Best Canon Telephoto for $600?

[JamieR]

My 50mm 1.8 came today, picking the 40D up monday, but would like a decent telephoto lens to add to my "kit".

I've read that some have great range but take very poor quality photos. I would like to know from people who have some experience with a decent lens in my budget.

I am willing to spend upto $600, so any suggestions would be very helpful.

Thanks,
Jamie.

 

[Big Mike]

The 70-200mm F4 L....is $599. It's a very, very good lens. Really, the only downside is that there are three other 70-200mm lenses in the Canon line up, that are better. The 70-200 F4 IS, the 70-200 F2.8 and the 70-200 F2.8 IS. They are, of course, more expensive though. Also note that Sigma and Tamron have 70-200mm F2.8 lenses that are cheaper than the Canon equivalent.

You could also look at the 70-300mm lenses. The cheapest ones start around $150...but they are near the bottom of the barrel, in terms of image quality. Also, the rather small apertures make them hard to use in anything but bright sunny conditions. Canon has a few different models and Sigma & Tamron have similar lenses as well.
There is a better one, which is the EF 70-300mm F4-5.6 IS. From what I've heard, the image quality is better, plus it has IS...although it still has the small max aperture. It's $549.

Another one you might consider is the 18-200mm IS, although I don't like to recommend these 'super zoom' 10X lenses.

A new one, that I don't know much about, is the EF-S 55-250mm IS. It's only $255.

 

[Dao]

I will say

For telephoto zoom at $600 or lower
EF 70-200mm F/4L USM
EF 70-300mm F/4-5.6 IS USM

 

[JamieR]

Ok great, I will look into these, much appreciated!

 

[cereal83]

70-200 F4 is probably what you should look at.

 

[Montana]

When I first read the post, the Canon 70-200 f/4 popped into mind. At the budget you mentioned, you will get very good image quality from that lens. Its a stellar lens! Even if you go with the 70-200 2.8 IS later on, the f/4 version will still be a viable tool in your kit as it is much lighter in weight for those times you do not need f/2.8 and do not want to lug the extra weight around.

Derrick

 

[250Gimp]

I"ll vote for the 70-200 f4 as well!! I have one and it is a great lense. Later on if you need more reach it takes a 1.4x teleconverter fairly well to.

Cheers

 

[Josh66]

I don't even know why I'm posting this, since everyone else has already said the same thing...But-

The 70-200 f/4L is the only lens you need to look at for your budget. You may want to increase the budget just a little and throw in a tripod collar too. I can't remember how much that is...around $60, I think.


EDIT
Here is the tripod collar for the 70-200 f/4L. It costs more than I thought - $150.

Still worth it, to me. Plus if the lens weighs more than the body, you should be using one anyway. (This lens does weigh more than my bodies, not sure how much the 40D weighs...)

 

[JamieR]

The 40D weighs 740g

The 70-200mm f/4L weighs 705g

Would this mean i wouldn't need the mount? That it allot of money just for a mount.

 

[Josh66]

I think it would be safe to go without it. Probably actually safer, since the camera is heavier. Whichever is heavier is what the tripod should be attached to.

The tripod collars are convenient though - being able to smoothly and quickly move from landscape to portrait orientation.

 

[JamieR]

Thanks for the advice, i appreciate it.

It seems i will need one in the future when i get a bigger lens, i agree about being convenient to have.

How do you feel about third party mounts? Instead of ones made by Canon?

Would you be ok with using one like this:

Tripod Mount Ring For Canon 70-200mm 300mm f4 IS AII(W) on eBay, also, Tripods Supports, Digital Camera Accessories, Photography (end time 21-May-09 06:36:26 BST)

I know it's a big step down in price, which might reflect its reliability. What do you think?

 

[fast1]

hmm don't think its reliable, wouldn't get that if i were you

 

[Josh66]

Would you be ok with using one like this:

Tripod Mount Ring For Canon 70-200mm 300mm f4 IS AII(W) on eBay, also, Tripods Supports, Digital Camera Accessories, Photography (end time 21-May-09 06:36:26 BST)

I know it's a big step down in price, which might reflect its reliability. What do you think?

I would be suspisious, but for that kind of savings it would be hard to not at least try it.

There's not many things that can go wrong with a tripod collar. The only one I can think of is that it might come open when you don't want it to. Camera goes crashing to the ground. That would not be good.

As cheap as it is, it probably wouldn't hurt to try it. You should be able to tell before you ever even mount it to the lens if it is good. If you can make it come open when it shouldn't, I wouldn't use it.

 

[250Gimp]

I have a mount from Hong Kong that I got for $20 shipped to my door and it is excellent!! Fits the 70-200 f4 perfectly, and looks like the canon ones.

Your choice.

 

[CxThree]

The 70-200mm F4L is great. I liked it so much that I kept it and still use if for a lighter alternative to my 70-200MM F2.8IS. Its lighter and a great lens in situations condusive to F4. I own the F2.8L IS for low light settings like weddings.