300mm lens for 450D

[Ruggerbugger]

Having had my 450D for a few weeks now, I've already got myself a nice Sigma 10-20mm lens, but am itching to get the telphoto lengths I had with my S9600. Obviously being a budding aviation enthusiast I covet the Canon 100-400mm USM L lens, but at £900 people give me strange looks (it is a month's wages atm).

So, I'm lowering my sights to a 300mm lens, but am finding the choice bewildering, even if I only look at Canon's range, to say nothing of Tamron or Sigma. Basically I'm looking for something that will do well at airshows, so it needs to be as sharp as possible at maximum zoom, and with IQ that will beat my S9600, otherwise I may as well use that. Budget is fairly flexible, although will get iffy above about £400. Any suggestions?

[Bobster]

the 100-400IS isn't all that, for aviation you want the 400 f5.6L or higher

but seeing as you've only got 400 to play with - we'll start with the big hitters and go to the lesser zooms

479 will get you a Sigma 120-400 4.5-5.6 OS
155 will get you a Sigma 70-300 4.0-5.6 APO (there's a cheaper model, but not worth the effort)
510 will get you a Tamron 70-200 2.8
415 will get you a Tamron 28-300 3.5-6.3 VR
115 will get you a Tamron 70-300 4.0-5.6
399 will get you a Canon 70-300 4.0-5.6 USM IS
269 will get you a Canon 100-300 4.5-5.6 USM
205 will get you a Canon 75-300 MK3 4.5-5.6 USM
199 will get you a Canon 90-300 4.5-5.6 USM

of course you have the option of hiring a nice 400L for a weekend (prolly about £60-80 for the weekend)

[Ruggerbugger]

Thanks Bob, on preliminary looks the 400mm Sigma seems nice. Should be good for macro work with the relatively close focussing distance.

[Flibb]

Havemt used one for airshows, what about a used bigma and bump the iso? Ive only used the bigma with a bi/mono pod, but it suprisingly good at 450mm. Not a direct recomendation, but might be worth some research, paid £450 for my used one. Bigma is 50-500mm

[colmo]

Here you go:
http://www.mifsuds.com/shprices.htm#canondigi

100-300 F4 EX DG HSM Boxed - £499

Add a x1.4 Sigma EX DG TC and you have 420mm at the long end. The 100-300mm is possibly one of Sigma's best ever lenses - every review I've seen of it has been stellar. It's a shame they haven't yet done a HSM version of it for Sony/Minolta fit.

[brammers]

400mm and 400 pounds screams 2nd hand to me. When it comes to decent long teles 400 isn't really flexible at all!

Colmo's 100-300 sounds good, although a TC will be the best part of another 100 on top. Maybe only if you really want the extra reach after trying it out for a while?

Tokina also do a lower quality 80-400 4.5/5.6 which should still satisfy you if you're not too demanding - get hunting on ebay. Here's links to reviews of the Minolta versions:

http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/detail.asp?IDLens=402
http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/detail.asp?IDLens=171

As well as a 100-300/4:

http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/detail.asp?IDLens=181

Sigma did quite a few old, cheap tele-zooms - here's their 135-400 and 170-500:

http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/detail.asp?IDLens=273
http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/detail.asp?IDLens=231

Both should just sneak into or just over your price range new if you can find them - both been superceded by Bobster's selection. There's also a new Sigma 150-500 or thereabouts - you'll have to check prices on that though.

The Tamron 200-500 might just be perfect - it's an affordable long tele-zoom and should still be available new. Optics are reckoned to be very decent for the price.

http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/detail.asp?IDLens=116

Remember that your Canon doesn't have a screwdrive motor so you're going to be relying on some fairly pants micro-motors with a lot of these zooms - not really what you want when you're waving f5.6 around at 500mm. Might be worth paying for one with HSM - that means a newer Sigma.

Also, none of the lenses I've just listed are exactly day-to-day optics - they're all squarely aimed at shooting long and are big and heavy - even the 2 100-300s. If you want something that can double up as a walkaround then for Canon it's probably the 70-300 IS USM Bobster mentioned, or a Tamron 70-200 2.8 which is still a big lump.

[Bobster]

ahh the Bigma, i lusted over one of those for years...

idealy for aircraft you want to be shooting f8+

the Tokina 80-400 is a slow focusing lens so not good for targets moving @ 400mph+

Sigma 100-300 f4 is nearly £800 and there are plenty of duff copies around, you could get a 70-200 f2.8 and add a 2x tele for that amount..

tbh, the cheaper glass you'll be left with alot of OoF shots with fast aircraft, the AF just won't keep up, i found myself shooting manual for a long time before i got my 70-200 2.8

your best bet is the 120-400 OS (has a hypersonic motor)

[BUFF]

The Tamron 200-500 might just be perfect - it's an affordable long tele-zoom and should still be available new. Optics are reckoned to be very decent for the price.

the problem (although it may not be depending where you shoot & how close you get) that I have with the Tamron for aviation is that the 200mm (320mm effective in 35mm terms on a Canon crop body) short end isn't short at all.
Imo at the airfields that I shoot at ~80-400mm on a 1.5/1.6 crop is the best overall available compromise in terms of range, aperture etc.
The Canon 100-400mm is probably the best performer for your body that you are going to get around that area - sometimes it's wiser to wait a bit longer & go straight to the best tool rather than get something inferior & then upgrade later anyway.
You possibly might find 1 s/h for £6/700 if stretching to £930 new is out of the question.

[Ruggerbugger]

Wow, loads of options there . Basically at places like Duxford I'm looking at slow and low planes generally, but I got fast jets at Farnborough this year, and hope to get to the Tattoo next year (damn rain cancellations). Big and heavy doesn't bother me really, but I'd be really disappointed with less than average IQ at £500+. Flightline photos and taxiing/takeoff I know are fine at 300mm where I've been; the issue for me is can I get sharper, larger crops of the actual displays. I'll consider stretching to a lens that gives me that. Either way, this lens is unlikely to be used much below 300mm; I'm quite happy with the 18-55mm kit for general work atm, and the Sigma 10-20mm has its obvious uses.

I will of course let you know if I ever make my mind up

[Flibb]

Another + for the bigma is that it has a HSM motor, the new 150-500mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM is stabilised but doubt you could pick one up used for around £400. One thing to keep in mind with any largish lens is having a bag big enough to carry it.

[colmo]

One thing to keep in mind with any largish lens is having a bag big enough to carry it.

...and arms big enough to wield it - iirc, the Bigma is 2kg. Mind you, everything that covers 400mm is going to be sizeable.

[BUFF]

Flightline photos and taxiing/takeoff I know are fine at 300mm where I've been; the issue for me is can I get sharper, larger crops of the actual displays. I'll consider stretching to a lens that gives me that. Either way, this lens is unlikely to be used much below 300mm;

if you are happy that the 200mm short end of the Tamron isn't a problem where you shoot then it's a definite possibility then.
I know that quite a few Minolta/Sony shooters prefer it over the Bigma but then we don't have HSM on our Bigma version & that may possibly make a difference in focus speed although I don't think either is going to be blindingly fast.

[Flibb]

...and arms big enough to wield it - iirc, the Bigma is 2kg. Mind you, everything that covers 400mm is going to be sizeable.

The current solution I have for keeping the bigma on camera and accessible is the Tamrac pro digital zoom 9, combined with the tamrac belt. This setup is suprisingly comfy and extra lens cases can be added if necessary. One point worth noting is that many tamrac and lowepro accessories are interchangeable, the fittings are very similar.