Which lens?

[.Froot.]

According to the reviews (a pretty professional I might add),

FTM (Full Time Manual) focus is not provided - you must switch the lens to MF (Manual Focus) mode to manually focus the lens. To make matters worse, the 70-300 extends about 1" with focusing.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/reviews/Canon-EF-70-300mm-f-4-5.6-IS-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

 

[bwana]

According to the reviews (a pretty professional I might add),

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/reviews/Canon-EF-70-300mm-f-4-5.6-IS-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

Actually I would find this more annoying - it drove me mad the other day when I grabbed my old kit lens.

Combine a non-parfocal zoom lens with a rotating front element and you quickly get frustrated

 

[.Froot.]

Yes, I have heard about it peeving some people off...

 

[ldmelsa]

Had a chat with family who likes those big things and they like both the 200 and 300mm Canon lenses. I took further looks and stuff and it seems there's a 99% of me getting the Canon 70-200mm F4.0 non-IS L-series.... and then later getting the 1.4x extender.

with the 70-300IS's extra 100mm & IS you can get more shots than the 70-200 non-IS
but if absolute sharpness, when wide open (we're nitpicking now - 70-300IS is very sharp), and perfect corner sharpness (can't see it on crop cam) are more important than an excellent image stabilizer (one of the best I've ever used), and an extra 100mm...
after having used both of these lenses, I can't understand why people go for the 70-200 non-IS, when the 70-300IS adds IS and 100mm more for the same price

THE 70-200 GIVES BETTER CORNER SHARPNESS ON FULL FRAME CAMERAS
ON THE 40D I COULD NOT SEE THE DIFFERENCE

plenty of sites and people are pixel peepers and worry about irrelevant BS
to make a decision about which lens to get, you must first understand what your needs are and what the real-world deferences between the lenses are
the one might perform better than the other in the lab, but what good is that if the other lens lets you get more shots in real world situations? (dynamic VS static image quality)

doing studio or model work? get one of the 70-200s (they are the sharpest lenses out there)

 

[bwana]

I agree - at least as far as the desirability of the 300mm goes. For shooting wildlife its going to make a considerable difference.

Still - if you're happy to get the extender (and lose that f/4) then that's your call. I already had a 300 in my bag when I got the 70-200.

That rotating front element is going to drive you mad if you throw a polariser on there. Try it with the kit lens and you'll soon see what I mean.

 

[.Froot.]

I'm getting the Canon 70-200 f/4 [-]IS[/-] L USM sometime next week, probably on Tuesday or Wednesday...

Will buy the 1.4x extender before I go to the Kruger again.

 

[bwana]

I just snapped a few shots of Da moon at 200 and 300 for my own interests sake. Not an insignificant difference in terms of magnification.

 

[ldmelsa]

Will buy the 1.4x extender before I go to the Kruger again.

why don't you just get the 70-300?

 

[ldmelsa]

oh, you're getting the IS one
did not see that
nice

 

[mercurial]

That IS is almost double the price, no?

 

[bwana]

oh, you're getting the IS one
did not see that
nice

So it was the lack of IS that made the 70-200mm f/4 L unsuitable?

 

[.Froot.]

So it was the lack of IS that made the 70-200mm f/4 L unsuitable?

That IS is almost double the price, no?

oh, you're getting the IS one
did not see that
nice

Whoops sorry.... putting the IS in was a mistake.

The IS version is around 15k, compared to just over R7k for the non-IS version

 

[mercurial]

Incidentally, I also decided to rather get the L lens. I also found this link which I found quite amazing. It shows the difference in quality between the Sigma 18-200 OS and the Canon 70-200 f4 L.

http://www.outdoorphoto.co.za/forum/showpost.php?p=138405&postcount=89

 

[bwana]

Incidentally, I also decided to rather get the L lens. I also found this link which I found quite amazing. It shows the difference in quality between the Sigma 18-200 OS and the Canon 70-200 f4 L.

http://www.outdoorphoto.co.za/forum/showpost.php?p=138405&postcount=89

Different lens I know but although my Sigma 28-300 @200mm isnt as sharp as my Canon 70-200 it's not nearly as bad as that other guys shots.

 

[koffiejunkie]

Actually I would find this more annoying - it drove me mad the other day when I grabbed my old kit lens.

Now you know why I rant on about ring type USM and FTM so much.

I also found this link which I found quite amazing. It shows the difference in quality between the Sigma 18-200 OS and the Canon 70-200 f4 L.

That's justsilly. The 18-200 makes major compromises to be able to go that wide. It won't stand a chance at any focal length against even Sigma's old 70-300 (the non APO), let alone a 70-200L

 

[bwana]

Now you know why I rant on about USM and FTM so much.

Not really - the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM that everyone seems to rave about also has a rotating front element and that's USM, isnt it?

 

[koffiejunkie]

Not really - the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM that everyone seems to rave about also has a rotating front element and that's USM, isnt it?

OK, let me amend that:

ring type USM

From what I know FTM is a given with ring type USM, but not with micro USM.

 

[BigAl-sa]

That's justsilly. The 18-200 makes major compromises to be able to go that wide. It won't stand a chance at any focal length against even Sigma's old 70-300 (the non APO), let alone a 70-200L

Agree, I actually don't even think the Sigma will be able to autofocus properly with light that low (the Canon would be focusing at F4 while the Sigma would be focusing at F6.3).

 

[mercurial]

Geez, I was just posting for interest's sake. That's not the reason why I am going for the L lens

 

[bwana]

Agree, I actually don't even think the Sigma will be able to autofocus properly with light that low (the Canon would be focusing at F4 while the Sigma would be focusing at F6.3).

The guy took photos of the moon - that's hardly a low light situation. I've yet to have a focusing issue shooting the moon with either of my sigmas.