Upgrade Path with T1i, opinions and ideas please!

[PatrickWTF]

Hello, I am a high school student who has been interested in photography for many years now. I have had two decent canon point and shoot's that I also used heavily for video. On boxing day 2010 I had a couple hundred saved up and saw a great deal on a Canon T1i bundle. This included: T1i, Canon 18-55mm IS f/3.5-5.6, Lowepro Small Lunchbox style bag, A extra battery, and a 8 gig class 10 card. I was extremely pleased with the shallow depth of field that I could finally achieve. Vloging your self with it is basically impossible due to the screen being mounted in and the manual focus. I was also going on a vacation soon after so I decided to grab the 50mm f/1.8, the day before I left and I loved the image quality as well as the low-light capabilities. I then realized a tele-photo would be nice but luckily my cousin had a old Canon 70-300mm f/4-5.6. I dislike this lens due to its minimum 1.5M focusing range, It's focusing speed, and it's requirement to have ISO 3200 when shooting in lower-light while going handheld. Anyways, I am now looking for a replacement to that lens. I have some ideas.

1) Canon 70-200 USM f/4
2) Canon 70-300 USM IS f/4-?
3) Sigma 18-200 HSM OS f/3.5-5.6
4) Canon 18-200 USM IS f/ 3.5-5.6

I will most likely go with the 70-200 but any opinions are greatly appreciated.

From there I will also be looking for something to replace my kit in and around the $700 USD price range. I have no ideas for this lens and this is the real reason I need help.

 

[chaosrealm93]

extremely shallow depth of field?! a 3.5-5.6 aperture lens isnt "super" shallow....

i guess you didnt pick the 70-200 2.8 because of price.... so i guess the f4 would be the next best choice

 

[PatrickWTF]

Extremely shallow compared to the point and shoots I had before....

 

[PatrickWTF]

Also, if someone could recomend a good mid-range tripod for me that is less than $150 with a head.

 

[SecondShot]

consider looking into the Tamron 70-300 VC

 

[PatrickWTF]

consider looking into the Tamron 70-300 VC

Yeah that lens seems pretty good for the money. I probably will try and find a used Canon 70-200mm f/4 USM for less than $600 though.

 

[TwoTwoLeft]

Ive had good luck with my Canon 70-300mm as long as I'm out doors... It's a decent lens. It could be a little quicker/quieter to focus but I wouldn't go out and spend a bunch of money to replace it if I had one to use for free....