newbie question.

DannyLewis · Aug 12, 2012

I have the T3 and want to know for wildlife what is my best telephoto lense. Under 1500.00 USD. I know alot will say I need a better camera but so far I am pleased with this. Thank you for your time.
Danny

Mach0 · Aug 12, 2012

http://amzn.com/B001542X6E

table1349 · Aug 12, 2012

Define "Wildlife." All wildlife is not the same. I shoot in the mountains of New Mexico and wouldn't use anything less than 400mm glass. Usually I am using 600mm or 800mm glass. It is never good to be too close to bears, mountain lions and such. Rabbits, birds ect. are a different story and you can get away with shorter glass.

KmH · Aug 12, 2012

Either the lens MachO referred you to, or the somewhat newer Sigma 50-500mm f/4.5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM SLD Ultra Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon Digital DSLR Camera

jaomul · Aug 12, 2012

Also the canon 100-400L IS

DannyLewis · Aug 12, 2012

Wildlife here is mountain lions bobcats and the Eagles migrate here so the further the better. thnx

SCraig · Aug 12, 2012

I have the Sigma 150-500 and dollar for dollar it's going to be tough to beat.

ScubaDude · Aug 12, 2012

Altho you give up the versatility of a zoom, in your price range the Canon 400mm f/5.6 will give you the best image quality. It's a bit better than the Canon 100-400, and it beats the Sigma 150-500 and 50-500 by a very wide margin.

MLeeK · Aug 12, 2012

SCraig said:
I have the Sigma 150-500 and dollar for dollar it's going to be tough to beat.

I have been wondering about that one. My concern is night sports and that f/6.3... which lead me to the Canon options... I am torn between buying one or trying to use a converter. I think a converter coupled with my 70-200 would be better for me than the 6.3... but I just don't know. Could you move closer so I could try yours out, Please?.

SCraig · Aug 12, 2012

MLeeK said:
I have been wondering about that one. My concern is night sports and that f/6.3... which lead me to the Canon options... I am torn between buying one or trying to use a converter. I think a converter coupled with my 70-200 would be better for me than the 6.3... but I just don't know. Could you move closer so I could try yours out, Please?.

It's probably too slow for night sports. You didn't say what size converter, but a 1.4x costs 1 stop and a 2x is 2 full stops. If it's a 2x you'd gain 1/3 stop over the f/6.3 but lose 100mm. If it's a 1.4x you'd lose a lot of reach but save a lot of speed. It's always a trade-off

Be glad to loan you mine. Soon as you buy a Nikon to mount it on

SCraig · Aug 12, 2012

ScubaDude said:
Altho you give up the versatility of a zoom, in your price range the Canon 400mm f/5.6 will give you the best image quality. It's a bit better than the Canon 100-400, and it beats the Sigma 150-500 and 50-500 by a very wide margin.

A good choice, and probably sharper, but I could never give up the flexibility of a zoom when shooting wildlife. If a deer popped out of the bush 50' away with that lens you might get an eye. I could get most of the deer, and then zoom back out for the woodpecker over his head.

DannyLewis · Aug 13, 2012

Ok I am stuck between the Sigma 150 500mm and the Canon 100 400mm.....I dont want to give up any zoom. plus it would need to be pretty quick for eagles fishing in flight. From the dam it is a regular occurance to see them sail dwn the the water and scoop out a fish....WHat would be my absolute best bet for my 1500.00 range? thnx for your time Danny

SCraig · Aug 13, 2012

You would have to find someone who has actually used both lenses to answer that question. Those of us who have only used one of them can bat the pros and cons back and forth but the bottom line is that we really don't know. All I can speak for is the Sigma 150-500.

I'd try Here and see if they have benchmarked both lenses.