Wednesday, April 17, 2013

[Review] Canon 400mm 2.8 IS II, 300mm 2.8 IS, 200mm 2.0 IS for Sports Photography

Summary: The 400mm, 300mm, and 200mm dilemma. Lots of people asked me which big white-lens to get. Hopefully this post will help some of you out. 

Overall impressions of the lenses:

Canon 400mm 2.8 IS II
(the most essential of the three in my experience)
+ bokeh is amazing
+ 400mm is just perfect in many situations
+ weight is dramatically reduced from version I
+ the best heavy kit lens (400mm 2.8, 560mm 4.0, 800mm 5.6)
+ 70-200mm or the 200mm is a very nice companion
- it is still big and heavy
- not as sharp as the 300 or the 200

Canon 300mm 2.8 IS 
(the least essential of the three in my experience)
+ very sharp
+ much lighter than the 400mm (especially with the II)
+ 300mm is not bad at all
+ the best middle ground kit lens (300mm 2.8, 420mm 4.0, 600mm 5.6)
+ better for beginners (400mm might be too tight)
- it is a middle ground lens, meaning, in many situations, 400mm does it better

Canon 200mm 2.0 IS
(the lens that gave me the most unique images out of the three in my experience)
+ bokeh- oh my goodness, gives you very special images
+ 2.0 is good for low light
+ AF is very reliable
+ Much lighter than the 400mm
- 200mm is not long enough
- somewhat a specialty lens
- not very good with extenders- I don't really bother

This is my list of recommendations for lens/sports combo (using a full-framed camera)

Canon 400mm 2.8 IS II
- Football
- Rugby
- Soccer (may need an extender-- the field is huge)
- Track and Field
- Waterpolo
Rugby with the 400mm gives you a good half-quarter field shots
(Shot with the Canon 400mm 2.8 IS II)

400mm gives you nice and tight shots in waterpolo
(Shot with the Canon 400mm 2.8 IS II)

Nice bokeh and subject isolation for football
(Shot with the Canon 400mm 2.8 IS II)

400mm simply does things better than the 300mm
(Shot with the Canon 400mm 2.8 IS II)

Canon 300mm 2.8 IS
- Basketball (for opposite court-side)
- Track and Field (I prefer 400mm but 300mm is good)
- Waterpolo (I prefer 400mm but 300mm is good)

300mm gives you a wider view than the 400mm
(Shot with the Canon 300mm 2.8 IS)

The 300mm may yield higher keeper rates than 400mm
(Shot with the Canon 300mm 2.8 IS)

Canon 200mm 2.0 IS
- Tennis
- Swimming
- Gymnastics
- Basketball (for half to your court-side)

Very unique shots with the 200mm
(Shot with the Canon 200mm 2.0 IS)



The sharpness is fantastic and AF works so well
(Shot with the Canon 200mm 2.0 IS)


The bokeh is breath taking
(Shot with the Canon 200mm 2.0 IS)


The 200mm works very well in low-light indoor sports
(Shot with the Canon 200mm 2.0 IS)


A specialty lens that will make your work standout
(Shot with the Canon 200mm 2.0 IS)


Canon 200mm 300mm 400mm 2.8 f/2.8 is i ii



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