Canon-fit Prime

[medius]

Looking at getting a prime for shooting trackside. Currently have a 7dmk2 body with Tamron 70-300 di vc but due to injury I'm not able to rotate my left wrist to zoom. I'm usually found at Snett, Donny, Cadwell and occasionally venture to croft so a monster reach isn't must have, but haven't looked at the lens market for about 6 years are there any obvious choices for the type of shooting we do. I don't really have Canon L f2.8 budget. but something sharp with accurate AF. My photos try to be frame filler single shots attempting to be artistic not scattergun document everyone shots.

Anything from Tamron or Sigma worth looking at or renting initially or just bite the bullet and pray to Lord Mastercard for a Canon L? Or instead of a prime how about a pull zoom?

[grantp]

Originally Posted by medius

Looking at getting a prime for shooting trackside. Currently have a 7dmk2 body with Tamron 70-300 di vc but due to injury I'm not able to rotate my left wrist to zoom. I'm usually found at Snett, Donny, Cadwell and occasionally venture to croft so a monster reach isn't must have, but haven't looked at the lens market for about 6 years are there any obvious choices for the type of shooting we do. I don't really have Canon L f2.8 budget. but something sharp with accurate AF. My photos try to be frame filler single shots attempting to be artistic not scattergun document everyone shots.

Anything from Tamron or Sigma worth looking at or renting initially or just bite the bullet and pray to Lord Mastercard for a Canon L? Or instead of a prime how about a pull zoom?

I don't have one myself but have always read good things about the Canon 100-400 Mk 1 which is a push-pull zoom? (The Mk2 is not push-pull)

The only downsides seem to be the max aperture range across the zoom, perhaps a bit long at the sort end on a crop body and the suggestion that a push-pull zoom may suck in dust.

I'm not sure about the latter as a potential problem. However there is no "environmental sealing" claimed and it may require a cover when shooting in wet conditions. The image quality, right from the earliest lenses, always looks excellent.

The Mk1, used, might be around at the right money.

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by grantp

I don't have one myself but have always read good things about the Canon 100-400 Mk 1 which is a push-pull zoom? (The Mk2 is not push-pull)

The only downsides seem to be the max aperture range across the zoom, perhaps a bit long at the sort end on a crop body and the suggestion that a push-pull zoom may suck in dust.

I'm not sure about the latter as a potential problem. However there is no "environmental sealing" claimed and it may require a cover when shooting in wet conditions. The image quality, right from the earliest lenses, always looks excellent.

The Mk1, used, might be around at the right money.

I have one and I love it. I bought it about 3 years ago now but actually like the old style of zoom. I've never used it in the wet and after losing a lens to mould (many years ago) I don't shoot in heavy rain anyway.

[grantp]

FWIW I also have a Canon 600mm prime, albeit in FD fit with an adaptor. Fully manual.

That would be a 960mm equivalent on a 7D. Actually probably a bit more as the adapter adds about 10%. Add a 2x Extender and one is up top around a 2000mm equivalent lens. For a while, it was possible to shoot cars entering Roberts chicane from the Disabled spectator banking on the outside of Coppice. Not sure if there is still line of sight there.

That said the results were not great because at that distance on a moving subject precision panning requirements of a 2000mm lens exceeded my level of competence. And of cource pre-focusing was a challenge even though at that distance one might expect focus to infinity to work well enough. Howeer I think it could slip beyond the point of infinity thus requiring some manual attention.

Also for much of the day one would in effect be shooting towards the light and that would definitely be sub-optimal.


So, a remarkable thing if one has a good tripod, some very adequate light and enough strength to lift it onto the tripod.

Great to cart around in a car rather than if walking. Sadly, in recent years, such possibilities have been steadily reducing at most circuits.

Also, whilst a very long effective length sounds great for certain types of shot it works best when you know exactly where the subject will be moment by moment. And when you have a good reaction time (or prediction time) to get the shot where you have managed to successfully focus.

So, for example, trackside at Donington at, say, Coppice shooting at the expected apex the depth of field is about 1 car length. And taking into account car width and the potetnail for being marginally off-line, a saloon size car will, for practical purposes, be a frame filler.

Shooting through the safety fences puts one a little further back and so is less sensitive to distance view restrictions.

Still, those opportunities seem to be gone as there is no way I could lug the kit around to the furthest part of the track from the currently used parking area at Donington and even with a car pass it is rare that one can get a car out of the paddock and around the outer track these days.

Mallory also has new constraints but not quite as bad as Donington (at least not the last time I tried it).

At Silverstone, I doubt even the 600 is really long enough and the degree of driver precision required if using a pre-focus technique is likely to be lacking for all but professional drivers and the very best amateurs. There are some options at Cadwell but the results are a bit limited. At least the car can be used.

I don't know Snetterton well enough to comment.

Brands, last time I was there, was interesting but not great. OK if one is parked in the Paddock and so have the car at least somewhat close by.

I don't think I took it out of the car on my Croft trips. There isn't really anywhere one could use it effectively in preference to a 400mm on a crop body which is what I have with my 70-200 L F2.8 IS Mk 2 plus a 2x adapter. so 140-400 but more often than not on a 1.3 crop sensor so closer to 180- 520.

On the plus side, looking at the ads for them these days, I could probably sell it for what I paid for it about 15 years ago. Which is not too bad.

Are any third party manufacturers doing push-pull zooms these days?

[GORDON STREETER]

I'll send a message back to base to see if we have anything that might suit as I am in Spain for a while. One of the best lenses that I have is a Vivitar 70-210 push/pull that could be adapted to fit but won't work with the auto side on modern Digi gear.