SamYang 500mm or 800mm

[Caryl_Stuffertz]

I have a Canon eos1000d. I usually shoot with a 55-300mm canon lens. I do surfing and windsurfing photography. The problem thay I have is that i can't zoom enough.

Because I'm not a Pro I dont want to pay very much for the lens/teleconverter.

I saw the SamYang 500mm F/6.3 and the Samyang 800mm F/8.0. They are cheap, but I've read some good reviews.

What do you suggest? Stay with 300mm, buy a teleconverter for my 300mm, buy the SamYang 500mm or the 800mm.

 

[ronlane]

At f/6.3 and f/8.0, I think you may loose the autofocus on those lenses. (Not 100% sure there). I would think that would make shooting surfing "fun". I know that is how they did it back in the day, that is why I said it would be fun.

 

[Caryl_Stuffertz]

Yeah, there isnt Autofocus on the lenses. But I think it makes shooting great pictures a bit more challenging. I dont think thats bad.

 

[Derrel]

Neither lens is all that expensive...I think the 500mm f/6.3 mirror lens might be useful, although focusing on mirror lenses is kind of tricky on moving subjects...focus is very critical with a 500mm focal length. I've used 300/5.6 mirror. 600/8, and 500mm f/8 long-focus (the inexpensive $99 500mm f/8 show on Amazon)...the focusing is the biggest issue with these lenses. These are all manual focusing lenses, and the viewfinder screens in modern d-slrs make hand-and-eye focus ascertainment kind of tricky. LUCKILY, a lot of the surfing stuff would be done at some distance, so there is a band of focus, perhaps 8 feet, where you'll have sharp focus.

I would NOT buy a teleconverter for a 55-300 lens. I used to shoot windsurfing in the late 1980's a bit, using a 300/2.8 internal focus with a 1.4x converter on it, for a 420mm/f4,and it was "okay"...but the viewfinder screens in the cameras of that era were MUCH better for focusing by hand and eye. Still...the mirror lens is like $139...it's worth a try at that price I think.

 

[fotograph]

Manual focus only, soft, poor contrast, donut shaped bokeh, very difficult to shoot handheld.

it's cheap enough that it might be fun to play with, but I would think it would be VERY difficult to use for any sports.

 

[Caryl_Stuffertz]

I always shoot with a super steady tripod. I think I will go for the 500mm. Will there be a huge difference in distance of zooming between 300mm and 500mm?

This is shot with 300mm

 

[Derrel]

A 500mm lens is noticeably narrower in angle of view than a 300mm lens. So, yes, there is a significant difference.

 

[Derrel]

Highest pixel-count image from a string of five frames, done with the Nikkor 300mm f/4 AF-S lens, from a little over 500 feet.

SMALL-size JPEG-Fine SOOC image, best of five shots, manually focused, made with $99 500mm f/8 preset lens, from a little over 500 feet away.

 

[beagle100]

I have a Canon eos1000d. I usually shoot with a 55-300mm canon lens. I do surfing and windsurfing photography. The problem thay I have is that i can't zoom enough.

Because I'm not a Pro I dont want to pay very much for the lens/teleconverter.

I saw the SamYang 500mm F/6.3 and the Samyang 800mm F/8.0. They are cheap, but I've read some good reviews.

What do you suggest? Stay with 300mm, buy a teleconverter for my 300mm, buy the SamYang 500mm or the 800mm.

I would say wait, save a little more and get a better lens. such as a used Canon lens (100-400 V1, 400mm) or one of the Tamron / Sigma 150-600, etc.

(Canon 60D with original 100-400 V1
400mm cropped

 

[480sparky]

..........I usually shoot with a 55-300mm canon lens.....
What do you suggest? .....buy a teleconverter for my 300mm,.........

Bad idea. Very bad. To begin with, you'll lose autofocus ability. There just won't be enough light reaching the AF module for it to function.

That lens, at 300mm, is already a slow/dim f.5.6. Toss on a 1.4xTC, and it becomes an f/8. A 1.7xTC makes it f/9.5, and a 2xTC, while a 600mm would be tempting, will become an impossible-to-focus f/11. And at those apertures, even seasoned pros would struggle to focus manually.