new here, looking for lens advice

[wcc963]

well im new here and looking to get some advice on a lens for my new Canon T2i, im going to mainly be shooting aircraft landing/taking off and airshows. so im looking for a good tlelephoto lens in the ~$600.00 range. i'd love to have one of the canon L series but just can't afford it at the moment, but sometime in the future i will get one. im interested in the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens but im looking to get some input on what other think would be a good lens for the job

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

I've heard that the 70-300mm IS, is a decent lens...but it's still a 'slow' lens, being that it's max aperture is only F4.5-5.6. That may not be too much of an issue, if you are shooting under bright light, which I would expect during an air show. But when the light isn't great, this lens might struggle. And while IS is a nice feature to have, it only helps to fight blur from camera shake, not from moving objects...only a faster shutter speed will do that. So getting a lens with a larger max aperture, is a better choice for shooting moving subjects.

You are not too far off (budget wise) from the 70-200mm F4 L. Which is an outstanding lens...but F4 isn't as good as it's more expensive cousin, F2.8 and if you want IS on either the F4 or F2.8 version, it gets a lot more expensive.
You might also consider a 70-200 F2.8 from Sigma or Tamron.
You would loose 100mm, compared to a 70-300mm...so it's up to you, which is more important.

 

[wcc963]

thanks for the info, since most of my shooting will be without a tripod, would it pay to get the the 2.8 IS over the non-IS. and besides airshows i'll be shooting local wildlife as well... i'll be starting another thread in a little bit with some of the photos i've taken over the past few days for C&C.

 

[GooniesNeverSayDie11]

The 70-300 is a great lens, I used to own it and if you are shooting outdoors, this lens will be more than capable for airshows or birds or whatever. It also pairs fairly well with a 1.4x teleconverter. ( if you get a good one like the kenko pro300 ) You could probably get both of them used for under your $600 budget.