p.1 #1 · Surf Photography from Beach which lens???
Am rather new to photography and this forum and seek advise about what lens to get for surf photography from the beach and other sports photography such as mountain boarding. I have just bought a canon 400d as my first DSLR and I am looking to get a reasonably sharp zoom lens. I do not have a massive budget so the 300mm f2.8 and higher are out of the questions.
I was thinking about a
sigma 200mm f2.8 or canon 200mm f2.8 (non is) and then add a convertor but I am not sure of the sharpness and if it would be fast enough.
sigma 100-300 F4
sigma 50-500 - Is this fast enough at low light or grey days?
or if I save up for longer the canon 100-400
Any thoughts or advise would be welcome as I am rather clueless.
p.1 #2 · Surf Photography from Beach which lens???
Well, for about $1000 you can get the 400mm f5.6 lens. It is sharp enough to take a 1.4x teleconverter and still get nice photos. If you get the less expensive Tamron 1.4x (about $110), it will still autofocus with your 400D. Because of the electronics in the converter, the camera doesn't know it's there. That's why it will still autofocus with that lens. If you're not sure why that's important or how it can work, just ask.
The Canon 100-400 might be another choice but it's a little more expensive and doesn't work quite as well with teleconverters. TC's are generally better on prime lenses.
Here are some sample shots from the 400 f5.6 + Tamron 1.4x Haven't used that combination for a while but I still have it.
These are from the shore, but the surfers were not way out there. It was during the US Open of Surfing in California, 2005
I think the first one was without the converter, the rest were with it. http://www.pbase.com/gary/image/46700079.jpg http://www.pbase.com/gary/image/46619733.jpg http://www.pbase.com/gary/image/46700078.jpg http://www.pbase.com/gary/image/46959790.jpg http://www.pbase.com/gary/image/46959791.jpg
p.1 #3 · Surf Photography from Beach which lens???
Nice photos!! 3rd is my favourite. I had not thought about a prime lens. Is a F5.6 usually fine in most conditions or do they tend to work best in sunny days (as sample shots).
p.1 #4 · Surf Photography from Beach which lens???
I know you said zoom, but I'd go with the 300mm f4 IS, or non-IS used if you can find a good deal on one. I'm not a huge fan of the 200f2.8. It is great optically, but seems to lack focusing performance a little. I had one briefly, and the 135mm f2 seemed to run rings around it in terms of responsiveness.
I just got back from Sandy Beach on Oahu. On full frame I was shooting a 400mm with and without the 1.4x teleconverter. A 200mm on a crop will be a 320mm, a 300mm will be a 480mm. I'd go with the longer lens.
Sandy's breaks really close to the shore, as far as surf spots go. North shore, the surfers are about 4-5 times as far away, so there with a 600mm and teleconverters, you're still wishing you had more.
There is a guy the works with the surf schools in Waikiki who uses a 600mm for pictures of the students, and they seem happy enough. I think he was using a 1DmkII, so he gets the 1.3x bump on length.
I think the 300mm is probably a good place to start, if it's within your budget. It has a huge following. 1.4x next. The 400mm f5.6L is probably sharper, but will not af with the 1.4x on your body, and has no IS--not that you'll use it for surf pictures anyway.
Are you shooting in the U.K.? I didn't know there was much surfing there. You might have to up the iso a bit, Hawaii has tons of light. U.K. I would imagine not so much.
p.1 #6 · Surf Photography from Beach which lens???
Yep going to mainly be shooting in the UK so light be an issue, lots of grey days unlike Hawaii. Judging from the posts I guess the 200mm just does not have the reach.
As far as reach, it really depends on the beach. At Sandy's the body boarders are probably only 35 feet off the shore. So there 400mm is sometimes a bit long. The surfers end up kicking out about 60 feet out, so they're pretty close. Lanakai, they're more like a mile or two out, so no lens will help you (though I've never tried the 1200mm). North Shore, somewhere in between, so it really depends where the waves are breaking.
Edited by chingbaby on Jan 05, 2007 at 08:31 PM GMT
p.1 #8 · Surf Photography from Beach which lens???
A f5.6 lens will work fine on average cloudy days. If the clouds were getting very dark and it looked like it was about to start pouring rain, it might not be fast enough. But you probably won't be staying outside then anyway.
I often used the 400 f5.6 on a monopod. You can still easily hand-hold it in reasonably good lighting, but on an overcast day a monopod would probably be advisable. Hand-holding a 400mm lens takes a little practice to hold it steady.
A monopod makes it very comfortable to shoot for long sessions because it supports the weight for you. When I was at the US Open, everybody with big lenses had them on monopods or tripods. 300mm, 400mm, 500mm and 600mm. The 500 and 600 lenses were mainly on tripods.
p.1 #9 · Surf Photography from Beach which lens???
chingbaby wrote:
Are you shooting in the U.K.? I didn't know there was much surfing there. You might have to up the iso a bit, Hawaii has tons of light. U.K. I would imagine not so much.
There's lots of surfing in the UK, but most people wear wet-suits, even in the summer!
p.1 #10 · Surf Photography from Beach which lens???
Stuart Bell wrote:
There's lots of surfing in the UK, but most people wear wet-suits, even in the summer!
Stuart
I learn something every day. I can understand why they wear wetsuits. Though, being the baby I am, I'll wear a half suit sometimes in the winter in Hawaii!
p.1 #11 · Surf Photography from Beach which lens???
Stuart Bell wrote:
chingbaby wrote:
Are you shooting in the U.K.? I didn't know there was much surfing there. You might have to up the iso a bit, Hawaii has tons of light. U.K. I would imagine not so much.
There's lots of surfing in the UK, but most people wear wet-suits, even in the summer!
Stuart
I have just pulled out the gloves, boots and hood. getting very chilli in the water.
p.1 #12 · Surf Photography from Beach which lens???
We're still sailing even in Sweden....its getting a bit cold though.
About the lense choice, if your getting into surfin and windsurfing photography, consider where you will be publishing your pics. If you intend to post them on the internet (which many do) I would start out with a shorten lense and crop. This will beoth give you much more margin of error with the framing and at the same time sometimes let more of the environment be a part of it too. I suppose you will also not ONLY du surfing but might want some all round lenses too. I friend of mine has takes some very nice windurfing pics with a EF 70-200/4 + 1.4x. This is a super versatile lense which keeps quality excellently with the canon TC. You can also often find these puppies at an incredibly good price used (many are changing to the IS version, I think). You will of course loose some f-stops compared to a 200/2.8 primem so you have to think about if you gonna do kind of documentary surfing shooting (which in the UK will mean lot of bad weather where you want every bit of light availiable) or if you're after the good shots which will mean that you're gonna be looking for days with good light anyway.
The 70-200 will still be a good lense in your quiver when you later go for a bigger prime lense like a 300 or 400.
But if you are really dedicated I would go for the 400/5.6 (can be found used but you may have to look for a while). This will give you pro quality and on most spots which are good for photographing you can get away with 400mm + a bit of cropping (remember you also have the 1.6 crop factor in the camera).
For some more versatility the 300/4 + 1.4x will be it (IS if you can afford it). The non IS version aslo frequently comes up on the used market but is usually a fair bit more expensive than the 70-200/4. The 300 gives you the option of not using the TC on days with bad light (abd maybe crop instead) to gain an f-stop.
I would say any of these lenses with the EF converters are fast enough when it comes to AF. When you start to go past 5.6 (ie 400/5.6+ cnverter, 300/4 +2x converter etc) your in more difficult terrritory and you will need very good contrast for the AF to work and with a canon original TC the AF will be turned off.
p.1 #14 · Surf Photography from Beach which lens???
300mm is the minimum in my opinion if you only have one lens to shoot with. you will regret going with the 70-200 as your only lens for surf unless you are shooting off a ski. 400mm f/5.6 is really the best choice for a single lens for surf. Fast AF and sharp. I've used every lens mentioned in this thread and for surf lens on a budget, I'd go with the 400.
If you are more into pulled back lineup or environmental shots, consider the 300. It is good with the 1.4x and the AF is good enough with that combination.
300 would be my choice if I was seeking a more versatile lens.
p.1 #15 · Surf Photography from Beach which lens???
I've been shooting surf now in the UK for several years. Here the waves tend to break further out than our oversea's friends due to shallow gradient of the sand so you really need as much reach as possible. If I had to sell the 600mm and had to stick to a tighter budget I'd definately go back to the 400L 5.6, the quality and AF is stunning in good light and more than good enough in overcast conditions, which we have a lot of. You can go a 1.4tc but the AF will struggle in less than perfect conditions and at F8 your going to suffer with the shutter speed, but without you'll be able to crop in and retain good quality so dont worry. I've seen these go for £600 used so they really are a winner.
p.1 #16 · Surf Photography from Beach which lens???
Hi.
I'm doing a lot of surf-shooting over on the westcoast of Norway, and I would guess that the weather would be the same issue here as over at your's Gavin.
For the last 4 years I've been using Sigma's 120-300/2.8, excellent lens, and when the sky is grey (all winter, when the swell is good) I'm happy to have 2.8 on my lens
Have some surf and windsurf pix @ www.tsfoto.com all shoot with the 120-300.
p.1 #18 · Surf Photography from Beach which lens???
Anzxio:
Just out of interest, where are you planning on shooting in the UK?
I am in the north west so tend to go to North Wales and the east coast to surf and get down to Croyde or Cornwall now and again. I am also intending to go to Oz later this year so wish to use it over there.
p.1 #20 · Surf Photography from Beach which lens???
raffman wrote:
I've been shooting surf now in the UK for several years. Here the waves tend to break further out than our oversea's friends due to shallow gradient of the sand so you really need as much reach as possible. If I had to sell the 600mm and had to stick to a tighter budget I'd definately go back to the 400L 5.6, the quality and AF is stunning in good light and more than good enough in overcast conditions, which we have a lot of. You can go a 1.4tc but the AF will struggle in less than perfect conditions and at F8 your going to suffer with the shutter speed, but without you'll be able to crop in and retain good quality so dont worry. I've seen these go for £600 used so they really are a winner.
getting very chilli in the water.