Camera Labs

hi,
going on a cruise holiday and wanting to take photos from a distance,will be stopping off at ports,italy,france,gibralter,portugal,spain,so there will be plenty of different photos to take,ive got the 400d canon and looking for the ideal lense from a distance,thanks

A greater focal length will let you "reach" a more distant subject but without specifying your budget, we could throw no shortage of lens suggestions towards you and we'd be playing a guessing game.

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Bodies: Canon EOS 550D w/ Magic Lantern
Lenses: Tokina AT-X 116 Pro DX f/2.8, Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Accessories: YongNuo Speedlite YN-468 Flash, Neewer Macro LED Ring Light, Meike Battery Grip, YongNuo RF-602 Wireless Flash Trigger & Receiver YongNuo WR-128 Wireless Remote Control

Hi John,

You don't mention budget so why not buy (or rent - 14 days would be about £120 including insurance) the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM? PhotoZone reviewed the lens here and it's hard to see what might work better with your 40D.

Bob.

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OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

hi,
my budget around 1000 pounds to 1200 pounds,and its a 400d i have,with that sort of money whats the best for what im looking for,thanks

Hi John,

Sorry, I guess the small "d" fooled my eyes. But don't be afraid of using white lenses with your 400D. I had one a few years back and my 70-200mm f/4L IS USM worked just fine with it. At your stated budget, if it's for just one lens, the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM would seem to be a strong contender.

Bob.

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OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

Adding to Bob's suggestion, if a long focal length is your only requirement and you don't need the flexibility of a zoom lens, you may also want to consider the EF 300mm f/4 L IS USM prime - at 300mm can offer a shallower depth of field and better lower light performance than the 70-300mm L. Then again, you have to ask yourself if you'd make use of the advantages.

If IS isn't a must have, there's also the EF 400mm f/5.6 L USM prime to consider.

_________________
Bodies: Canon EOS 550D w/ Magic Lantern
Lenses: Tokina AT-X 116 Pro DX f/2.8, Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Accessories: YongNuo Speedlite YN-468 Flash, Neewer Macro LED Ring Light, Meike Battery Grip, YongNuo RF-602 Wireless Flash Trigger & Receiver YongNuo WR-128 Wireless Remote Control

in some what addition to it how much of flexibility and portability of the lens you want?

70-300mm seems to be more flexible than 300mm prime, yet the 70-300mm doesn't offer constant aperture of F4.0 like the 300mm Prime but in exchange to that you have zoom or vice versa.

I don't know how much the 70-300mm weight but the 300mm Prime is sure quite a bit heavy to carry without tripod or monopod.

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EOS Photography


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I like simple, I like RAW, I like to learn more

According to Canon, you're looking at roughly 1.6kg in total with the 70-300mm and 1.7kg with the 300mm prime so I don't think the weight argument has much weight, pardon the pun.

_________________
Bodies: Canon EOS 550D w/ Magic Lantern
Lenses: Tokina AT-X 116 Pro DX f/2.8, Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Accessories: YongNuo Speedlite YN-468 Flash, Neewer Macro LED Ring Light, Meike Battery Grip, YongNuo RF-602 Wireless Flash Trigger & Receiver YongNuo WR-128 Wireless Remote Control

@john1966, I can't tell your intended use from your original post. Are you wanting to use the same lens for distance shots from a cruise ship AND as a walk around lens when you stop off in various ports? If this is the case, I think you'll find the suggestions for 70-300mm lenses too long for use as a walk around. Will you be able to carry multiple lenses? Or are you looking for one lens to do everything so you don't have to carry much?

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Body: Canon Rebel XS, Canon EOS 7D
Lenses: Sigma 17-70mm f2.8-4.0 OS HSM DC Macro, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS II, Canon EF 50mm f1.8 II, Canon EF-S 10-22mm f3.5-4.5 USM, Canon EF 85mm f1.8 II USM

Oh right i see, I didn't actually read the 70-300mm description but oh well its about 1k less then i guess thats not a big problem. If your still planning to get a lens with a max of 300mm Focal Length, i guess its down to your decision whether 70-300mm will serve your needs.

heres a video review of the 70-300mm mounted on a crop sensor like your 400D.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iNY4WQ_-4w

_________________
EOS Photography


--------------------------------------------------------
I like simple, I like RAW, I like to learn more

To echo what Bob mentioned, I have an XTi which is also known as a 400D.
Any Canon EF or EF-S lens will work on your camera.

Also, in order to better assist you, can you answer the following questions to give us better context for what you are looking for?

Are you wanting just distance from the ship, walk around the ship, walk around the various ports you will be going to?

How many lenses are you willing to take?

What lens(es) do you have already?

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Canon Rebel XTi, BG-E3 Grip
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II, 24-105mm f/4L, 50mm f/1.4, 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DO, 85mm f/1.8
Sigma 150mm F2.8 EX Macro
Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II
Canon 430EX II
Opteka 13mm, 21mm, and 31mm extension tubes

hi bleudragon,

Yes distance from the ship and distance from walking about the ports,i will be taking 2 lenses,my other lense i have is the efs 17-55mm 2.8,is. i hope that helps,thanks

That's a nice general purpose lens.

To complement it, I can think of 3 different options.

1) The EF 70-300mm f/3.5.5.6L IS USM
2) The EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
3) The EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM with a tele-converter.

This is also dependent upon the weight you are willing to have.
As stated previously, the first option is probably the most versatile of the 3. It starts not too far off where your 17-55 ends, and it goes almost as far as the second option.
This is also a recently released lens, so it does have a lot of the latest technology in it.

The other two you might have to buy used in order to be able to fit it in your budget.

The 100-400 has the longest range, but some people do not like the push/pull zoom.

The last option is a really nice short telephoto zoom, but with a tele-converter, it enhances the range (98-280mm F/4 with 1.4x TC, 140-400mm f/5.6 with 2x TC) with some lost of light and image quality.

On an 400D (XTi) I generally find the 70-300mm range sufficient for most needs. While there are some times I wish for the extra 100mm, I generally do not need it nearly as often.

I seem to be a minority in this, but I generally enjoy my 70-300mm DO lens. If you see a deal on this lens it might be the best option for you. I got mine for about 30-40% off on the used market.

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Canon Rebel XTi, BG-E3 Grip
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II, 24-105mm f/4L, 50mm f/1.4, 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DO, 85mm f/1.8
Sigma 150mm F2.8 EX Macro
Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II
Canon 430EX II
Opteka 13mm, 21mm, and 31mm extension tubes

I just went for the 100-400mm and I'm happy with it. Some time ago I had a Sigma 70-210 push/pull zoom and I had no problem with it. I don't have a problem with it on the 100-400mm either of course.

Still there was the fight between the 70-300mm and the 100-400mm.
The 70-300mm gets wider, has the newer IS and wheather sealing (The last thing is the only thing that I really miss on the 100-400mm).
The 100-400mm had the extra range I didn't have on my 100-300mm I had before.

I decided to go for the extra range. And I'm happy about it. http://simon.deobald.org/bilder/Storch07kl.jpg (remove "kl" for a higher resolution)

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Canon EOS 500D + Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105mm 4L IS USM + EF 100-400mm 4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 100mm 2.8L Macro IS USM + Sigma 12-24mm 4.5-5.6 EX DG HSM + Canon Speedlite 580 EX II + Nissin Speedlite Di 466

I think that's solely down to the price being so close to L territory that potential buyers may think "In for a penny, in for a pound" and just spend a little bit more and go for an L lens.

_________________
Bodies: Canon EOS 550D w/ Magic Lantern
Lenses: Tokina AT-X 116 Pro DX f/2.8, Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Accessories: YongNuo Speedlite YN-468 Flash, Neewer Macro LED Ring Light, Meike Battery Grip, YongNuo RF-602 Wireless Flash Trigger & Receiver YongNuo WR-128 Wireless Remote Control