Canon Telephoto Lens Choice

burtoner

burtoner

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Rob
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I got a Canon 1100D with kit lens 18-55 and 75-300. I am eventually looking to upgrade to a Canon 70-200 2.8 Lens, but I know they are lot of money but worth it, but this Sigma APO 150-500mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM is at least half the price, and have read some great reviews on it. Mainly using for Sports action and wildlife photography. Would any of you recommend this ?
 
I don't have one myself, but if you do a quick search you will find loads of threads highly recommending the Sigma.
 
I would say have a serious look at what focal lengths you normally use, then consider whether the kit you have just now is giving the results you want. If it's not, then you know the area that's worth spending money on. If you've already done this and the Canon 70-200 2.8 is what you need then you should wait until you can manage to get it (or maybe consider the Sigma 70-200 OS).

However if you're happy enough with the kit you have and just need more reach then the sigma 150-500 is a good choice. From everything I've read you can never really get a long enough lens for wildlife photography so the Sigma would be a good fit for this. I'm not so sure about sports though.
 
Just got the 100-400 L and love it. So sharp. Have to be honest and say that I don't have anything to compare it to that I've owner before, but I'm more than happy so far with what it does.
 
The Sigma 150-500 and the Canon 70-200 2.8 really are different types of lens. I'd heed what Stuart says and look at what focal lengths you use/need now.

If you're always using your 75-300 towards the 300 end then the 70-200 will probably be too short.

I have a Sigma 150-500 and I do think it is a good lens for the money. It often gets compared favourably with the 100-400L but it (like the 100-400) needs a good supply of light to work at its best whereas the 70-200 2.8 will be a much better low-light performer (but this will only be of benefit if you are shooting at 200mm or less ;))
 
burtoner said:
If I got the 70-200 2.8, I could always get the extender to increase the focal length?
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You could do, but you would lose some light and even with the 2X, you would still only have 400mm at f5.6 (or 280mm at f4 with the 1.4X) and the converters aren't exactly cheap either - the 2X Canon teleconverter is going at about £400 new at the moment (though arguably it would be cheaper and easier to carry than two lenses). I don't know how the image quality of the 70-200 is affected by a teleconverter.

If cost is a factor, then I would recommend again that you give serious consideration to the focal lengths that you will want/need to use the lens at and go for a lens that matches your requirements. Remember too that the longer lens will zoom out wider than the shorter lens will zoom in. If cost isn't a factor, then your options are increased. You can always add a teleconverter at a later date but I would only consider that route if the 70-200mm lens is what you require now.

(2nd) Edit: - For what it's worth, for sports and wildlife photography, as vague as that is, I would have thought that you'd be better off with the extra reach rather than the wider angle - but that is something you need to answer depending on what and how you photograph.
 
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stu.artd said:
I'm not so sure about sports though.
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Good point. With a maximum aperture of f/6.3 on the Sigma at the long end will the AF system on the Canon still function? My 20D would struggle I think. If not, sports photography could be a problem.
 
DuncanF said:
Good point. With a maximum aperture of f/6.3 on the Sigma at the long end will the AF system on the Canon still function? My 20D would struggle I think. If not, sports photography could be a problem.
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AF on my 150-500 works fine at 500mm with my 50D and with my 350D before that. Obviously low contrast and light will make it harder to autofocus - but that is true of any lens/camera combination employing phase-detection auto-focussing. I have heard that Canon lenses will not to auto-focus with apertures smaller than f5.6 whereas 3rd party ones do (on account of how they report the aperture to the camera and how the camera responds to the report) but I could be wrong on this - I'm sure someone with more technical understanding and knowledge of th hardware could elaborate on this if needed.
 
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