Ideal zoom lens on a budget... ?

W00DPUSHING

W00DPUSHING

Active member
Working with the t2i hacked with ML and I predominately shoot skateboarding and therefore long lens needs zoom! What's the ideal lens with decent length that will allow me to zoom in video mode without changing the aperture, I need the camcorder feel on long lens! :) cheers,
 
keep in mind that with such a long lens even IS may not be enough to get useable footage: I haven't tried the 70-200 f/2.8L IS or the 70-200 f/4L IS, but I guess at 200mm there's no option but a tripod (more experienced users: please comment)
 
Well I've been debating with myself, save up for a hpx which will be an all round great camera and the panny rocker zoom is amazing! but if I can find a decent near to far range long lens with constant aperture that will allow me to zoom smoothly then im game.
 
I have a 70-200 F4 L IS. The IS will allow you to hand hold shots at 200mm if you are a very steady person to begin with. If you are super skilled you might be able to zoom while recording hand held a bit. I wouldn't want to be the one to tell your buddy you blew the zooming when he hit a 23 stair rail crooked grind first try though :)

Your success rate with a zooming shot like that would be on par with your skaters hitting tricks first try. The odds of both of you hitting it on the same take would go down radically. A very good fluid head and beefy tripod will bring up the odds significantly, but between the lens and a high quality tripod/fluid head combo it will set you back almost as much as just buying the HPX170.

On a side note the 70-200 F4 L IS is one of the sharpest zoom lenses Canon makes IMHO. It also creates an appearant short depth of field that defies the F4 aperature. Longer lenses tend to create an appearant short depth of field that you can't get with wider lenses. I specifically chose this lens as it's almost half the weight of the f2.8 L IS II. Add that they can be found for as little at $900 used in perfect condition and you'll have an incredible still image lens that will do some pretty spectacular zooming in video mode.

Just remember that zooming with one of these is going to be orders of magnitude more difficult than with a proper video camera.

Cheers,
Pete
 
W00DPUSHING said:
What's the ideal lens ... allow me to zoom in video mode without changing the aperture, I need the camcorder feel on long lens! :) cheers,
Click to expand...

No lens is ideal. An inexpensive 75-300 IS lens shooting at f5.6 or f8 can satisfy all your stated requirements. It's long, cheap, light, stays constant in aperture, and attracts little attention (as compared to all 70-200 L lenses). Is it "ideal"?

None of Canon photo lenses delivers a butter smooth zoom feel. They are not camcorders anyway. Fortunately, in shooting professional video lazy zoom is rarely needed.
 
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