If you had to have JUST one

[Burrd255314]

Hey
I'm in the position where I want to upgrade my telephoto lens.
I've got a Canon 350d which I've had for about 2 years now.
My current telephoto lens is the canon 75-300 III usm.

If you had rouhly £1k to spend on a telephoto lens which will be used for aviation photography for 85% of the time, what would you chose?

My first thought is the canon 100-400 L IS or Sigma 100-300 f/4
Can you add to this list?
Which would you recommend?

Thanks
Jay

[JordanD]

Nikon 80-400VR

[tinymoon]

Do we have to start Ni vs Ca again here. Anyway. i can tell you one thing EF 100-400 is one of the best lens Canon have ever made. I own one and really satisfied with the result given.

[wrxflyer]

Hey
I'm in the position where I want to upgrade my telephoto lens.
I've got a Canon 350d which I've had for about 2 years now.
My current telephoto lens is the canon 75-300 III usm.


My first thought is the canon 100-400 L IS

Hey mate,

I am in the same situation as you are.
Owner of the same Canon 75-300 lens, and thinking about something better.
My first choice will be the 100-400 L IS lens, if I had the money; but that moment will come.....sooner or later.
But, here in Holland are some speculations going on on different forums that there are some 100-400 lensens on the market with a technical failure. Between 300 and 400mm are some of them a little bit soft.
And that is what holds me back from buying one.
If I had that amount of money to buy this nice equipment, I have to be sure to buy a very good one.

Freek

[Vishal Jolapara]

Jay the only thing that puzzles me about your question is the contrast between having a good lens for aviation photography on your camera 85% of the time vs the minimal focal lengths of 100mm to start-off from.

If you think that 100mm is gonna fit/accomodate most airplanes from your primary place of shooting then just go for the 100-400L, Eyes Closed.

However, in terms of having a lens attached to your camera most of the time for aviation photography the 70-200L will be ideal (again depending on the location), here you got multiple options of aperture & IS. And perhaps other than the 70-200L f2.8 IS (£1.4K) most other variants of this lens should fit easily in your wallet.

So here are your best two options :
1. 100-400L
2. 70-200L (choice of aperture f2.8, f4, f4 IS)
Perhaps, James can tell you for sure whether to go for the f2.8 or f4 as i'm sure u guys have quite a naughty weather back there in the UK.

Cheers - Vishal

[B7772ADL]

70-200 F2.8 LIS + 1.4x is my choice. This combo replaced my 100-400 which had costly technical faults (replacement IS under warranty; replacement autofocus motor out of warranty), and as reported was one of those useless at 400mm, although slightly better after recalibration.
I really don't miss the extra 100mm i don't have now, well apart from the odd airshow.
Some people have a love affair with their 100-400 and it's the best thing since sliced bread that has never gone wrong, mine was more hate at the end, and i'm hearing of more and more people all the time having problems with this lens.


In terms of the f4 vs f2.8 debate, i've never had the need to use 2.8 for aviation use, so the f4 would be just fine. Depends if you are going to use it for other things outside aviation I guess that would demand low light glass.
I know a couple of people that have the 70-200 f4 LIS and they are big fans of it.

[Burrd255314]

Thanks everyone.

The only reason I'm cautious over the 100-400 is that I've heard that some of them are soft over 300.

Anyone got views on the sigma 80-400 OS?

I only mentioned it will be on the camera 85% of the time because I do also landscape photography and won't be using it for that.
For my avition needs, I use currently on my lens 100-300 and wish I could go further (even though my lens is a bit soft over 230mm)

Does this give anyone another suggestion?

The 70-200 f/2.8 is a little too pricey if I wanna buy it from a store instead of ebay(I'm steering clear of dropping a grand on somebody who I can't go back to and complain!)

Thanks

[Burrd255314]

Add now the Bigma and see why I'm going round in circles :s

[tinymoon]

Surely from 350mm to 400mm. The EF 100-400L is litle bit soft but this can be corrected in photoshop. Nothing should worry about that. For 70-200 f4L IS is now people talking of it as one of the best one compare to f2.8 IS (Rating 9.7 = 9.8 in some forum).

For Aviation: 100-400 should be Ok. In some close action you can shoot as close-up shot and create some nice movement or detail such as nose, gears .... We have got some shots with details like this very interesting in data.

I again vote for EF 100-400 due to its quality, build, price, except you might find push and pull is a liltle "noisy" zoom lens. Some say it suck dust (for me i have no any problems)...

Last note: Get it, test it carefully, decide keep it or change (sometime you get bad luck and purchase a lemon juicy copy If you feel you do not like the result, go to change before overdate.

[Darren Howie]

Firstly there are a lot more photographers around with technique problems than there are defective 100-400L's.
Many people want a bullet proof lense which fires out perfectly sharp shot in difficult conditions endlessly.
Sorry but ANY old school photog will tell you it is NEVER going to happen.
I shoot with my 500 and 600F4 the best glass money can buy and still get soft shots from shake etc.
So i can highly recommend the 100-400 but dont expect to get results that are better than lenses worth 6 times the price.Dont expect results it just cant deliver.
However it will give you some incedible pics,is built like a tank and will give you a huge amount of pleasure to use.
Oh and its better than every other lens in its class...

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Dazz

[Tanner_J]

Do we have to start Ni vs Ca again here. Anyway. i can tell you one thing EF 100-400 is one of the best lens Canon have ever made. I own one and really satisfied with the result given.

If you count the top 100 lenses, then sure it's in there.

[Burrd255314]

Thanks everyone.

From the posts here and seeing the shots on the web I've decided to go for it

Now I know that the nice weather we're having is going to stop (just so the gods can laugh at me), but I don't care!!

[seahawk]

I would go with the Sigma 100-300 4.0 it is one of the most underrated lenses out there. I could test it for a day and if I would not be well covered with Nikon 2.8 telephoto lenses, I would gladly buy it and be happy with it.

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