Telephoto Lens Recommendation

Thanks for all of the advice! I hadn't thought about buying a Sigma, but now I'll have to check them out. Have any of you used the VR capabilities? It sounds like that's all I'd be missing.

Any sample shots with any of the lenses you've mentioned?

(And - sorry to hijack the thread!)

 

The bottom line is, no matter what you buy, you really do need to learn how to use it, be it a $250 lens or a $2,500 lens.

http://schlegelmilch.smcc.de/archive/index.php

 

The top end Sigmas are very good. I think for most people in the Amateur bracket, they will more than adequate. But if you are serious about photography then you need to buy the manufacturer lenses - Nikon or Canon.

Some good sites for lens/ bodies reviews with some of my comments:

www.dpreview.com :
Review type: Excellent professional reviews - kinda like a full-fledged road test
Product range: Point & shoot cameras and SLR bodies. Doesn't have lens reviews.
Brands covered: Features all the major camera brands

http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/ :
Review Type: Excellent reviews from an end user perspective. Lots of seasoned camera buffs there so what they say makes sense.
Product range: Covers D-SLRs and lenses for the same along with some accessories like tripods, flashes, etc.
Brands covered: Focussed on the Nikon and Canon range along with third party products that support these two goliaths

http://www.bythom.com/nikon.htm :
Review Type: Pretty thorough test of the lenses and SLR camera bodies. Product range: lenses and SLR camera bodies Doesnt cover the full list of Nikon lenses but the review quality is superb
Brands covered: Nikon focused reviews only.
Product range: Lenses only

http://www.naturfotograf.com/lens_zoom_00.html -->
Review type: Pretty good review written in a summary fashion
Product range: Lenses only
Brands covered: Nikon only

www.kenrockwell.com :
Review type: Excellent professional review - kinda like a full-fledged road test.
Product range: SLR lenses and SLR bodies.
Brands covered: Nikon only

 

I agree...and you can hire me if you want....I'm a freelance photography with tons of motorsports coverage experience....and if you'd rather shoot and need someone to drive, I can do that too. I really wish I could post pictures that were hosted on the web because I have a ton of stuff on the web and not to much on this computer (new Mac) but I'll post a few... darn they are all too big.

Rich

 

Probably a mirror (catadioptric) lens:

 

If I was renting a lens it would be the Canon EOS 35-350 or the new 30-300. One lens that can do everything and provide very sharp images. This is my work horse lens. They will take the 1.4 converter with no problem. Just my $.02

You can see some of my work at www.forza.cc
click gallery and put in an event code: fxx - fch - moi - hf1

Bruce

 

Now I feel sorry for the guy, I bet we have him so confused he doesn't even buy a new lens... LOL

That's the risk you take on a website that also happens to have a bunch of pro photogs on it...

 

I bought this lens used a couple of years ago for my f4 Nikon 35mm.
It is easily 25 years old, all manual and heavy as in real glass lens heavy.
The transition to digital was a no brainer..it fits my d100 body as new.

An option for you would be to do a search on used lenses.
I got this Nikon 300mm 2.8 lens in as new condition for about $2000.00 in my opinion the quality is greater than the newest lenses....since it is 300mm at 2.8 I can use a 2X converter and have an f5.6 at 600 mm. or with the digital conversion factor
of 1.5...it becomes a 900 mm at 5.6 digital....It is a very serious combination and requires extra patience but the results are fantastic.

BTW..the same lens today in AF is 5 g,s+
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that's some big glass..... bigeer than my Canon 400mm f/5.6L

wow.

Rich

 

I should have kept my 300/2 and 400/2.8's.....

p.s. the question you asked is the same type of question along the lines of 'what kind of Ferrari should I buy ?'

You get 100 different answers.

 

Buy the P&S I noted above and you'll likely be a lot happier. Unless you plan on really doing something with a dSLR it's way over kill for most casual shooters.

 

Dr. Who, which event are you going to at Tremblant? Ferrari Festival on June 16-18?

If so ill be there aswell. Ill show you some nice places to shoot at from the track.

 

I will most likely be at the Ferrari Festival the 17th and 18th. Ill give you a call whenever i get there.

 

By no Means at all do I consider myself a great photographer.
Forever a novice, But I enjoy feeling like a good photographer.
Here are a few of the shots I took with straight 300mm and a few with the doubler on....It was Lime rock 2 years ago, I was standing a good thousand feet or more away from the cars.This camera was on a monopod and I was panning and focusing simueltaneously and then snapping!
That day the Sun was in and out.
As you can see lighting is crucial when shooting high magnification combined with action and a fast shutter speed....It is a challenge!
All these cars were at speed!
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I envy you your trip. In 1985 When the Candian GP was Cancelled (Brewry Wars)
I did a couple of Jim Russell driving schools at Mt. Tremblant.
Back to your question, as a rule of thumb for 35mm camera you should use the focal length be the minimum shutter speed for hand held shots.
Since the image size captured on digital slr's is smaller than 35mm I would
suggest 1 1/2 x the length of the lens as a min.
Pick a corner, pre-focus using an F-stop give you the shutter speed you want with the depth of field you want. As stated in a previous post to eliminate fences get close to the fence and make sure your depth of field does not bring it into focus. If it does try to focus further away.

In 1971 I got a Silver medal in the Nikon International Contest in the color
divison. I had several photgraphs published in Sports Car Graphic. Used
to be a freelance photographer and sold photographs to drivers at Riverside,
Ontario, and Willow Springs.
My favorite telephoto lense was a Nikor 500mm F5 mirror. It was still focusing at 1 mile and at 27 I could hand hold it at 1/60th of a sceond.

Enjoy the trip.

stephen