Lens Upgrade Question (Canon)

feriso

feriso

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David
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Right, this involves some forward thinking for me in terms of lenses but hopefully at some point this year I will get a bonus from work and with a few other bits I'll have ~£600 to spend on camera gear.

Now I was looking to get something in the short and the long focal lengths and so far I have my eye on:-

17-50mm Tamron (non-VC)
or 30mm f1.4 Sigma

75-300 IS Canon

Now are those a pair of decent lenses to help complement what I have already.

For the short FL - I like to shoot quite a bit in low light with out the flash but I find the nifty a bit too narrow sometimes and atm I don't think I can do much better than one of these.

For the long FL - the long lens I have at the moment is one I borrowed off a friend which he got in ~2003/4 and the more I use it the more I can see issues with it such as CA and need for sharper images (IS?) I don't have much knowledge in this range for value for money but this seems to be OK. However if there are any other options that are worth considering then I'm all ears.

Now most of what I shoot is landscapes and people (parties / playing / days out etc.) but I do like to have the long FL available for the occasional wildlife and I don't do too much of this atm as the lens isn't brilliant and a bit short

Any help is much appreciated :)
 
I took delivery of a Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 today. It's my 2nd!!! I have just taken the pic below about 15 mins ago. A bit of pp was added as it's as dull as dishwater here :D I'm impressed with the sharpness in the brickwork! Twas attached to a 500D.

 
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Don't get the 75-300 its rubbish....

try the EF-S 55-250 IS as that is supposed to be a peach for the price...
 
mipevo6 said:
Don't get the 75-300 its rubbish....

try the EF-S 55-250 IS as that is supposed to be a peach for the price...
Click to expand...

:agree:

55-250 is stunning for the price. £120 used!!!
 
I used to have the Tamron and loved it. You realyl cant go wrong with that one. I had mine before the VC version came out, but i believe the non VC is better.
I do have a 17-55IS f/2.8 now and while its better, its not that much better IME. But of course ti does have IS and USM, two things that are very useful.

IME the 75-300 is an old lens and not great. I would recommend the 70-300IS, although it costs a bit more.
Alternatively Canon have some cheaper zooms out now like the CANON EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS which i think is still better than the 75-300.

I had a lovely 70-200IS f/4 that was so sharp it was frightening, but i found i hardly used it. I sold it and got the 70-300IS and while its not L class i find its pretty close IQ wise (although slower of course). Well recommended.

If it was me i would try and get one of the above second hand. I think you could squeeze both Tamron and Canon 55-250 in to £600 but if going for the 70-300 one would need to be used.

Just my thoughts. Good luck.

EDIT: I took so long to write this post the two posts above mine got in first. Seem like we all agree on the 75-300 though.
 
dave_bass5 said:
I used to have the Tamron and loved it. You realyl cant go wrong with that one. I had mine before the VC version came out, but i believe the non VC is better.
I do have a 17-55IS f/2.8 now and while its better, its not that much better IME. But of course ti does have IS and USM, two things that are very useful.

IME the 75-300 is an old lens and not great. I would recommend the 70-300IS, although it costs a bit more.
Alternatively Canon have some cheaper zooms out now like the CANON EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS which i think is still better than the 75-300.

I had a lovely 70-200IS f/4 that was so sharp it was frightening, but i found i hardly used it. I sold it and got the 70-300IS and while its not L class i find its pretty close IQ wise (although slower of course). Well recommended.

If it was me i would try and get one of the above second hand. I think you could squeeze both Tamron and Canon 55-250 in to £600 but if going for the 70-300 one would need to be used.

Just my thoughts. Good luck.

EDIT: I took so long to write this post the two posts above mine got in first. Seem like we all agree on the 75-300 though.
Click to expand...

The 70-300 IS USM is very nice... it does get a little soft above 250 but is a good lens for about £300 second hand...
 
The one that blows me away is the Canon 70-200 f4 L IS. The image quality from that is just AWESOME! Not sure if i would ever use that focal length though.
 
AndyWest said:
The one that blows me away is the Canon 70-200 f4 L IS. The image quality from that is just AWESOME! Not sure if i would ever use that focal length though.
Click to expand...

Damn right. I dont think ive ever used a zoom thats been sharper but, and i feel silly saying this, the fact that it was white put me off using it as much as i should have.
I used to get paranoid when i was over the park with my young sons, and after a while i realised i wasn't using it because of the looks i "might" be getting, especially as i always used the hood.
I feel a lot more at ease with the 70-300IS.
 
Your all right about the 75; I meant to say the 70-300; saw a review in DigitalSLR a while back and thats what got me looking. Now the 70-200 f4L looks good and at £450 seems a good price albeit more than the 70-300 I'm not sure that the extra £100 might be worth it plus its shorter. (or is the IQ so much better that it is>?)

Is there anything else for the long range that might be better but has less of a range; I'm thinking that I might be using more on the long end than the short (something like a 200-300 [making that bit up])
 
I couldn't use a long lens with out IS. I would get a used 70-200 f4L IS rather than a new 70-2-- f4L.
 
Another vote here for the 70-300 IS, I had one for a couple of years and have to say I loved it. Its fairly compact and light and maybe it's just my copy but I would say it's comparable to my 100-400 for sharpness, although the IS is clunkier and it focuses slower than the 100-400.

Ideal walk about lens.

I can also highly recommend the Tammy 17-50mm (Non V/C), for the price it is an absolute gem of a lens.
 
I don't mind second hand so that means I can a Tamron for ~£230, Canon 70-300IS ~£330 that leaves me a few notes for something else (save for a siggy 30 1.4 maybe).

Job done me thinks; roll on bonus (hopefully unless it all goes pear shape)
 
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