Hello airplane lovers
I have a question .. I am looking for a new lens there is so much choice that I do not know which one to choose .. I have these 3 lenses in mind Canon EF 100-400 mm f / 4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens and Sigma 150-600mm 5-6.3 Contemporary DG OS HSM Lens for Canon and the last one the Sigma 60-600mm f / 4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Canon .. Are these good lenses for Aviation photography ??? Or are even better ?? Thanks in advance .. Greetings Tom

There is not one answer for such a question. It depends on your personal quality standards, your budget, your photography style, which camera you have, what and where you want to photograph, etc.

If you definitely don't require more than 400mm the Canon is unrivalled. It is, however, pretty useless if most of your shooting is done between 500 and 600mm (unless you have sufficient resolution to crop). The Sigmas are great for the price and some will tell you their IQ is every bit as good as the Canon's but this is a little disingenuous — put them head to head in a controlled test and the differences are visible. Still, that doesn't mean the Sigmas are a bad option, although I'd discount the 'C' versions as their AF and stabilisation lag behind that of the 'S'.

Once you have determined your preferred focal length range this forum should be better able to assist with your selection.

I have a Canon 6D mark II, and my bugdet is 2000 euro.. and i want to visit airshows and go to some other airports small bigg etc

On a full-frame body the 100-400 might be insufficient for airshow photography, however one solution would perhaps be to buy a relatively cheap APS-C camera to give you more reach. This will effectively give you the 600mm of the Sigmas without compromising image quality, and you'll have the flexibility of both FF and APS-C.

The Sigmas are very good but the EF 100-400L wins every time, and I'd always go with any solution that would allow me to get the best quality images.

JakTrax wrote:

On a full-frame body the 100-400 might be insufficient for airshow photography, however one solution would perhaps be to buy a relatively cheap APS-C camera to give you more reach. This will effectively give you the 600mm of the Sigmas without compromising image quality, and you'll have the flexibility of both FF and APS-C.

The Sigmas are very good but the EF 100-400L wins every time, and I'd always go with any solution that would allow me to get the best quality images.

Or, pick up the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III teleconverter for your EF 100-400 Mark II. It'll get close enough, and the 1.4x TC with the 100-400 Mark II produces excellent results.

What is the best if i go only visit airport and not go for airshow photography????

It really depends on what you mean by 'best'. The lens that offers the best image quality is the Canon 100-400L, and for regular airport photography I'd say it's the best all-rounder. It's also a good airshow lens but perhaps better when used on a body such as the 7D or 90D due to the extra reach.

The 1.4x extender idea above is worth of consideration but is pushing the cost up. Perhaps better to get the lens first and then the extender if you find yourself a bit short of reach. I'd imagine the 100-400L + extender will give similar quality to the Sigma/Tamron 600mm ultra-zooms.

It really does depend on your expectations re image quality. If you want the very best the 100-400L is the lens to get. But it's a lot more expensive than the Sigma ultra-zoom and doesn't go as far. Perhaps you'd be more than satisfied with the image quality from the Sigmas? After all, if you opt not to get the 100-400L you won't miss what you've never had!

Karl

JakTrax wrote:

It really depends on what you mean by 'best'. The lens that offers the best image quality is the Canon 100-400L, and for regular airport photography I'd say it's the best all-rounder. It's also a good airshow lens but perhaps better when used on a body such as the 7D or 90D due to the extra reach.

The 1.4x extender idea above is worth of consideration but is pushing the cost up. Perhaps better to get the lens first and then the extender if you find yourself a bit short of reach. I'd imagine the 100-400L + extender will give similar quality to the Sigma/Tamron 600mm ultra-zooms.

It really does depend on your expectations re image quality. If you want the very best the 100-400L is the lens to get. But it's a lot more expensive than the Sigma ultra-zoom and doesn't go as far. Perhaps you'd be more than satisfied with the image quality from the Sigmas? After all, if you opt not to get the 100-400L you won't miss what you've never had!

Karl

Correct. The Canon 100-400L Mark II is an absolute beast of a lens in terms of image quality. Adding the 1.4x extender does mean you do take a slight hit in IQ, but it will still be sharper than the Sigma or Tamron lenses (especially in the corners), and it should also auto focus well.

An option if you do want the combo is to purchase used or refurbished; plenty of excellent copies of the 100-400L Mark II out there used, along with the 1.4x III extender. It was and still is a very popular lens, and it is my favourite lens out of my collection when using it on the EOS R (and soon, the R5).

So you like the 100-400 better with quality? than the 60-600mm? I think the quality is the most important on the canon 6d mark ii it must of course fit

I want a really good quality lens not a shit lens and how is it with small/big airports the 100-400? its good anough range or??

If image quality is your primary concern and you want to settle for nothing less than the best, the Canon EF 100-400L II is the lens to buy. If in time you need more reach you can purchase either a crop body (such as a used 7D or 70D) or a 1.4x extender (don't bother with the 2x extender as the loss in image quality is far more significant than with the1.4x). The Sigmas aren't 'sh*t', they're just not in the same league as the Canon.

It's a shame the EF system will never see its equivalent of the coveted RF 100-500L.

In answer to your final question, 100-400mm will be absolutely fine for most spots at most airports.

Karl

JakTrax wrote:

If image quality is your primary concern and you want to settle for nothing less than the best, the Canon EF 100-400L II is the lens to buy. If in time you need more reach you can purchase either a crop body (such as a used 7D or 70D) or a 1.4x extender (don't bother with the 2x extender as the loss in image quality is far more significant than with the1.4x). The Sigmas aren't 'sh*t', they're just not in the same league as the Canon.

It's a shame the EF system will never see its equivalent of the coveted RF 100-500L.

In answer to your final question, 100-400mm will be absolutely fine for most spots at most airports.

Karl

You won't be able to autofocus except in Live View mode on EF bodies with the 2x extender. It only works with the new RF mount bodies.

Agree that the Canon EF 100-400L II is an extremely sharp lens; it's easily one of the best lenses Canon has put out. Otherwise, in order to get the reach you want without sacrificing image quality, you are going to have to get one of the more higher end Canon lenses, which are even more expensive.