Looking for a lense choice advise, please...

Miti · Jan 20, 2012

Hi everyone there

I'm a newbe in photography who bought a few moths ago e dslr camera canon eos 550D+ 2 lenses: EF 17-40L and EF 100L macro. Now I would like to get a tele lens con zoom and I don't know which one is best for my budget of 1000. I am a foreigner, please excuse my poor English, living in Sardinia, Italy.
I'd like something for bird shooting like EF 70-300mm or EF 100-400L. Welcome any advise, please!

Robin Usagani · Jan 20, 2012

If you want to use it mostly for birds, I would choose this one:

Canon 400mm f/5.6L USM Autofocus Lens 2526A004 B&H Photo Video

It is much more sharper than the 100-400. Plus I think it will work better with tele converter. It is cheaper, no IS, no zoom, but it is sharper!

analog.universe · Jan 20, 2012

I agree with Schwetty pretty much.

If you are set on a zoom though, the Sigma 120-400 and 150-500 are decent competition to the Canon 100-400, might be worth looking into.

Miti · Jan 20, 2012

thanks for your advice. How about IS? It will be still okay for bird shooting without it?

analog.universe · Jan 20, 2012

All of the lenses we suggested are available with IS (Sigma calls theirs OS). It is definitely helpful to have on a lens that long, for birds and whatever else.

analog.universe · Jan 20, 2012

Actually, I'm wrong, that 400 5.6 doesn't have IS. That would probably take it off my list honestly. You can get along fine without it, people have for years. It's a great tool though, and if you're spending that much on a lens it seems worth it to get stabilization.

Miti · Jan 20, 2012

well, I am not particularlly intersted in zoomm lens but not being that rich I can't afford to get all primes, let's say, from 17 to 500 for my 550D. I wuold like to get the best out of this sum in order to avoid a blody war with my wife:meh:

Austin Greene · Jan 20, 2012

Oh, college student budget, why will you not allow me to afford L glass?

tirediron · Jan 20, 2012

Schwettylens said:
...I think it will work better with tele converter...

I'm going to disput that Schwetty; using even a 1.4x TC, you're going to getting to the point where the lens will be so slow that AF may become an issue, and you may wind up cranking the ISO on all but the brightest days. It looks like a good lens, just not so much for use with a TC.