DSLR Telephoto Lens Advice

[Cashmere E30]

Hey guys, I've been researching this a good bit, but since I am novice at the photography game, I wanted to get your opinion. I bought a Canon T3i last Christmas. I love it. Just really getting into it. I plan on taking some classes where I live to learn more about the different aspects of photography. I'm planning on taking a lot sports car racing photography, so I'm looking at a zoom lens. My budget isn't huge, but I'm wondering if the EF-S 55-250 IS would be a decent lens to start with. I know Image Stability is a big deal, but what else should I be looking for with respect to the racing action?

Thanks in Advance

[F34R]

Taking pictures of bitches at a distance?

[bimmerteck]

The lens you've picked looks like a pretty good value for the money, though I haven't really kept up on lenses lately.


Keep in mind that IS is a crutch, It's a very useful crutch in some situations and helps get more keepers, but you will learn to pan better without it's help. That said I do use it quite often in some situations.


The images below were all taken without IS.

[Cashmere E30]

Thanks for the info. I like the idea of having the stabilizer on there as an option, especially as I continue to improve my shooting.

[mrsleeve]

Personaly for the budget minded a 70-200 f4 L would be what I would be looking for used ad can be had for a little shy of 800 bucks if you look. Though normally those are gen 1 non is models, another optio in this price point is the good ol magic drain pipe 80-200 f2.8 L no IS either but a great f2.8 telephoto. . If that is a bit too much for you budget then I would for sure be looking at the 70-300 USM mid range that came in the 50/60d kits. Little better glass and a/f than the efs mount stuff. Personally I would be looking for used gear and just scrimp and save till you can aford the f4 L's if your serious about the hobby buy oce cry once.

Also you can find the old school non is 70-300 usm that's been around for ever for a 100ish bucks

[N-Gen]

Are you going to be doing any photography during night time?

Most of the motorsport events in my country are held during daylight hours so you don't need to restrict yourself to wide apertures. I don't use many telephoto lenses, in fact I just have a Minolta 70-210mm f4 (only for Sony and Minolta cameras) and a Tamron 70-300mm f4-5.6 which is available for whatever brand you shoot for. Sigma make a similar lens to the Tamron and you could pick them up for 99 USD.

I'm usually close up to the action so I use anything from 18mm to 70mm, usually not more, but I'll attach some shots off the Tamron for reference. Just FYI, in my case, Sony cameras have the stabilization built into the body, so its not the case for me with lenses, however most of the time I turn it off, in particular when using a tripod.

Low res since they're direct off of facebook (first time using the lens) -





And here are some things that move faster than cars once I got used to the lens, for reference, again sorry for the low res -

[Nsquared97]

I've been using the 55-250 you mentioned for a while noe on my 60D, specifically for motorsports. Works great for me, I got mine off Adorama for $170 refurb'd (you can't tell it from new) I usually run a ND4 filter on it on bright days to keep the aperture down with long exposures.

[Cashmere E30]

Thanks for all the advice. I think I've decided on the 55-250. Hopefully I'll have some decent shots before too long.

[Jean]

70-200 f4 L