Help me choose the right Canon Telephoto Zoom Lens

[DdotRoq]

Hello Everyone,

This thread is for my fiancé; she is looking into making a large purchase on a Canon Telephoto Zoom Lens and is looking for the perfect one. She asked if I can post up on XS as many of you have a larger expertise than us.

She is looking at the - Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM Telephoto Zoom and Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Telephoto Zoom lens.

Do you guys feel she should go for the original or the version 2? Or do you have a different idea of a different route she should go?

Uses: Planned Europe road trip to photograph much of Germany, France, UK - lots of scenery, such as castles, bridges, etc., misc. Sports events such as Soccer, and something with enough accuracy to possibly grab a Sonic Boom off an F-16.

Thank You!

Dave

[Kain665]

Has she actually handled either of those lenses before? They're pretty heavy as walk around lenses.

[Schmidtc89]

It is a very carry around lens. I would recommend maybe going to your local camera shop and handling both the F2.8 70-200 and the F4 70-200. Money aside, if you are going to be outdoors with plenty of light the F4 lens is great and very sharp, also a lot lighter than the F2.8. If you will be in darker conditions or indoors then the F2.8 is the way to go but man is it a big lens.

May try a rental of one of the lenses and see how you like it.

For the 2.8 go with the newer lens, the image quality of the newer lens is better. Full review of newer lens http://www.the-digital-picture.com/R...ns-Review.aspx
Author mentions difference between it and original

[lkiller123]

She should really add the 100-400mm to her wishlist.. Since it is a carry-around lens and you are trying to shoot sonic-booms, she'd benefit from more range and versatileness.
But it is kinda hard to shoot sceneries with a telephoto, maybe you should save up and go for the 70-200mmf/4 plus another nice wide angle lens.

[chinaguy]

I have the old model Canon F4 70-200 with no IS for three reasons. 1 its cheaper then the F2.8 2 its lighter to carry 3 you just have to remeber 1/focal length for IS.

So if you are using the 200mm end of the lens your shutter speed should be 1/200 or 1/250 minimum. I use a mono pod also to eliminate camera shake.

I have the Lowepro camera bag Toploader Pro 75AW to carry my camera with 70-200 fitted and that has a carry harness. If you have the F2.8 you will need a truck to carry it around with you.

With a digital camera, if its not FULL FRAME like my 40D the focal length is Lens * 1.6 so the 2 lenes I have are F4 24mm-105mm with IS = 38mm-170mm and F4 70mm-200mm = 110mm-320mm.

F4 none IS =700g or 1.5lbs
F4 IS= 760g or 1.7lbs
F2.8 IS =1500g or 3.3 lbs

With a digital camera if you are in low light you can change the ISO number up to 400-640-800-1000. But with the money you saved buying the F4 none IS lens you can buy the Flashgun for indoor use.

DONT FORGET TO BUY A FILTER TO PROTECT THE LENS SURFACE!!!!

[Kain665]

You mean your 40D isn't full frame, that is.

[chinaguy]

My old Canon A1 uses a film size of 36mm*24mm and this became the standard everyone uses even today. The current CCD sensor size runs at 24mm*16mm like my Canon 40D.

But the current lens still can be used with the older 35mm film cameras and they use the focal length from Black and White days even now. Its become a 'defacto'standard.

So you can work out the ratio of 1.6 from the difference in frame size.

I just got married and was buying a house so could not afford the 5Dwith its full frame!!!

[itznfb]

Hello Everyone,

This thread is for my fiancé; she is looking into making a large purchase on a Canon Telephoto Zoom Lens and is looking for the perfect one. She asked if I can post up on XS as many of you have a larger expertise than us.

She is looking at the - Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM Telephoto Zoom and Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Telephoto Zoom lens.

Do you guys feel she should go for the original or the version 2? Or do you have a different idea of a different route she should go?

Uses: Planned Europe road trip to photograph much of Germany, France, UK - lots of scenery, such as castles, bridges, etc., misc. Sports events such as Soccer, and something with enough accuracy to possibly grab a Sonic Boom off an F-16.

Thank You!

Dave

70-200mm is not a focal length for travel photography. You want a wide zoom range between 16-150mm for general use or travel. 70-200mm also isn't long enough for air show type photography if that's what you're looking for in the F-16 comment.

IMO she'd be better off with a 70-300mm and a 17-55 or 17-85. Lots of options from Sigma as well. All depends on your total budget.

[uOpt]

As people have explained it might make sense to trade off f-stops for the IS and get one of the lighter lenses.

That of course depends on the camera she has. To do this tradeoff you will need good noise performance. With a 60D, no problem. 40D? Problem.

[lkiller123]

As people have explained it might make sense to trade off f-stops for the IS and get one of the lighter lenses.

That of course depends on the camera she has. To do this tradeoff you will need good noise performance. With a 60D, no problem. 40D? Problem.

IMO 40D should still be fine. Don't forget that you will still have IS, and that makes it up for the smaller f-stop.

[Ch@pS]

My 2c

For a recent trip around the country I needed something similar, I went for a Canon 75 - 300mm F4-5.6 and a Sigma 10 - 20mm wide angle for 2 reasons. The Canon zoom cost me almost nothing, R800($120) vs retail of R1700($255) here, and it's extremely compact and light making it a very portable lens. The Sigma was brand new for half retail price, for the cost I couldn't say no and I'm not disappointed. No Telephoto zoom will give you landscape shots like a wide angle, and if they're going to be a big part of the trip I would totally suggest going for one.

What I can also suggest in place of the 70 - 200mm is a nice 18 - 200mm from Canon or 18 - 250mm Sigma. Even with IS/OS the lenses aren't that bulky albeit a tad heavy, but the range they give you is impressive, the last thing you want on a trip is to not have enough/too little range.

All the above however is if you're cheap like me if not I say go all out and get a Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 L IS USM.

[Xcel]

I would not recommend the 75-300mm, it is one of the worst lenses manufactured by Canon. The 55-250mm or 70-300 are a lot better if you're on a budget. Check out photograph-on-the-net for more information.

Depends on how much you want to spend, the 70-200 2.8 II is sharper but it's up to you if you want to spend that much more to get a sharper photo and better IS.

[lkiller123]

Have you considered the 70-300 f/4-5.6L?

I think the best solution might be a nice UWA (Canon 10-22mm, Tokina 11-16mm, Sigma 10-20mm) plus the 70-300mm L

That will get you through the sceneries AND the sonic boom.

[itznfb]

Have you considered the 70-300 f/4-5.6L?

Oh man how awesome would it be if that was 2.8? It would probably be 10x that size though lol.

[lkiller123]

Yeah I am a little disappointed at the aperture. I mean at least make it a notch lower than the original, something like f/2.8-4 or 3.5-4.