lambertpix
No longer a newbie, moving up!
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2013
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- Columbus, OH
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I've got the Canon 70-300 IS USM -- I switched to this lens from the 55-250. I think it's an improvement, both in reach and in quality, but only marginally. If you're looking for something a little better than what you've got, that'll be a step in the right direction. If you're looking for something a *lot* better than what you've got, you'll need an extra zero or so on your budget.
The 70-300 isn't super-fast at f/5.6 at 300mm, and I've found it to be slightly soft wide-open and zoomed-in, so plan on stopping down to f/7.1 or so. At that aperture, you'll be glad you're shooting outdoors, because you'll need all the light you can get. I've used this lens to shoot swim meets, for instance, and it's really, really hard to get anything decent with indoor lighting -- you really need to be closer to f/2.8, which is pricy glass at that length. This lens has a two-mode IS, which is great for panning -- but only if you pay attention to what you're doing and set the IS mode correctly ahead of time. I've used that mode with some success shooting cars, but I doubt it would do you much good for soccer.
All things being equal, if you can't get a super-fast lens, you might find you'd benefit from positioning yourself close to where you expect some action, then do a great job with the stuff that happens near you -- forget about the stuff that's out of reach.
The 70-300 isn't super-fast at f/5.6 at 300mm, and I've found it to be slightly soft wide-open and zoomed-in, so plan on stopping down to f/7.1 or so. At that aperture, you'll be glad you're shooting outdoors, because you'll need all the light you can get. I've used this lens to shoot swim meets, for instance, and it's really, really hard to get anything decent with indoor lighting -- you really need to be closer to f/2.8, which is pricy glass at that length. This lens has a two-mode IS, which is great for panning -- but only if you pay attention to what you're doing and set the IS mode correctly ahead of time. I've used that mode with some success shooting cars, but I doubt it would do you much good for soccer.
All things being equal, if you can't get a super-fast lens, you might find you'd benefit from positioning yourself close to where you expect some action, then do a great job with the stuff that happens near you -- forget about the stuff that's out of reach.