At 01:05 PM 1/2/98 +0000, you wrote: > >For several years, the longest lens I've used for railroad photography is a >300mm. Lately, I've been considering purchasing a longer lens, between 300mm >and 600mm. I'd like to get some opinions and recommendations before I sink >the bucks into big glass. > >Danny Johnson
I own a Canon EOS 400mm 2.8L. While I like to be able to use it as much as possible, it is usually too much lense for a given situation. Above 300mm for railroad photography becomes a specialty lense much like being able to use a fish eye wide angle. Knowing that the practicality of using a 400mm or longer lense is rather limited, I wouldn't recommend one any slower than 2.8. The reason being the need for speed to freeze the movement of the train. Any lense slower than 2.8 will restrict its use even further by requiring full sun to get a shutter speed fast enough. Depending on the make and model of the 300mm you already have, a 1.4 or 2.0 tele-converter would probably prove just as good as getting a longer lense and a whole lot cheaper. The big fast glass for even professional photographers is really not cost effective unless the majority of your work is sports or wildlife photography. I would highly recommend the use of the same manufacturers tele-converters to use with the lense you already have. There is a certain advantage to using two items that were designed to be used together. I purchased my 400mm used. Do I regret it? No! Can I justify its cost? No! Do I use it very much? No! Is it difficult to travel on a plane with? Yes! Would I buy one again? Not sure! Charlie -> SPORRS: Serious Photographers of Railroad Related Subjects -> Web Site: http://www.anet-stl.com/acphotog/sporrs
