New Lens Dilemna

Durbs

Durbs

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Paul
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I posted this on a climbing forum, but thought I'd cross-post here to get some more specific advice :)

So, new 7D coming my way for Christmas, replacing a very well-used 1000D and I have a suspicion the AF on my Sigma 70-300 APO DG will be too slow to get the best out of it (My other lenses are pretty good).

It's currently shipping with the 70-300 f/4-5.6 L with £80 cashback (on the lens) which would be a good direct replacement, or, for about £13 less, I could get a Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 and a 2x teleconverter (or £43 less for the 1.4).

Both have good IS, the Sigma apparently slightly better - the Sigma combo would give me 400 f/4 but with slight loss in IQ from the TC vs. the slower Canon 300mm at f/5.6

The maximum aperture at 300mm on the Canon puts me off a bit as it's no better than my current lens (in terms of f-stop, obviously the glass itself will kick ass), but given I'm upgrading from a non-IS lens and the ISO 1600 on my 1000D is un-usable will this still be ok? I know from many hours of wildlife snapping that I usually struggle with 5.6 to get a decent hand-held shot with my current set-up.

I'm not a specialist photographer and shoot landscapes, people and wildlife, so think a zoom over a prime is more suitable.
£1000 budget...


Any thoughts or advice?
Someone also mentioned the Sigma 100-300 but I cant' find anywhere that sells it...?
 
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The sigma would give you 400mm f/5.6 with fairly noticeable image quality reduction.

If you want to go down that route and you have £1000 you are better off getting canons version of the 70-200 (non is) second hand. Or if you don't want massive wide apertures and just the focal length then get a canon 100-400 rather than using tele convertors on a shorter focal length.

The question is though: what do you want to shoot? Climbing?
 
I don't think you can really have a lens that can shoot people and wildlife in the same bracket. (Well you can but there will always be compromises in terms of image quality and maximum aperture.)

Perhaps get a small zoom and long prime? Or sigmas 70-200 and 150-500 which covers the focal length nicely?

Unless you're prepared to quadruple your budget you will not get better than f/5.6 at 400mm.

If you're struggling handheld for wildlife I seriously suggest a monopod or tripod. They can make a huge difference.
 
faddius said:
Durbs said:
I'm not a specialist photographer and shoot landscapes, people and wildlife
Click to expand...


:bang:
Click to expand...



Was typing an addition to my post as you wrote that.

But anyway, good contribution to the thread.
 
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ACW said:
Was typing an addition to my post as you wrote that.

But anyway, good contribution to the thread.
Click to expand...

:lol: :thumbs:

To the op, without greatly increasing your budget as mentioned or specifically focusing on one aspect that you like shooting, you probably won't go far wrong with the 70-200 with a tc set up. It should be versatile enough to approach most situations. My only other thought is you may be left wanting for something wider at times for landscapes.

If you're going climbing with this gear, get a sensible bag to carry it in - most camera bags are not padded enough or really designed for climbing - as such you may end up finding them increasingly uncomfortable and irritating as the day progresses and the heavier gear starts taking its toll in your shoulders.
 
Wow - speedy responses! Thanks :)

Sorry, should've gone into more detail:
I've already got a Sigma 10-20, Canon 24-105 USM and Canon 50mm 1.8 - so I'm looking to replace specifically my Sigma 70-300 as it's slow to focus and soft. It's the only lens I currently have that I look at my pics and know it's the lens not my skills letting the photo down.

Agree that you can't shoot everything with one lens (Except maybe the 28-300 L, but it's a monster), but 70-200/300 covers a nice range for wildlife and landscapes (for compressing distance) and some good candid people shots, whereas I imagine a 400mm prime would be more limited in what it could be used for.

Looked at the Canon 70-200 2.8 L MkI, but for the same price, the Sigma comes with 4-stop IS, tripod collar and is newer, plus reviews of it say it's pretty close in terms of sharpness, contrast and colour.
I just know I'll find myself wanting more reach if I'm limited to 200mm, hence thinking about TCs. But then the 70-300L isn't as fast...
 
Oh - this won't be for shooting climbing (well, not whilst actually climbing!) already have good bag, tripod and monopod
:)
 
Could it possibly be worth hiring the lenses you're looking at to give them both a test run before sinking your money into buying one or the other.

That way you won't be left wondering if you've made the wrong choice.
 
hi Paul, welcome to the forums.

I have a similar setup
I went from a 50-150 f2.8 and 70-300 IS with a 40D to a 7D setup.
what I've done is replaced the the combo.
70-300 IS which was a little soft at the long end and only used rarely.
the 50-150 I LOVED but wanted IS and higher quality

so I have the sigma 70-200 f2.8 OS with a sigma DG 2x tc.
I really like it, but the combo is huge.
I wish I could have kept the 50-150 f2.8 for general snapping at family doos.

However, the f2.8 with a 2xTC will focus very well and you min aperture will be 5.6..BUT!!! it's slightly cack.
Not horrible, as you'll have 18MP to play with. but the results noticeably improve at f8
the 70-200 sigma I think is softer at 2.8 and then great at 3.2 plus
so this is replicated and made worse with the 2xTC. so 5.6 is softer, f8 or f9 is best and then quality tails off after that.

it's all in my little linky :)
here is the conversation
the 1st page includes some airshow shots on a 40D with the combo
the 2nd page is more methodical
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=432668&page=2
 
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Ah wicked, cheers.
Have you tried the 70-200 with a 1.4 TC?
And do you find you get the 4-stops of IS as claimed?
 
I think the OS is okay but not amazing
I thought the IS on the 70-300 was very good

haven't tried it with a 1.4xTC but would consider one in the future
 
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