Tamron 2.8 vs Canon 4

[MohaimenK]

Which would you get? Does IS really matter?

TAMRON 70-200mm f/2.8 Di LD



Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L USM Lens Review

Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 Di LD (IF) Macro Lens Review

 

[sovietdoc]

IS matters a lot if you don't wanna carry a tripod with you, everywhere you go. When you're zoomed in at 200mm, you probably won't be able to shoot without IS handheld.

 

[AlexL]

that is why IS is so much more expensive Save up for a canon 70-200mm f2.8 II IS USM

 

[PJL]

It really depends on the type of shooting you're doing. If you plan on doing a lot of low-light, handheld shooting, then IS is a must. You can get by without it if you're just working in broad daylight, with a flash, or in a controlled lighting/studio environment.

 

[Derrel]

The Canon will probably hold its value much better.

 

[Dao]

A faster lens may be better in situation you need faster shutter speed!
If you are planning to use the lens most of the time in situation like that .... get the f/2.8 Tamron, or save up more for the f/2.8 Canon.

 

[MohaimenK]

Thanks guys if that's the case, for a beginner, does it make sense to go with something like Canon U.S.A. : Consumer & Home Office : EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS

Then to move up from there to something more sophisticated.

 

[fokker]

No, take the tamron over the canon 55-250. But then again, take the canon f/4 70-200 IS over the tamron.

 

[MohaimenK]

OK problem solved. A friend of dad (like an uncle) has bunch of lenses and he said I can pretty much use the 70-300mm as long as I want. He'll borrow it back if he ever needs it then he'll take it then give it back

 

[page_tyson]

Have you looked into sigama's 70-200 2.8? It's not a bad lense either.
I would take the 2.8 over the 4 (if you refuse to spend over $1000). If you can
spend more, for sure go for the Canon Is 2.8.

 

[TJ K]

IS matters a lot if you don't wanna carry a tripod with you, everywhere you go. When you're zoomed in at 200mm, you probably won't be able to shoot without IS handheld.

Haha are you kidding me? Not being able to shoot a 2.8 zoom at 200mm handheld? How have people been doing it for years?

 

[MohaimenK]

Have you looked into sigama's 70-200 2.8? It's not a bad lense either.
I would take the 2.8 over the 4 (if you refuse to spend over $1000). If you can
spend more, for sure go for the Canon Is 2.8.

Yeah I guess, but now since he has given me the option to use his lens endlessly, I think I'll just play with that. He said after he bought it over a year ago (for $200! from someone else) he only used it 2-3 times. He usually takes wedding pictures so its pointless for him to leave it laying around so he thought he'd let me use it till he needs it again someday.

I will save that money for now and just get the 50mm 1.8 to play with also plus maybe I could get the Canon 580 speedlight with the money saved (hmmmm lets see)

My Focus are 2 things. Landscape and portrait shots at the moment

 

[burstintoflame81]

You can get a Canon 70-300 USM f4-5.6 with IS for $550 new ( I got mine for $350 on craigslist ). But if you shoot mainly outdoors in day light, IS is not a requirement and its quite easy to keep 200mm under control with adequate light. If I had to pay full price for my 70-300 I probably would have just bought the 70-200 F4 non IS for $650 ( of course thats without hood or collar which is atleast another $100 or $150.

 

[MohaimenK]

If I go for landscaping photos I'll most likely use tripod 90% of the time. For night shots I'll always use the tripod with long exposure. Those types of shots intriuge me. I guess I don't know the importance of IS yet. What I'll do is play with the 70-300 lens I'm getting from him then I will end up renting a few different lenses over the weekend and get the feel of them and how they take pictures and figure out what is important to me. I think that's the cheapest way to go than to buy then trying to sell it to somebody else. I also want to take long exposure shorts during day time and looked at some appropriate filters for those.

Once I get the camera by mail next week, I should figure things out more