£200 to spend on a telephoto lens - Canon Fit

rjmartin

rjmartin

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Rob
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Hey Everyone,

As the title says really - I am a student so on a budget - I have £200 max to spend on a telephoto lens for my Canon 500D. I will be mainly photographing birds/wildlife.

I don't mind brand new or second hand.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers, Rob
 
EF-S 55-250 :)

Not much choice TBH, but that is a very good lens for the money. Next up is the 70-300 IS, but that is £300 used.
 
I think some of the older Sigma 70-300mm's go for under £200, not the new IS ones though.
 
I bought a new 55-250mm IS for £127 just before christmas from the UK so i`d say thats definitely you best value for money with all the positive reviews it gets.
 
The 55-250 IS is the best within your budget.

But you're going to have to get VERY close for photographing birds with that.
 
Many Thanks for the replies.

How about the sigma 70-300 apo dg version (the more expensive one) - or still stick with the canon 55-250?

Also is there any type of extender you can buy for use with budget lenses?
 
I'd agree with the above and def rec the 55-250IS lens from Canon. Should be well within your budget.

If you can save up and stretch that bit more, the canon 70-300IS is a cracker aswell
 
I'd be tempted to say save up a little more, get a 70-200 F4 second hand. They come up quite frequently. Then combine it with a 1.4x TC.

Realistically though, you'll be needing 400mm+
 
AndyB1976 said:
Sorry don't know if the example in this link is the more expensive Sigma or not, but it compares a Sigma 70-300 against the 55-250.

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=64377


Andy
Click to expand...

Thanks Andy, I found that very interesting.

I am torn between the Canon 55-250 and Sigma 70-300 APO version - I have discounted the Tamron/Sigma 18-200 etc.

Whilst I know I could be doing with 400mm + for wildlife photography, I won't just be shooting that and I really am on a budget so would rather stick within my means.
 
Another recommendation of the Canon 55-250IS with that budget. Remember you're on a crop body so it's actually not a bad length, probably shorter than you'd want but still the best within budget :)
 
Thanks Namistai - probably will end up going with the Canon 55-250mm.
 
I know the FL is probably not enough but if you can find a Tamron 24-135 used somewhere you will find this a stunning, well made, super sharp lens for very little cash.

I've just tested mine, acquired second hand, against my the 24-70L and it performed very well at all apertures and FL.

The reviewers on Fredmiranda seem to agree, it gets a 9.0 average which is uber-good for a Tamron.
 
Frantic_Inc said:
I recommend the Sigma 70-300 Apo. Used it for rugby.
Click to expand...

Do you have any photos taken with it that I could see mate?

Cheers, Rob
 
Another vote for the 55-250mm. I recently upgraded from this to the 70-200 f4 L expecting a pretty big difference in IQ, there really wasn't much of one and I have to put this down to the quality of the 55-250.
 
if your budget is definitely under £200... then that 55-250 sounds good. i dont know how much they cost tho.
if you want - i have a tamron 28-300 that i have not used for a few years since i got my 100-400 and i have been thinking of selling it.
 
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