Buying My First Telephoto

Sleepy_Sentry · Aug 8, 2009

I've been a proud Canon Rebel XSi owner for two months now and would like to upgrade from the basic lens to a telephoto. I mostly shoot outside and would like to get more birds and animals.

My budget is $200 or under. A macro feature would be nice, but not necessary. Here is what I found in my price range:

1. Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS Image Stabilizer - Refurbished ($199.99)

2. Canon Ef 70-210 4.0 Lens Metal Mnt Used ($199.99)

3. Canon 100-300 f4.5/5.6 Ultrasonic (58) 35mm SLR Telephoto used ($199.99)

4. Tamron 75-300mm f/4-5.6 LD AF Macro Auto Focus Zoom Lens ($134.99)

Which of these do you think is best? Or, is there another lens I should be looking at?

Sachphotography · Aug 9, 2009

For what you are looking for I would say the following lens cannot be beat for price and quality.
Sigma | 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG Macro Autofocus Lens | 508101

It has a good zoom range, good glass and it incorporates a macro features allowing very very tight focusing. I have used this lens and am very impressed with the quality. Check it out. Let me know if you have any questions.

CHEERS

Daniel

Also make sure that if you get a used lens: 1. It is guaranteed and 2. It is the right mount for you camera. I think canon has two different mounts if I am not mistaken.

Sleepy_Sentry · Aug 9, 2009

Sachphotography said:
For what you are looking for I would say the following lens cannot be beat for price and quality.
Sigma | 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG Macro Autofocus Lens | 508101

It has a good zoom range, good glass and it incorporates a macro features allowing very very tight focusing. I have used this lens and am very impressed with the quality. Check it out. Let me know if you have any questions.

CHEERS

Daniel

Also make sure that if you get a used lens: 1. It is guaranteed and 2. It is the right mount for you camera. I think canon has two different mounts if I am not mistaken.

Thanks for the suggestion. That does look like a nice lens. My current lens is a Sigma 28-80mm and I've been quite happy with it.

How is hand-held shooting without IS? I have a pretty steady grip, but hear a lot of people complain that shooting past 200mm is impossible without a tripod. How far can you go with this and still get decent results?

You're right that Canon has two mounts (FD and EOS). The EOS mount was introduced in 1987, though, so there are a lot of compatible used lenses available.

I'm adding another lens to my list.
Canon Auto Focus 28-200 F3.5-5.6 ULTRASONIC (72) 35MM SLR AUTO FOCUS

It's a bit out of my price range at $310, but I think having such a wide zoom range is worth the compromise. Any one have thoughts on this?

icassell · Aug 9, 2009

Sleepy_Sentry said:
Sachphotography said:

How is hand-held shooting without IS? I have a pretty steady grip, but hear a lot of people complain that shooting past 200mm is impossible without a tripod. How far can you go with this and still get decent results?

Click to expand...

A rough rule of thumb is that your shutter speed should be faster than 1/(focal length). For example, with a 200 mm lens, your speed should be faster than 1/200 sec. This is, of course, dependent on how steady your hand is compared to average. If you need to shoot slower (or your hand isn't as steady), you will need a tripod. IS may give you a bit more leeway.

musicaleCA · Aug 9, 2009

That rule of thumb should be 1/(<focal length>*1.6) for the crop sensor of a 500D. And then subtract how ever many stops the IS gives back.

AverageJoe · Aug 9, 2009

I've had similar lenses as the ones you have mentioned and never had much luck with the long end of the lens because of the aperture. I think the only good long telephoto lenses are the L series, as most are F2.8 or F4.

70-200 f2.8L with or without the IS

70-200 f4

200mm f2

With that large of an aperture you can get get shots with a decent DOF. However, they are no where near within your budget... or mine at the time.

What about getting the 28-135mm IS? It's a decent walk around lens with macro? Maybe not long enough.

icassell · Aug 9, 2009

AverageJoe said:
I think the only good long telephoto lenses are the L series, as most are F2.8 or F4..

I'd have to disagree. L glass is not the only option. I have a Sigma 100-300mm f/4 which is an outstanding piece of glass and even does well with the Sigma Ex 1.4x TC. I bought it cheap on e-bay and, even new, it is far cheaper than L glass. It is still nowhere near your price range, unfortunately.

Sachphotography · Aug 10, 2009

I used the sigma lens at 300mm and had no issues at all. Unless you are very shaky a normal 300mm lens without IS is not a big deal. the bigg ol f/2 300mm lenses will require a little help...LOL I never had any issues with that lens. A very solid lens( all metal build) but lightweight and sturdy. Highly recommend it. I doubt it can be beat for its price and quality.

bigtwinky · Aug 10, 2009

I've shot with the 70-300 and the 55-200 (not the 250, the older 200) and they are ok lenses. Neither had IS, but I still managed to shoot sports with them, outdoors, until it got dark. So while the aperture is limiting, its not totally unusable.
In your initial list, I'd look at either the 55-250 IS or the 100-300. If you plan on shooting animals, I'd think that you want the longest reach possible, where the 300mm would come in handier than the 250mm, and on your XSI, that would be 480mm instead of 400mm.

Keep in mind that if you are adding on extension tubes on the lens to make it longer, you are losing stops of light. Losing stops when you are already limited to a max of 5.6 isn't the best thing.

I wouldn't kill yourself over the choices though. A bit out of your budget is the Canon 70-300 USM with IS. BH has it for $550. If you are getting into those prices, might as well save up a bit more for the L lenses.

Sleepy_Sentry · Aug 10, 2009

Thanks for the input guys. I'm surprised no one has mentioned my second choice, the Canon EF 70-210mm lens. I did some research and found that while it's 20 years old, it is one of the best telephotos Canon makes in this price range and has the best optical quality, build quality, and fastest auto focus in its class.

There are two versions. An f4.0 model and an f3.5-4.5. From what I read the F3.5-4.5 is much better, so I'm going to try to snag one on eBay, where they can be had for $130-$180.