Need help choosing a lens!

Racheld99 · Mar 25, 2017

Hello, I'm new here and even newer to DSLR cameras. I bought a Canon Eos rebel t3 a couple months back and have started to learn how to use it and all. I only have the standard 18-55 mm lens it came with, and while it does take fantastic pictures, I like something with more range. But since I'm new to this, I have no idea where to start!! I'd be super thankful for some help deciding.

Ideally, i'd like to be able to take pictures of birds in trees, zoom in to nature or animals at a zoo, things that are several feet away. (I've been told getting one with Image stabilization would be best?)
Also, I don't have a whole lot of money to spend. This is just a hobby to take pictures of my travels, so I don't want to spend over 400.
Any help/tips are greatly appreciated!

Derrel · Mar 25, 2017

Canon's EF-S 55-250mm f/4~5.6 STM lens would be one option, and it is low in cost, and matches well with an 18-55 shorter zoom setup. Price is affordable too. Not going to be "all that" long as far as zoom goes for small things like birds in trees, but good dfor larger animals at the zoo, or portraits, and so on, good for scenics, travel, landscapes, selecting smaller details out of a broader landscape or cityscape in front of you.

EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM

This lens is $299 at full retail; a grey market import model could be bought for around $199-$210 at any one of several dealers that specialize in grey market gear, like say 42nd Street Photo, or Tri-State Camera.

beagle100 · Mar 27, 2017

Racheld99 said:
Hello, I'm new here and even newer to DSLR cameras. I bought a Canon Eos rebel t3 a couple months back and have started to learn how to use it and all. I only have the standard 18-55 mm lens it came with, and while it does take fantastic pictures, I like something with more range. But since I'm new to this, I have no idea where to start!! I'd be super thankful for some help deciding.

Ideally, i'd like to be able to take pictures of birds in trees, zoom in to nature or animals at a zoo, things that are several feet away. (I've been told getting one with Image stabilization would be best?)
Also, I don't have a whole lot of money to spend. This is just a hobby to take pictures of my travels, so I don't want to spend over 400.
Any help/tips are greatly appreciated!

as mentioned the 55-250 STM is inexpensive (refurbished $199) but consider stretching the budget and get something longer used, e.g. original 100-400 ($600), 400mm prime used or one of the 70-300 zooms or maybe a used "G1" version of the Tamron 150-600
www.flickr.com/photos/mmirrorless

TCampbell · Mar 28, 2017

Birders seem to prefer lenses in the 400-600 focal length range. For example, the Sigma or Tamron 150-600mm zooms or the Canon 100-400mm zoom.

While those would probably be ideal, they're also well above the budget you mentioned. But I wanted you to at least have an idea of what birders would likely be using.

The option Derrel mentioned above is probably one of your best choices that is priced well within your budget.

mdruziak · Mar 28, 2017

If you really want to take photos of birds, you really need a lens that goes up to 600mm. And many times that isn't enough.

The 55-250mm would be your best bet for an all around lens, but unless your are real close to the birds or are willing to do 100% crops, it's not going to be the ideal tool for birding.

photo1x1.com · Mar 28, 2017

When mentioning those supertele lenses, don't forget that you'd need a tripod too for these. The 250mm end of the mentioned 55-250mm is probably the longest I would use without tripod. And even with that it would helpful in many situations.

weepete · Mar 29, 2017

photo1x1.com said:
When mentioning those supertele lenses, don't forget that you'd need a tripod too for these. The 250mm end of the mentioned 55-250mm is probably the longest I would use without tripod. And even with that it would helpful in many situations.

Need is a bit strong. I shoot my 150-600 pretty much all the time without a tripod and it's fine as long as you use stabilisation or a high shutter speed.

beagle100 · Mar 29, 2017

weepete said:
photo1x1.com said:

When mentioning those supertele lenses, don't forget that you'd need a tripod too for these. The 250mm end of the mentioned 55-250mm is probably the longest I would use without tripod. And even with that it would helpful in many situations.

Click to expand...

Need is a bit strong. I shoot my 150-600 pretty much all the time without a tripod and it's fine as long as you use stabilisation or a high shutter speed.