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70-200 f/4 or 2.8?


12 years 2 months ago #208212 by Fingers 3
I'm looking into getting a new lens, Canon 70-200 f/4 IS or 70-200 f/2.8 non-IS? They are virtually the same price. Or should I buy the 70-200 f/4 non-IS and have a few bucks left over for more toys? I want to do mainly sports shooting, mostly outdoor biking and skiing.
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12 years 2 months ago #208216 by WillF
I have the nikon 70-200 f4 and I am always craving a shallower DOF to simplify my shots. Especially in sports, it's nice to blur the crowd or an unattractive background to bring focus on your subject.
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12 years 2 months ago #208217 by Country gal
The other bonus of having a wider max aperture of f2.8 is that it means when you go inside into poorer lighting you can use that wider aperture to shoot with a faster shutter speed. This helps to stop blur from your subjects moving - IS remember will only counter motion from your holding of the lens and will do nothing to counter the subject itself moving.

So most times with sports you should have a shutter speed fast enough to freeze motion so handshake won't be a major problem. Further should it prove to be so you can always use a monopod to greatly stabilize your setup without having the weight and bulk of a full tripod.

The only other thing IS will do is give you a smoother viewfinder image when composing a shot.
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12 years 2 months ago #208218 by Fingers 3
Thanks a lot for the answers guys, my only concern with the 2.8 is the weight. Is it too heavy to carry around all day without a tripod?
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12 years 2 months ago #208220 by WillF
I handhold mine all the time and am fine with it. It does get a little heavy if I shoot nonstop for a long time - but you would be fine with it.
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12 years 1 month ago #211255 by MrMagoo
I had the Canon 70-200 f4 non-IS for about 3 years. I then began shooting indoor sports and it did not give me the shutter speeds I needed to freeze the action. Also at f4, you do not get great depth of field and I found that the background was not blurred enough to make the subject stand out in the picture!

My vote would be for the 70-200 f2.8. It is a bit heavy as stated, but not unmanageable by any means. I do use my monopod when shooting hockey so the camera is always at eye level.

I don't have IS, as the lenses I have had and do have with IS, I never use it! It only compensates for camera movement and not subject movement. It is handy for still subjects in low light, but not worth the extra $1000 IMHO.
EOS-1 Ds Mk II, 60D, 24-105 f4L, 70-200 f2.8L, 28 f2.8, 50 f1.8, Speedlight 430EX,Speedlight 580 EXII
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12 years 1 month ago #211277 by Huberphoto
I have the 70-200 2.8 L II zoom and I love it, also, if you want to put a 2x converter on the lens it will need to be at least a 2.8 aperature or faster. ( at least for a canon converter anyway )
www.huberphoto.com
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12 years 1 month ago #211278 by MrMagoo
I thought the teleconverter drops you a stop or two???
That has always been why I never bought one?
I was under the impression the 2x dropped you to a max of 3.5??
EOS-1 Ds Mk II, 60D, 24-105 f4L, 70-200 f2.8L, 28 f2.8, 50 f1.8, Speedlight 430EX,Speedlight 580 EXII
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12 years 1 month ago #211471 by Henry Peach

MrMagoo wrote: I thought the teleconverter drops you a stop or two???
That has always been why I never bought one?
I was under the impression the 2x dropped you to a max of 3.5??


A x2 teleconverter doubles the focal length. Focal length / entrance pupil diameter = f/#, so if you double the focal length you double the f/stop. F/2.8 goes to f/5.6 which is two stops. A x1.4 teleconverter increases the f/# by approximately one stop.

A teleconverter can be used on any lens, but camera bodies require a certain amount of light for auto-focus. With a slower zoom it might be required to manual focus with a teleconverter.
mattneedham.zenfolio.com
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12 years 1 month ago #211473 by Henry Peach

Fingers 3 wrote: Thanks a lot for the answers guys, my only concern with the 2.8 is the weight. Is it too heavy to carry around all day without a tripod?


This is why I prefer the f/4 models. I never shot my f/2.8 at f/2.8, so I eventually switched to an f/4 version, which is a lot nicer for hand holding, IMO. Either are wonderful lenses in general. You need to find a shop where you can try them out on your camera (or rent them for a week), and see which you'd rather have.

DOF is significantly affected by several aspects other than aperture size, so achieving very shallow DOF at f/4 hasn't been an issue for me.
mattneedham.zenfolio.com
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