Which starter telephoto lens for wildlife shots for Canon 450D ?

[Dr_O]

... Another thing is that I do have a neurological condition which does affect what I can & cannot carry...

First thing I would be doing is work out your limitations then. Whether a 70-300 is better than a 55-250 is irrelevant if it's too heavy. The Canon 70-300 is 630g although it's not very good which means buying a Tamron 70-300 which is 765g (and that came as a surprise). The 55-250 is just over 300g so half the weight although there is a more expensive 55-250 if I recall which had some metal and will therefore be heavier but it was optically the same so I wouldn't bother with it.

Although you got your 450D for free it is perhaps worth investigating whether the mirrorless way is better as you can get a much lighter set up but that depends on just how limiting your condition is.

As for the difference between 250 and 300- not enough to worry about really- http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/lens/simulator/

Like all things in life, you can get loads of advice but at some point you have to take the plunge and then work out whether it woks for you- this often means you will buy things and then decide it's not quite working as intended- it's inevitable.

If the weight is fine I would pick up a 55-250 for under £100 and leave it as that. I see no need to also buy a 50mm f1.8- you may not take any pictures at that focal length (and you have an 18-55)- you have a need for longer reach- one step at a time surely. A great many people always recommend a 50mm but I could count my pictures on one hand in the 30-70mm range so what's the point in me buying one? Maybe you will need a fast aperture at 85 or 35 or 24- only you can say; save your money until then would be my advice.

 

[Jwar1976]

Hi I've got the 7D
I havent used the 55-250 but apparently it's a very good lens
I have a 70-200 and 300 2.8 and use them both for zoo stuff

Thanks for the reply it is much appreciated

I have used the 55-250 but i now use the 70-200L on a crop body. Depending on what i take then i find this is ok I would love a 100-400L but just cannot afford it at the moment

I have seen the 100-400 lens, nice bit of camera porn as it were.

 

[Jwar1976]

First thing I would be doing is work out your limitations then. Whether a 70-300 is better than a 55-250 is irrelevant if it's too heavy. The Canon 70-300 is 630g although it's not very good which means buying a Tamron 70-300 which is 765g (and that came as a surprise). The 55-250 is just over 300g so half the weight although there is a more expensive 55-250 if I recall which had some metal and will therefore be heavier but it was optically the same so I wouldn't bother with it.

Although you got your 450D for free it is perhaps worth investigating whether the mirrorless way is better as you can get a much lighter set up but that depends on just how limiting your condition is.

As for the difference between 250 and 300- not enough to worry about really- http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/lens/simulator/

Like all things in life, you can get loads of advice but at some point you have to take the plunge and then work out whether it woks for you- this often means you will buy things and then decide it's not quite working as intended- it's inevitable.

If the weight is fine I would pick up a 55-250 for under £100 and leave it as that. I see no need to also buy a 50mm f1.8- you may not take any pictures at that focal length (and you have an 18-55)- you have a need for longer reach- one step at a time surely. A great many people always recommend a 50mm but I could count my pictures on one hand in the 30-70mm range so what's the point in me buying one? Maybe you will need a fast aperture at 85 or 35 or 24- only you can say; save your money until then would be my advice.

Thank you so much for such an informative detailed reply . I honestly hadn't gone into depth weight wise between the two lenses. I have tried the Nikon link that you kindly provided, but for some reason the simulator isn't loading for me, so hopefully this is just a flash issue that can be resolved. I have looked at the mirrorless options & it may be something to look into in the future. I have seen on Ebay that Canon have their own outlet on there & they are currently doing a refurbished 55-250 II lens for just under £85 with 1 year warranty, which seems like a bargain for a Refurbished one. But then I could be wrong

 

[Dr_O]

No probs at all. It does seem broken the Nikon link- I've used it in the past so hadn't checked that time round. Tried it on IE with latest silverlight version but that didn't work either- there's not even an easy 'contact us' on their site.

Found a canon one instead - it's not as good as you can't just slide up through the range but it will do the job

55-250 lens

70-300 lens

Some difference but not huge.

Not sure on going rates of the lens but likely that the Canon outlet are going to charge market rate or thereabouts. For £85 and some warranty I don't think you will go far wrong.

 

[Jwar1976]

No probs at all. It does seem broken the Nikon link- I've used it in the past so hadn't checked that time round. Tried it on IE with latest silverlight version but that didn't work either- there's not even an easy 'contact us' on their site.

Found a canon one instead - it's not as good as you can't just slide up through the range but it will do the job

55-250 lens

70-300 lens

Some difference but not huge.

Not sure on going rates of the lens but likely that the Canon outlet are going to charge market rate or thereabouts. For £85 and some warranty I don't think you will go far wrong.

Thanks for the other links & no there isn't that great a deal difference and would still cover the range that I need at the moment for an light entry level lens. The going rate for the lens from say Curry's is £200, some places online do it new for £110, but am unsure if they are UK products or grey copies. So £85 from Canon themselves for a refurbished one, seems very reasonable.

 

[crofter]

Thanks for the other links & no there isn't that great a deal difference and would still cover the range that I need at the moment for an light entry level lens. The going rate for the lens from say Curry's is £200, some places online do it new for £110, but am unsure if they are UK products or grey copies. So £85 from Canon themselves for a refurbished one, seems very reasonable.

Pounce on that one for that price.

 

[Jwar1976]

Pounce on that one for that price.

They all got sold before I had chance to order which is a bugger, so will give it until the start of next week & if they haven't got any more in stock, then I may just pay the little bit extra from another supplier as there are plenty online at reasonable costs with UK warranty, so should hopefully have the lens soon.

 

[Jwar1976]

@crofter and other 55-250 users, how do you find the lens when using filters ?. Only reason I am asking, is that I have heard of issues with filters for this lens, due to the rotation of the focusing ring.

 

[Dr_O]

@crofter and other 55-250 users, how do you find the lens when using filters ?. Only reason I am asking, is that I have heard of issues with filters for this lens, due to the rotation of the focusing ring.

The front element rotates when focussing but this is only an issue for using a polariser and a screw in ND Grad. These are mainly tools for the landscape photography typically using a wider lens than the 55-250. Your 18-55 does also rotate if you were doing landscapes but either way it's not impossible to use a polariser with a rotating element as you can rotate the polariser back after focussing. It's not ideal but it can be done. I don't use screw in ND Grads so not sure on how they work as I only Lee. They look pricey though- £300 for a 77mm screw in ND Grad- ouch.

For what you are wanting to do and even diversifying a bit I would not worry about it. Careful you don't go round in circles- you could be out there shooting

 

[Jwar1976]

The front element rotates when focussing but this is only an issue for using a polariser and a screw in ND Grad. These are mainly tools for the landscape photography typically using a wider lens than the 55-250. Your 18-55 does also rotate if you were doing landscapes but either way it's not impossible to use a polariser with a rotating element as you can rotate the polariser back after focussing. It's not ideal but it can be done. I don't use screw in ND Grads so not sure on how they work as I only Lee. They look pricey though- £300 for a 77mm screw in ND Grad- ouch.

For what you are wanting to do and even diversifying a bit I would not worry about it. Careful you don't go round in circles- you could be out there shooting

Thanks for the tip & too late have gone back to going around in circles , anyhow I have just popped into my local London Camera Exchange & had a try of both the Canon 55-250 II which I loved the feel of & the Tamron 70-300 VC, which is a lovely piece of kit but found it quite heavy when attached to my 450D and found it quite difficult to maintain focus, even with the AF & VC enabled. So think that the 55-250 is the way to go. However yesterday to my total surprise, my Mum kindly put £100 into my bank as a treat, so now I can afford the STM version of the 55-250, I know that that STM is mainly ideal if you are shooting video, but the focusing seems slightly smoother & the picture does seem slightly sharper than it's predecessor. So am considering the STM version, especially as it has the manual override as well.

 

[Dr_O]

Now that is a good surprise. I've not used any STM lenses- well I've used the 40mm pancake but it was only briefly and with no intent to review the lens. Supposed to good the STM lenses and the 55-250 STM has internal focusing so that's a plus in terms of the front element not rotating. I think the manual override implementation is a bit of a compromise here- you need to have the shutter pressed half way to use it as opposed to say on the Tamron when you can do it whenever but still better than having to switch between AF/MF mode.
On the whole it probably is better but I think you'd be happy with either though so your decision whether to spend your money on it or keep the extra for something else.

 

[Jwar1976]

Now that is a good surprise. I've not used any STM lenses- well I've used the 40mm pancake but it was only briefly and with no intent to review the lens. Supposed to good the STM lenses and the 55-250 STM has internal focusing so that's a plus in terms of the front element not rotating. I think the manual override implementation is a bit of a compromise here- you need to have the shutter pressed half way to use it as opposed to say on the Tamron when you can do it whenever but still better than having to switch between AF/MF mode.
On the whole it probably is better but I think you'd be happy with either though so your decision whether to spend your money on it or keep the extra for something else.

Yes I see what you mean about the compromise, both of them are lovely lenses, however as I can get the 55-250 II for £110 with 2yrs warranty, I will need to decide if the extra £90 is worth it for the STM version. A few people have said that the nifty fifty is a great buy & so if I got the 55-250 II, then I would be able to buy the nifty fifty with ease as well. For the quality that the 55-250 II gives, I think it would be near enough impossible to find something half as decent with stabilization for around the same cost & for what I want it for, essentially with around the same weight range as well.

 

[Jackwow]

...A few people have said that the nifty fifty is a great buy & so if I got the 55-250 II, then I would be able to buy the nifty fifty with ease as well....

If I had a £, for every time I'd read on this forum "get a nifty fifty", I wouldn't be rich but I'd have a fair few more quid in the bank! It may be cheap and give decent results but it's only a great buy if you're actually going to use it. I know if I'd bought one it would still be in its box.

 

[Jwar1976]

If I had a £, for every time I'd read on this forum "get a nifty fifty", I wouldn't be rich but I'd have a fair few more quid in the bank! It may be cheap and give decent results but it's only a great buy if you're actually going to use it. I know if I'd bought one it would still be in its box.

The only thing I am thinking of is that if the nifty fifty was combined with a tube, would it give a better closer macro shot than say using the 55-250 at it's maximum magnification. Ideally I need a zoom lens that can be used at wildlife parks with a form of stabilization, but I also love to take Macro shots of flowers and other items.

 

[Jwar1976]

My 55-250 II lens finally arrived a little while ago & I cannot believe how fast & smooth the focusing is, when compared to the old 70-210 lens that I had previously. All being well (Weather permitting), I will be taking it to the local Plantation garden tomorrow for some snaps. Thanks to all that replied, it is much appreciated

 

[Dr_O]

Excellent, good to hear John. Hope weathers fine and the first outing goes well- you can always load up some pics in the photo genre sections for tips etc

 

[Jwar1976]

Excellent, good to hear John. Hope weathers fine and the first outing goes well- you can always load up some pics in the photo genre sections for tips etc

The weather is due to be slightly cloudy tomorrow but that could change at a moments notice lol. Providing all goes well then I will be posting pictures as I am not going to improve picture taking without accepting constructive criticism . I have had a look at similar subjects with the same body & camera on flickr for a exif data information and will use that data as a rough guide for flowers that I am taking pictures of, along with the old fashioned point & shoot in automatic and change settings around that as well, (including histrogram).