Which 70 or 75 to 300mm for 400D under £200?

[oobster]

Folks,

I am looking to purchase a 70 or 75 to 300 lens in the next couple of weeks and I am unsure which one to go for. Budget is under £200 so no L-spec glass. Lens will be used with my Canon EOS 400D.

Choices are:

1. Canon EF 75-300mm f4-5.6 III Lens (around £198)
2. Sigma 70-300mm f4-5.6 APO Macro Super DG Lens (around £179)
3. Sigma 70-300mm f4-5.6 Macro DG Lens (around £129)
4. Tamron 70-300mm f4-5.6 Di LD Macro Lens (around £134)

Or any others you helpful people at PH might suggest

Preference is to buy new (rather than 2nd-hand off eBay or the likes with no warranty).

There is no specific subject matter I want to capture - I just want to gain experience of using a zoom lens. It will be mounted on a tripod & the camera's self timer will be used for static scenes so I don't need any sort of IS at this point. (Or do I?)

I've had a wee browse round the reviews on fredmiranda and looked at the Which Lens wiki at the top of the forum but I would still value your opinions. At the moment i'm leaning towards the Sigma APO lens.

Cheers!

[jon-]

Can't...help...myself... Canon 100-400L - it's epic

(sorry, I don't have any experience with anything in that range other than the 100-400)

[SamHH]

All I can say is that I've got the USM version of that Canon lens and given the limitations you'd expect, it seems fine.

[bobbylondonuk]

if you can get the canon IS lens on the 70-300..that is the best one but it is higher than your budget.

the next choice is the sigma APO lens...much better than non APO version.

[Seight_Returns]

I had the Tamron and was never very happy with it - got a few good shots in very good light when stopped right down but mostly found it too soft. Replaced it with the Canon 70-300 f4-5.6 IS which I'm very happy with but a bit more than you're looking to spend.

Slightly different range but the Canon EF-S 55-250 IS gets good reviews and is about what you want to spend.

Edited by Seight_Returns on Tuesday 18th August 15:16

[JohnS]

How about the new(ish) Canon 55-250 IS lens, which you can get for under £200. Supposed to be good picture quality, and the IS will come in handy at the longer end if you ever hand hold.

Edited by JohnS on Tuesday 18th August 15:28

[RobDickinson]

Canons 75-300 isnt so hot, the 70-300IS is prtty decent but what 300+?

Get the 55-250IS a great piece of kit and by far the best in that market.

[Glosphil]

If you have a friend going to the States ask them to bring you one back.

I got the Canon EF 75-300mm f4-5.6 III (USM version) lens for under £100, although the exchange rate was a little better then.

[oobster]

Many thanks for all the advice folks - much appreciated. I may go for the Canon 55-250 IS, i'll have a wee think about it further before buying.

Simply Electronics are doing the Canon 55-250 IS for £155 - anyone have any experience with this company?

[10JH]

I got the Tamron for my girlfriend and she has taken some good photos with it, its not too bad for Macro either. I looked at the Sigma equivalent but found it a fair bit heavier. Her lens has also survived quite a few drops and was not particularly well looked after on or travels, but it still works great!

[oobster]

Here's another question for you helpful lot.

If I was to purchase the EF-S 55-250 IS Canon lens, is it possible to get an extender CHEAPLY?

I know you can get 1.4X and 2X extenders for EF lenses from Canon but they are more than the price of the EF-S lens!

[RobDickinson]

oobster said:

Here's another question for you helpful lot.

If I was to purchase the EF-S 55-250 IS Canon lens, is it possible to get an extender CHEAPLY?

I know you can get 1.4X and 2X extenders for EF lenses from Canon but they are more than the price of the EF-S lens!

No.

The extenders wont fit that lens anyhow, [hysicaly the back of the lens will intrude into the extenders glass.

Teleconvertors are for fast sharp glass, you loose a stop or two of light (this your f5.6 lens +1 or 2 stops wont autofocus and will look very dim in the view finder. You also loose sharpness and quality which is OK on a 400/f2.8.. not so on a cheap zoom..

[VxDuncan]

Option 2 (great lens, and you'll be pleasantly surprised by the macro (bit slow to focus though, but can't have everything at this price range). NEVER go for option 3. Monumental amounts of chormatic abberation (purple fringing). Save your money usless you want the readybrek effect on everyphoto.

(I've owned both btw, so feel fairly well qualified to judge)

[plg101]

(copied from my other post)

Don't be afraid to buy second hand. Plenty of reputable dealers about (and under list price is possible for new)

Many offer a "wanted list" and will call you when they get one...

Personally I have had very good experiences with:

www.parkcameras.com
www.mxv.co.uk
www.mifsuds.com/usedpriceindex.htm
www.mpbphotographic.co.uk
https://secure.ffordes.com/shop/Store/index.htm

You'll get more for your money... and at least 1 month warranty / often 3 months.

[darich]

RobDickinson said:

oobster said:

Here's another question for you helpful lot.

If I was to purchase the EF-S 55-250 IS Canon lens, is it possible to get an extender CHEAPLY?

I know you can get 1.4X and 2X extenders for EF lenses from Canon but they are more than the price of the EF-S lens!

No.

The extenders wont fit that lens anyhow, [hysicaly the back of the lens will intrude into the extenders glass.

Teleconvertors are for fast sharp glass, you loose a stop or two of light (this your f5.6 lens +1 or 2 stops wont autofocus and will look very dim in the view finder. You also loose sharpness and quality which is OK on a 400/f2.8.. not so on a cheap zoom..

i use a Canon 2x TC on my 5D along with my 100-400L and even though the lens is 4.5-5.6 which doubles to f11 with the TC on, the shots are pretty good when i get the manual focus bang on. Even with f11 the background has a really nice bokeh to it. I got some shots of a sparrow chick in NYC from about 15ft and the chick was too big for the frame!!

[Roger645]

I have the Tamron and can't say I would recommend it. It needs good light and is a bit slow to focus and hunts sometimes. Spend the money and buy once/cry once.

[Gemm]

Canon 100-300mm is much better than any of the ones mentioned above, e.g. ring USM (faster & quieter AF, non-rotating front element etc), full-time manual focus (which to me is essential), better build and image quality. I think it's around £200 too (not 100% sure).

EDIT: but be careful as there are different versions. The one I'm talking about it the one with a little focus distance window non the barrel.

Edited by Gemm on Monday 24th August 08:26

[oobster]

Cheers for all the advice folks, i've just ordered the 55-250 IS from camerabox, hopefully it'll arrive on Monday.