What will I buy?

440Hz

Right I need some advice...

I am lens shopping at the mo, but I cannot decide what I want.

So far I have been managing quite happily with my everyday lens, Canon 17-85 USM IS, on a 350D. But now I feel I need more...
I cant decide whether to go wide or long? I guess I take more landscape shots than anything else but Im trying to branch out a bit. Im leaning towards a tele but dont know what I should go for either.... too many choices.

So basically, who wants to pimp their lenses? Suggestions & advice welcome...

Thanks!

heffsarmy

Not sure on your budget but I would suggest buying a canon 70-200mm f2.8, very versatile lens, great for portraits, landscapes, sports etc. This lens also works well with the 1.4x convertor, you could also get some kenko extension tubes and this would make this lens a great macro lens.

440Hz

Sorry yeah I should have included that point, I dont want to spend too much. Up to 500ish ideally, but if the lens was worth it and the deal was good I could be convinced..

elven

Sounds like you have the lower end of the spectrum covered fairly well, I doubt you'd miss out on *too* many shots without a really wide angle. Going for a longer tele, especially a zoom one that goes from 70mm will still give you scope for candids as well as... well... whatever else you'd want to take pictures of that may be far away! Anyway my point was going to be, that if you get a tele zoom that's quite fast you can use it for low light too. I've no idea how much the one heff mentioned costs mind you. Would it be worth considering 2nd hand glass to get a better lens than you'd be able to afford new, or is it too risky?

Oriel

You could do what I'm going to do and get the Simga 10-20mm.
To get a good zoom, you're going to have to spend a lot of money, so you may as well go wide until you're prepared to spend the money.

S.

rabbitinlights

440Hz, Im in the exact same position as yourself! I have the 17-85mm too!

Id love the 10-20 Sigma as I love really wide shots, but a friend is just back from Africa and she used her 90-200mm lense over there the most (she has both) and the shots came out great. Im going travelling in October (for 2 years) and im restricted with the physical size of the lense (and cost!) cus I dont want to be bogged down with a huge lense. on the zoom side of things im drawn to the Sigma 70-300mm APO lense (€200), Im saving at the moment so price is a big factor too.

Im 60/40 going for the 70-300mm because the 17-85mm is pretty wide, but the landscape shots taken with the 10-20 sigma are stunning....... aaaggggghhhhh!

Roen

I got the 70-200mm f4 L a year back, I still can't decide if my example has back focusing issues or if I'm just crap. When it's sharp it's pin sharp...but as I said sometimes it seems to focus behind the target area. You should be able to pick it up through eBay via a Hong Kong shop for around €600.
Click here for a sample pic at f4.5(basically wide open) at 200mm. You have to be logged in to Flickr and don't even bother if you're on a dial up connection. There's an even more detailed version here

Philistine

I have to agree with Heffsarmy. I have the Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 and its a great lens but costly at €900 !

Oriel

Roen, I'm getting this :

'This page is private.

Oops! You don't have permission to view this page.

Here's a link back to your home page."

Roen

Are you logged in to Flickr? Probably just me making an arse of things though Anyway my point is it's a good sharp lens with a nice range, something like 110-320mm when you take the 1.6x crop into consideration. Great bokeh and lovely colours.

Fionn

i've got the 70-200mm f4 L, on my flickr page the last six (wildlife) photographs were taken using it. The major disadvantage is the lack of IS so this is definately not for low light situations, probably not the greatest for landscapes either but if you can hold it steady (which can be a challenge) it is pretty sharp.
The EF 70-200mm f/2,8 USM doesn't have IS either and is way outside the budget at approx €1300, there is an IS version of this lens but the cost is higher again at around €1850 or so.

For a good landscape lens maybe the EF 17-40mm f/4.0 L USM might be considered, just a bit outside the budget at around €700
No IS on this tho!

440Hz

Yeah I was looking closely at the EF 70-200mm f/4L USM seems to fit the budget at around $550. It gets great reviews http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=14&sort=7&cat=27&page=1 Just worried about the negative feedback on night shots, but I guess you cant have everything!

440Hz

After much thought I decided to go with the 70-300 IS USM f/4-5.6 .... any negative opinions on this, before i go made with the old plastic!

Fajitas!

You could get the Sigma 10-20! I'd highly reccommend it, it's my favourite lens by far!

Or if you want, check out the Sigma 30mm 1.4, I'm buying it in a few weeks, got some good reviews, but some alright reviews! Amatuer photographer gave it a fantastic one!

311

I got a 10-20 aswell , couldn't believe when faj gave me a shot of it .
The sky is brilliant when using it.

Fajitas!

Yeah I know! I don't know what it is, but the sky just pops every time! And the colours in general are great! (Just stay clear of high iso's!!!)

Borderfox

Sigma 70-300 is pretty good for what I am using it for, once you have decent light everythings hunky dory...


www.flickr.com/photos/keithjack

Calina

Borderfox wrote:

Sigma 70-300 is pretty good for what I am using it for, once you have decent light everythings hunky dory...


www.flickr.com/photos/keithjack

Although I love mine, I find it a bit heavy on the battery.

440Hz

Looking at the Canon 70-300 as IS is a big thing for me. I have an ongoing arm injury that means my right arm can be very shaky esp if trying to hold something steady. This lens gets good reviews, not AS good as the 70-200 4L, but I dont think I need L glass just yet

masteroftherealm

10-20 or my preference would br the 70-200.
And youll realise with the L glass it is woth the extra, holds its value and you will keep it forever! Amazingly sharp and beautiful

440Hz

masteroftherealm wrote:

10-20 or my preference would br the 70-200.
And youll realise with the L glass it is woth the extra, holds its value and you will keep it forever! Amazingly sharp and beautiful

Hmmmmm thanks! I know you are right about the L glass but... that IS is a bigger pulling factor for me I think.

Having said that, everywhere I look to buy the 70-300 it is out of stock, so might not have a choice but to go for the 70-200 4L