Still looking for a "decent" telephoto...

[Austin Greene]

Well, I made the mistake of waiting, and sure enough Amazon's price on a 55-250 jumped from $180 to $250 in just over two weeks. I'm still pretty determined to wait it out in hopes that the price will drop again, but in the meantime I've been intrigued by a couple more affordable lenses that would afford me enough extra cash (college student budget) to pick up a nifty fifty as well. The lenses in question are the Sigma 18-200 and the Sigma 50-200. I am interested in shooting mainly outdoors, mostly wildlife, and am wanting to focus on lenses which would best suite that area for my budget, but I can't help but be intrigued at the idea of being able to get to know the 50mm f/1.8 on the side. So basically, I'm just wondering if anyone has had any experience with these two lenses on their Canon? I recognize I'm posting this in the Canon lens area, but I thought it would be best to ask those who would be shooting off of Canon bodies. Ultimately, on some deep inner level of my psyche, I think I might be a bit of a pixel-peeper, so base lens sharpness is an area that I am very picky about, hence my being so interested in the 55-250.

Any suggestions are welcome But honestly, theres no point in suggesting L-glass at the moment, because my budget won't be growing anytime soon.

Thanks!

Toga

EDIT: PS: I thought it would be helpful to mention that when I say I'd like to do more outdoor, wildlife photography, I am referring to distances similar to what you might find at a zoo. I'm not necessarily looking for a "walk around" lens either, though I know the 18-200 qualifies as one by most standards, just something that will give me a bit more reach than the 18-55, with similar characteristics in terms of IQ. Of course, then there is always the option of buying a grey-market 55-250 for around $200, but I'm not quite sure I trust Amazon that much.