200 f/2.8 goes sledding!

[michaelb]

So I decided to do a bit of a test. My nieces/nephew were up for the weekend and I took out the 5D and 200 f/2.8 to see how the 5D would fair.

I must admit that in spite of all my bitching about the 5D's AF it did reasonably well - I got more keepers than I would have expected. The hill was a sheet of ice and those sleds were cranking!

The next day we went skiing (downhill) and I brought the 5D/200 f/2.8 and the 40D/100 f/2. I haven't looked over all the skiing shots as critically, but the 40D did do better better, but again the 5D faired better than I expected. The main frustation with the 5D was the slow frame rate and the long mirror blackout time. (If anyone is interested I'll post some of the skiing shots when I have a chance).









Here's a sampling from sledding with the 5D & 200 f/2.8....Most of these have been cropped some....

With the 5D I used AI servo, focusing with the * button, Av, f/5, ISO 400....(I should have shot in manual as I had too much exposure inconsistency that need to be fixed in post)...
http://brownphotography.smugmug.com/photos/475072220_kJtRP-L.jpg


http://brownphotography.smugmug.com/photos/475072222_MbkTN-L.jpg



http://brownphotography.smugmug.com/photos/475072261_WHEe6-L.jpg



http://brownphotography.smugmug.com/photos/475072285_vABzn-L.jpg


I think my wife had as much fun as any of the kids...:D...
http://brownphotography.smugmug.com/photos/475077013_e8JVr-L.jpg



http://brownphotography.smugmug.com/photos/475072280_pwmfH-L.jpg




http://brownphotography.smugmug.com/photos/475072292_4V5eA-M.jpg




My nephew. 40D, 100 f/2 @ f/2, ISO 800 (I'm liking this lens better than the 85 1.8)...
http://brownphotography.smugmug.com/photos/475070961_zLMjW-L.jpg

[Mark_48]

The thread title had me worried :eek:. I envisioned "you" in the sled, throttling down a hill with the 200mm in hand, and heading towards an unmovable, humongous pine tree.... whew, relief...

Got some good looking shots with the lens!!

[cdifoto]

I envisioned "you" in the sled, throttling down a hill with the 200mm in hand, and heading towards an unmovable, humongous pine tree....

That's what I was hoping for too.

Got some good looking shots with the lens!!
Agreed. :D

[24Peter]

40D, 100 f/2 @ f/2, ISO 800 (I'm liking this lens better than the 85 1.8)...

Why? For me I noticed my 85 1.8 has a lot of CA going below F4 (was esp. bad on the 5D II I rented.) How's the CA on the 100/2?

As for 5D AF, just to beat a dead horse, I'll say the AF on the 5D II was fine in normal light - in the light you had for your family snow shots, it would be a complete non-issue (I didn't try the AI Servo though.) It just a got a little slow in low light - still highly accurate, but slower than my 40D say in room light inside in the evening.

[michaelb]

The thread title had me worried :eek:. I envisioned "you" in the sled, throttling down a hill with the 200mm in hand, and heading towards an unmovable, humongous pine tree.... whew, relief...

Got some good looking shots with the lens!!

Thanks Mark.

I didn't take my 5D on the sled, but I did take my 5D and 40D kayaking several times this year, which was potentially even more dangerous....

http://www.dcresource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38628&highlight=kayaking


That's what I was hoping for too.

Agreed. :D

Sorry to disappoint, but I did take both cameras skiing and almost wiped with them several times. :D

[michaelb]

Why? For me I noticed my 85 1.8 has a lot of CA going below F4 (was esp. bad on the 5D II I rented.) How's the CA on the 100/2?...
There are several reasons that I like the 100 f/2 better:

1. First off, my 85 had focus issues and I still didn't completely trust it even after 2 trips to Canon. The 100 seems to have no focusing issues, even at f/2, as you can see.

2. I like the longer FL of the 100, on FF and 1.6X crop.

3. A lot of people talk about the CA of the 85, but I never really noticed it. Supposedly the 100 has even less though.

4. I got the 200 f/2.8 mkI (best Canon lens I've ever used) and the 100 f/2 for about the same price as the 135L.

...As for 5D AF, just to beat a dead horse, I'll say the AF on the 5D II was fine in normal light - in the light you had for your family snow shots, it would be a complete non-issue (I didn't try the AI Servo though.) It just a got a little slow in low light - still highly accurate, but slower than my 40D say in room light inside in the evening.

Yea, the AI servo performance was what surprised me. Those sleds were going really fast and I was very surprised at how many keepers I got - north of 65-70%, and I'm not a sports shooter.

[adam75south]

awesome shots michael. i love seeing genuine expressions in pictures. very cool.

i thought a lot about the 100 f/2 before going with my 85. the 85 has ridiculous purple fringing though, perfect b&w lens, not so great for outdoor color shots. at least anything with serious highlights.