The other day I did a post about using a ridiculously large and expensive lens. 600mm f/4
I used two other expensive lenses that day… like this one the 200-400 f/4
It’s also a big lens but not near as large.
It’s actually a lens I’d consider buying if I had the money. The range is perfect.
I have the 14-24, 24-70, 70-200 and the next step seems like it’d be the 200-400
I thought it focused fast and had nice sharp images.
I also didn’t have to walk 100ft away to get a person in the picture… but if I wanted I could zoom into 400 and walk a pretty good distance away.
I can also see myself more easily shooting it hand held… though a mono-pod would make it easier to get in focus pictures and not get too tired.
I ended up bumping up the ISO from time to time when I was shooting in darker environments because I was shooting hand held portraits.
Below in order the pictures were taken at 1/250 , 1/160 and 1/80 … not too shabby eh?
I also did some random pictures of the surroundings there on main street in park city
Now I understand that some of those longer telephoto lenses can get pretty heavy and you wrote that you were hand-holding, did you have to brace yourself against walls and stuff in order to keep the shots sharp? If so, does that alter the way that you usually set up your shots?
I ask because (and maybe it’s just me) a couple of these seem like they’re composed just a *little* differently than how you normally compose portraits. (Especially the 7th one down – which is actually my favorite of these, by the way).
These pictures turned out very well! I can see why you would like to purchase this lens. It starts where your other lenses end. I appreciate you showing us the 3 different pictures with the different shutter speeds. I’m also impressed with your focus…I struggle sometimes with large lenses because my arms get tired. I’d love to know what the slowest speed you would actually shoot handheld with a large lens.
I have a 70-200 and I certainly enjoy learning how to use it. I am really liking the sports photography of my kids and a lens with the 200-400 range would be great when you can’t get as close to the action as you would like. Thanks for the examples and shutter speed variations!