
If you have 2 bodies then as suggested get the 200 prime, and a 70-300 'l'.
200 & 2x convertor is simailar IQ to the zoom but gives you 400mm f5.6
hope this helps

[Riley Blue]

droopsnoot said:

I also use a Sigma 50-500, though I am finding that the majority of shots are no longer than 300mm.

I have the same lens and many of my motorsport shots are also <300mm but I also go to airshows where the extra reach does get used.