Body and telephoto lens suggestions for airshow photography

[Ruggerbugger]

Having gone to a few airshows this year and been fairly pleased with my results, I looked at a telephoto converter for my S9600. However, negative reviews and disappointing availability mean I'm ready for the plunge into a proper SLR. I like the look of the 30D and 40D and should have the budget for either (seen great shots with a 1D Mk III, but that IS over budget ). What is making my choice difficult is I have no idea where to go for a good telephoto lens for either of these cameras. I am looking at a total budget of around £1000 at the moment, but that's flexible for the right kit.

Any suggestions appreciated.

[Funkstar]

I've read that the Canon 100-400 L IS is popular at airshows

[Ruggerbugger]

good grief! At £900 more saving is required

[Funkstar]

Sorry, I missread that part of your post

[ACiD303]

You can offset the cost (somewhat) by getting a good used 20D instead of a 30D - there's very little difference in actual camera. I've seen a few go at £150-£180 recently, whereas I think the 30D holds value at about £300. Having said that, I love the 30D.

[Saracen]

The 100-400 is very good, but the 70-300IS is, optically, also surprisingly good. It isn't built like the 100-400 (which is a L lens), but it's optically extremely impressive and closer to £400 than £1000. And, if you need the extra reach, you can always try a Kenko 1.4 Pro 300 DG telecon. They can be got for about £100 and, as with any telecon, do introduce some compromises, but not as much as you might expect.

[YorkieBen]

I have heard people talk about the sigma 50-500mm telephoto lens for airshows

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/prod...px?sku=1008356

I guess you will be looking at spending more on the lens than the camera for a good telephoto lens.

The sigma is available for all mounts so you can look at the different systems (canon, nikon, sony, pentax, olympus) as well.

[BUFF]

No matter which system that you go with if you want decent reach with decent IQ you are better spending more on the glass & less on the body.
With a typical APS-C crop body in my experience you probably want at least 400mm (yes, you can get away with less but ultimately I would bet that you will come to find that you would like it) & a zoom gives you a lot of flexibility.

The Canon 100-400mm IS L is probably the nearest thing to a standard for your average aviation enthusiast lens - it isn't perfect but does a lot of things well.
Sony have a 70-400mm G SSM coming out in January that I'm currently saving for (it's going to be ~£1000 too, the 70-300mm version is ~£550), Nikon's 80-400mm VR is ~£800 but doesn't seem to be considered as good but I believe that the Nikon community believe it is due for replacement as it's an older lens.
I'm sure that other manufacturers like Olympus & Pentax will have similar & then you have 3rd party manufacturers like Sigma, Tamron & Tokina.

[Bobster]

ok budget of 1000 easy

Used 20D/30D for £200/250
Sigma 70-200 f2.8 £500
Kenko 2x Teleplus Pro 300 << this is the same IQ as Canon's 2x tele &#163;130

and you have change

do you need IS for panning an aircraft? not at all, like cars, a smooth panning action is required

[Ruggerbugger]

Thanks Bob, some nice things to think about there. I've read very mixed reviews of teleconverters though, what do you know about the IQ of this one? Would I be right in thinking that even by using a 200mm lens and cropping, I'll get better IQ than with my S9600 at 300mm? It's always seemed quite soft at the far end to me.

[Bobster]

all these shots are with 20D + 70-200 2.8 Sigma and Kenko 2x Teleconverter Pro 300













i think a couple might be with a 350D that i borrowed because right in the middle of Duxford my 20D shutter died after 89,000 shots..

[Ruggerbugger]

Wow, extremely impressive! Had a look at a 450D today, the shop had a &#163;50 casback offer - which finished on the 4th of August!

[BUFF]

there's a new &#163;50 cashback on the 450D
"EOS 450D (any configuration) = &#163;50 Cashback (EUR 65)
Extended Offer - started 26th June, ends 12th January 2009."