Telephoto lens reviews

foodpoison

foodpoison

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Sean
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Where can I find lens reviews?
I've tried DPreview, I don't like Ken Rockwell (to me every bit of kit he uses is like, the best ever) and I'm kind of stuck on where to look next!

I'm in the market for a telephoto lens, preferably zoom, for about £150-£250.

I've had a sigma apo 70-300 previously, but got rid of it due to little use.

I was thinking of the following models:
Canon EF-S 55-250 IS (about £200)
Canon EF 55-200 (about £180)
Sigma 55-200 (about £100)
Sigma 70-300 APO (about £120)
Canon 100-300 (about £200)

Now, I can't decide on a few things.
Do I need image stabilization, a wide, constant max aperture, or both?
The 55-250 is the preferable choice, but I don't know if the varying aperture will be an issue.
I can get a canon 70-200 f/4 for around £330, and a sigma 70-200 f/2.8 for around £350, but I don't think I can justify the extra however much for a minimal improvement in quality (i think?!) and a large max aperture, when the main use of the lens will be for landscapes. I will hardly ever use it for anything that requires a fast max aperture.

So, opinions?
 
Have you tried here yet? http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/
In some quarters it kind of has the reputation for being a place where someone buys a lens/body simply because "It's the best and so I need to have it" only to sell in on a few weeks later. I've heard the for sale forum there is full of mint condition equipment. But there might be a few reviews that'll be useful.
 
If you can stretch to the 70-200, it's far more of a lens for life than the others. Less range but you do get far far better sharpness, contrast, colour rendition and lightning fast focus.
 
foodpoison said:
Where can I find lens reviews?
Click to expand...
Did you think of using the forum's search facility? This exact topic came up just a couple of weeks ago here.

For what it's worth, here's a list of the reviews sites I use.

The Digital Picture - very thorough coverage of Canon stuff
Fred Miranda - large numbers of user reviews, good for quick impressions
ePHOTOzine - very readable reviews, but not so comprehensive
photozone.de - probably the widest range of lenses reviewed
Ken Rockwell - opinionated and erratic, but readable, covers both Nikon and Canon
Thom Hogan - Nikon only, decent coverage but not comprehensive
Bjørn Rørslett - Nikon only, decent coverage but not comprehensive
photodo - extensive user and pro reviews of lenses
DPReview - the best reviews of cameras, not so hot on lenses yet
Luminous Landscape has a decent smattering of reviews

I asked whether it be worth making this a sticky somewhere, but apparently the Mods have either decided not or not decided.
 
I have the el cheapo (by comparison) f4 non IS and while I've tried the others plenty of times, they've never been good enough to temp me to change.

I'm sure the other lenses you've shortlisted are going to be good to, but as with all things, there's always something better. It's just in this case, the better isn't much more expensive. It's more alright but not like the difference going up to a 24-70L from the equivalent siggy or tamron.

The other thing to take into account is that unless you're shooting for clients, where every shot is 110% crucial, it's not so bad to have a lens that needs your full time and attention to get the best from it once in a while.
 
dazzajl said:
I have the el cheapo (by comparison) f4 non IS and while I've tried the others plenty of times, they've never been good enough to temp me to change.

I'm sure the other lenses you've shortlisted are going to be good to, but as with all things, there's always something better. It's just in this case, the better isn't much more expensive. It's more alright but not like the difference going up to a 24-70L from the equivalent siggy or tamron.

The other thing to take into account is that unless you're shooting for clients, where every shot is 110% crucial, it's not so bad to have a lens that needs your full time and attention to get the best from it once in a while.
Click to expand...

You make fine points, sir!

Sorry Stuart! It didn't even cross my mind :(
I contemplated posting this thread since I know it's one that a lot of people get tired of, and you'd have thought that thinking that I'd have though "Oh, there's probably already one!"
 
I've had a look, and the price of the 70-200 f/4 has increased significantly since before christmas (i wonder if the credit crunch has anything to do with that?). It's now cheapest at £411, plus the tripod collar is £50, making it substantially more expensive.

I think, what I'm going to do, is buy the 55-250IS with aim to buy a f/2.8 or f/4 with IS in the future.
 
You make fine points, sir!
Click to expand...

Does that make up for the frankly awful spelling/typing then?
icon_redface.gif
 
:notworthy::LOL:
 
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