Simviation Forum - Need telephoto info

Jan 26^th, 2008 at 10:00pm

The Ruptured Duck Offline
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What focal lenths should I aim for? I could be shooting anywhere from about 30ft to 100+ yds away.

How useful is IS when most of my shooting will be outside?

Thanks

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Reply #1 - Jan 26^th, 2008 at 10:33pm

Rifleman Offline
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The Ruptured Duck wrote on Jan 26^th, 2008 at 10:00pm:

What focal lenths should I aim for? ..........Thanks

How large a subject are you looking to capture in your final image ? You can always zoom out, if you have too much, but if you have too little, then the only way you can aquire what you want is to get closer to your subject........ Embarrassed

The Ruptured Duck wrote on Jan 26^th, 2008 at 10:00pm:

How useful is IS when most of my shooting will be outside?

Thanks

It has nothing to do with indoors or out.......

Image Stabilization is fine for any time that you may run out of light which you may need for the shutter speed you want to shoot. This also affects aperture you may want to use to gain depth of field of focus.
Especially useful when using high magnification lenses.
Long focal length necessitates higher shutter speed. Higher shutter speed needs more light or wider aperture or higher ISO. Image Stabilization gives you to the ability to get the shot when the light level drops below minimum level for non-Stabilized systems........
It's a good thing ! Wink

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Reply #2 - Jan 27^th, 2008 at 7:14am

Omag 2.0 Offline
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First thing... what is your budget? You'll find that this might be the all important factor. You can find lenses up to 300 mm for reasonable prices ( the canon ef 70-300 mm I use has IS). Once you go over that, be prepaired to spend some cash.

Also try to read some users info on the specific type of photography you want to use the lens for. If you want to shoot small birds in the wild, you'll need a 500 - 600 mm lens for example. But when you want to do some racing-photography a 200 mm lens may suit you just fine.

Check out if there are any forums about digital photography in your country and read.

I find IS very usefull. Keep in mind that you'll need a shuttertime equal or faster to the focal length to get a blurfree shot with a non stabilized lens. ( ex. shooting at 300 mm means a shuttertime of 1/300 or faster). IS is really handy, as I've noticed. Because the IS is in my lens, I see the satbilized image in my viewfinder and it sure does eliminate a lot of movement at the tele-end.

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Reply #3 - Jan 27^th, 2008 at 3:04pm

The Ruptured Duck Offline
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Airplanes will be my main subject. Mostly General aviation.

"If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing" -Ben Franklin&&&&"Man must rise above the Earth to the top of the atmosphere and beyond, for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives." - Socrates&&&&" Flying is a religion. A religion that asymilates all who get a taste of it." - Me&&&&"Make the most out of yourself, for that is all there is of you"- Ralf Waldo Emerson&&

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Reply #4 - Jan 27^th, 2008 at 3:23pm

Omag 2.0 Offline
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It still depends on your budget...

Tight budget

€ 220: Sigma 70 - 300 mm APO

Some more cash to spend

€ 520: Canon EF 70-300 mm IS

The big bang:

€ 1.500: Canon EF 100 - 400 mm L
€ 1.000: Sigma 50 - 500 mm ( Bigma)

Or maximum quality with prime-lenses. I'll let Sierra Hotel inform you about those, but I think you'll be paying about € 1.200 for a 400 mm f4 prime

Anyway, before you buy, read...

www.photozone.de ( it's your new friend!) Wink

PS: these prices are Belgian and from my favorite shop. I don't know how they are over at your place.

&&&&&&Check my aviation-photo's at www.airliners.be&&&&Or go straight to Omag's Album

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