Lens for wildlife on a crop sensor

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danny842003

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Daniel
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I have recently upgraded my 550D for a 7D mk1 and I am very happy with the upgrade.
My current lens set up is a canon 15-85mm USM and a 35mm F2.
I would like to start taking a few more wildlife photographs, birds mostly but I also have a trip to the Northern Territory soon and would like to get some good shots of wild Roos if possible.
What options do I have without breaking the bank on some all singing L lens?
 
Mike.P said:
Budget?
What sort of focal length do you need?
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+1 ^ what he says! Give us a clue as to the budget as afteral someone might suggest the 200-400mm at £10,000 for you ;)

PS I have looked at your profile and you list the old 75-300mm lens...............not that stellar a lens but what about the 300mm, have you found that sufficient or lacking in reach?
 
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What Martin said.

If you can’t stretch to that, then a S/h Sigma 50-500, 150-500 might be worth a look, or if you want an L lens the mk1 100-400 is probably the best vfm atm.
 
Canon 100-400, really versatile. Secondhand sell for about £600 upwards.
 
I had a 100-400l it was rubbish sold after a few weeks. IQ was the worst of any lens I have owned though the person I got it off and the person I sold it too thought it was ok. I was comparing in to my 70-300L at the time which was stunningly sharp.
 
Something with a large aperture and through the whole zoom range if your budget allows.

I'd also buy a lens that's fully capable without needing the use of an extender based on the fact the aperture gets stopped down because of it.
 
Another vote here for Sigma 150-600 C
Great lens for the money.
 
PINNACLE said:
I had a 100-400l it was rubbish sold after a few weeks. IQ was the worst of any lens I have owned though the person I got it off and the person I sold it too thought it was ok. I was comparing in to my 70-300L at the time which was stunningly sharp.
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I have two, both pin sharp across the range, on my 5D mk3 and my sons 600D
 
With wildlife range is king so as others have said best is the Sigma 150-600 Contempory or Sport if you can spend the extra. If funds are really tight then the older Sigma 150-500 is a contender I used one for several years.
 
I have a sigma 150-600c with a 7d2 great combination. There is no substitute for reach. I would try it out first.
 
I also have the Sigma 150-600 Contemporary and recommend it. The only thing i sometimes regret is not going for the Sport version for the additional weather sealing.

In other words if you are going to be in harsh environments often you might want to consider that too whatever lens you go for.
 
jerry12953 said:
Tamron 150-600 G2 (the later version) . It has an equivelent performance to the more expensive Sigma and is a lot lighter.

But bearing in mind you will be using it on a crop camera your technique will have to be really good to get the best out of it.
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I don't think IQ is as good as the Sigma sport tbh from what I've seen/read. IQ isn't really any different to the Gen 1 but AF and weather sealing are better. Of course, I'm happy to be proven wrong, can only comment on the reviews I've read. That being said I have the Gen 1 Tamron and rate it highly. The reviews I've read say that the Tamron is sharper at the long end than the Sigma C and Nikon 200-500mm f5.6. The other thing is that it's noticeably sharper at 550mm too and the difference in framing between 550mm and 600mm is negligible so I try and always shoot at 550mm.
 
The canon 400 is a good lens, not as versatile as the 100-400 but can take the 1.4/2xtc. It's a good price, light great iq. Not sure about the af on a 7d1 with the tc fitted though.
 
PINNACLE said:
I had a 100-400l it was rubbish sold after a few weeks. IQ was the worst of any lens I have owned though the person I got it off and the person I sold it too thought it was ok. I was comparing in to my 70-300L at the time which was stunningly sharp.
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I didn't realise it was you who bought my 100-400 Martin:D!
Like Martins my copy was abysmal and it was sold with that information openly given to the buyer, goodness knows what they made of it. I've toyed with the idea of the Mark II version but went with the Sigma 15-600C because of the reviews and the fantastic value for money price. With the OP's 7D crop sensor it will be a brilliant lens for his purpose.
 
footman said:
I didn't realise it was you who bought my 100-400 Martin:D!
Like Martins my copy was abysmal and it was sold with that information openly given to the buyer, goodness knows what they made of it. I've toyed with the idea of the Mark II version but went with the Sigma 15-600C because of the reviews and the fantastic value for money price. With the OP's 7D crop sensor it will be a brilliant lens for his purpose.
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Lawrence

I didn’t buy yours so that’s 2 of us who thought they are rubbish.

The MKii is fantastic but only 400mm which is ok but I mainly shoot wildlife and it is either at 500mm or more.
The new Sigma 100-400 would be my choice if 400 was enough.
 
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snerkler said:
I don't think IQ is as good as the Sigma sport tbh from what I've seen/read. IQ isn't really any different to the Gen 1 but AF and weather sealing are better. Of course, I'm happy to be proven wrong, can only comment on the reviews I've read. That being said I have the Gen 1 Tamron and rate it highly. The reviews I've read say that the Tamron is sharper at the long end than the Sigma C and Nikon 200-500mm f5.6. The other thing is that it's noticeably sharper at 550mm too and the difference in framing between 550mm and 600mm is negligible so I try and always shoot at 550mm.
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Isn't there about 800 gm weight difference as well?
 
jerry12953 said:
Isn't there about 800 gm weight difference as well?
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Tamron Gen1 and Sigma C are circa 1.9kg, Nikon 200-500mm circa 2.3kg and the Sigma S circa 2.9kg off the top of my head (y)
 
LOL - only issue with the 100-400 is it hasn't the reach of the sigma.
This was with a 40D
108016257.jpg

with a 50D
114827021.jpg


Most of my current stuff is motorsport with this lens. Handy to have a rapid focal length change then ;)
 
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