Hi, I am thinking of getting a telephoto zoom for shooting sports indoor and outdoor of my son's activities. The one I have right now is somewhat intrusive when I move forward, cause it comes short and it catches the attention of the other kids and they tend to pose for the camera(hehhe cute) and I can clearly see the coach doesn't like it. So I was looking at the lenses above. I like the 100-400 but i'm worried about the f4.5 as being slow indoors, but it does have longer reach. As for the 70-200, I like the fast f2.8 but, comes a bit short. I figure an extender will help(is that right?). Any input is appreciated. Thank you.

hi, Amiel. i have a 70-200L IS myself. and i agree w/ you on the short side of the tele range. so my next purchase would be the EF Extender 2X II (making it a 140-400mm f/5.6). i have this dedicated EOS Magazine (that i subscribe to from the UK) which featured a comparison between the 70-200L f/2.8 and the 100-400L f/4.5-5.6. in summary, the 100-400 is just slightly better than the 70-200 w/ the 2x extender attached. but if you want flexibility, go w/ the 70-200. the f/2.8 aperture can't be beat. you can use it in a variety of shoots. and IMHO the better value. take note that the 1.3 extender will make the lens 1 stop slower, and the 2x 2 stops. but you still retain autofocusing. that's why i think it's the most versatile lens in the Canon lineup. good luck w/ your purchase. :)

I'm using the 1.4x extender and at F4, it's still a lot more workable when used indoors (like auditoriums). I tried the 2x and it was just too much of a compromise and I didn't like the CA.

oh, yeah, thanks dave for the correction. it's the 1.4x, not the 1.3x i was referring to. and your comment on the 2x is also appreciated. hmmm. now i'm wondering what to buy... :)

Thanks Angelo and Dave. It's good to know the 1.4 is still workable indoors. That's one of my concerns as well.

Hi Amiel,

The 100-400 IS is f/5.6 at the long end and that's terribly slow for indoor sports. The 70-200 2.8 IS is a good choice, and you can extend it to 280 f/4 with little loss of quality for outdoor shots.

If you need something longer than that and useable for indoor sports, things get pretty expensive - 300 2.8 IS, 400 2.8 IS, Sigma 120-300 2.8, etc.

Romy

I have the EF 70-200 f2.8 IS, using it with my 20D's internal 1.6x you get an equivalent 320 zoom. I do use my 1.4 Extender (or 2.0 Extender) with my 1D to get the same results as the 20D, and just for kicks you can use the 1.4x and 2.0x Extender at the same time in a 20D (with 20D's 1.6x thats a total of 4.48x!) the image quality decreases though.

I'll be using it it mostly for outdoors during the day. But On occasion it will be indoors like auditoriums and places with low light. There will also be times when i'll need extenders when range is a problem. I wonder how it is on outdoor events at night with stage lights?