Digital lens question

Sharon Kay

Sharon Kay

New member
Ok...I **THINK** I want to get this lens:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/539396-REG/Tamron_AF001C_700_70_200mm_f_2_8_Di_LD.html#specifications

Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 Di LD (IF) Macro AF Lens for Canon EOS

...but what does THIS mean...

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM Lens

...it compares itself to being lighter than the f2.8 ... but does it let in the same amount of light ... I'm confused ...

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/183198-USA/Canon_2578A002_EF_70_200mm_f_4L_USM.html

What I am HOPING to afford ($800 or less) is a zoom lens hopefully up to 200mm that is about a 2.8 so it will let in a lot of light ... it is for when we are at robotic competitions and I'm up in the stands (i.e. basketball court) and want to zoom in on the robots but the lighting isn't the absolute best.

I have a Sigma 24-70mm 1:2.8 EX DG and it does pretty good ... but just not a far enough zoom for me. ...just don't understand the f/4L and what it means in comparison to a 2.8.

Any ideas? Suggestions? Thanks!
 
Between the two, I'd choose the Tamron. It's a faster lens than the Canon lens which will help in lower light situations.

Oh--keep in mind that the Canon is claiming only to be lighter than the CANON 2.8L, not the Tamron.
 
What I believe they are talking about is how much light the lens lets in. It is really confusing until all of a sudden you get it. ;) Basically, the smaller the number (f/1.2, f/2, f/4, etc) the more light you lens gets. The bigger the f/stop (f/7, f/13, etc.) the less light you get. So, if you are shooting in a gym, you want a small f/stop number. That will allow you lens to get as much light as possible without a flash.

I have this lens with my XTi:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/397663-GREY/Canon_0345B002_EF_70_300mm_f_4_5_6_IS.html

It has the IS or Image Stabilizer. That also helps with keeping your pictures from being blurry. One thing to keep in mind, is that Canon will always make a better lens. You hear over and over to spend the money on your lens, it is worth it. I had a friend by Tamron and end up selling it and buying a Canon lens. She hated it because it just didn't' take good pictures.

Hope that helps!
 
I do have a Quantaray AF LD 70-300mm 1:4-5.6 Tele-Macro (1:2) lens ... it does wonderfully outdoors in sunlight ... but pics are wayyyyyyyyyyy too dark indoors.

I received $800 for Christmas from my parents to use towards a lens...so trying to get the best lens for the money.

...so the Canon one I listed is basically a f/4 where the Tamron is a f/2.8? That "L" after the Canon description was throwing me off I guess.

I've been pleased with the pics from my Sigma lens ... just doesn't have enough of a zoom for me.
 
Well, the L actually stands for "luxury." The L line from Canon is their cream of the crop/top of the line lens. IOW, pricier lenses, better build quality. I wish I could afford some!
 
You can also bump up the ISO. If you get too high you'll see some noise but sometimes it's worth it just to get the shot. You probably already did that, just ignore me ;) I'm a Nikon user so can't comment too much on Canon vs. Tamron lenses. It might be helpful to see if you can rent the Canon and Tamron (sigma, etc) version of the lenses for comparison. Perhaps check amazon for customer ratings too.
 
If you're looking for low light performance, you definitely want to be looking at f/2.8 or less. I think you'd be disappointed in what f/4 would do indoors.

The F stop stands for the maximum aperture of the camera.. a smaller number means it lets more light in. While its not intuitive, f/4 lets in half as much light as f/2.8.

If you have a higher F number, your camera will have to compensate for the lower light with a slower shutter speed or a higher ISO. This can result in blurry and or grainy images. This is why a f/2.8 lens would be called a "faster" lens than an f/4, because it will let in enough light to allow your camera to take the image very quickly, making sure its a sharp photo.
 
I think your question was answered....

I am saving for a Nikkor 70-200 2.8.......ahhhh, one can dream
 
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