Lens-ish question.

[Chriss]

Alright so I am planning on buying the Rebel XSi and am thinking about lens. I was going to get the kit lens but now i cant decide between getting the kit lens or getting the camera body with a 75-300mm telephoto USM Zoom Lens. I am going to be shooting mainly wildlife like birds or other types of animals but I was wondering- can I use a telephoto lens for landscapes and urban scenes? Because I also want to try those out and I dont know how well the telephoto lens would work in those situations. Thanks!

 

[Overread]

I'd say go for a Sigma 70-300mm f4-5.6 APO DG Macro instead of the canon option. They are in about the same price bracket, but the sigma has a close focusing option (marketing call it macro but its only to around half of what real macro is). This makes it good for flowers, butterfies, dragonflies and some insect grabshots - its a good introduction to the world of macro.

I stared out myself with the 400D and a kit lens and whilst I learnt a lot with the kit lens it was too short for wildlife and nature stuff in general- a sigma lens like the above however was a great release and really gvae me a lot more options to experiment in the area I was interested in.
A kit lens still has uses though - 70mm is quite long and that makes it poor for indoor and other closer work where the kit lens is far better. The kit lens is also a lot wider, making it more suited to landscape work. You can do landscape with a 70-300mm lens certainly, you can do landscape with any lens, but often you want a wider field of view rather than a smaller one - also if you read up on hyperfocal distance and focusing with regard to landscape work wider angle lenses are much better than telephotos (long lenses).

 

[Chriss]

Now that Macro lens you suggested is not only macro correct? Its not always in macro mode?
EDIT: No that was a dumb question. Of course its not.

It is compatible with the XSi right?

 

[Tulsa]

I would get the lens from the kit, prolly the 18-55mm? You will be very limited to what you can do with that zoom lens. Also I know you said you wanted to do wildlife, but I would get the kit, get familiar with the camera and save up for a zoom lens.

 

[Big Mike]

I agree with Tulsa. Get the kit lens and use it for a while. Then you will be in a much better place to make a decision on which lens you want next.

If you want to get a different lens right off the bat, then consider an upgrade, rather than a telephoto zoom.

Have a look at the EF-S 17-85mm IS or the new EF-S 15-85mm IS.
Or maybe the Tamron 17-50mm F2.8.

 

[Overread]

Yep its fully compatable with the XSi provided you get the canon mount version - sigma make the lens for different companies like nikon so there are other mounts on the market - any reputable dealer/website will clearly list the mount type.

Also make sure you get the APO version of this lens - there is an older and cheaper version without the APO coatings and between the 200mm and 300mm marks its noticably softer in performance. Considering both are within similar price brackets going for the APO first makes the most sense.

 

[mragon]

Often the Rebel Xsi comes with the option to get BOTH kit lenses, the 18-55mm IS and the 55-250mm IS. Both of those lense (make sure you get the IS version) are excellent lenses for the price. They are not expensive at all when purchased as a kit with the camera. They cover a large range and many people find those are all they need. As you progress and find you need/want something different you can go from there.