MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Hi All
As I aim to complete my range of lens focal lengths before my trip to NZ later this year, the final piece of the jigsaw is a zoom lens. I have looked at the Canon 70-200 f4L (non IS), but as nice as it is, it is almost double the price of the 70-300 f4/5.6 lens, which has the added benefit of having IS - I have quite a shaky hand at the best of times!
What is the STW collective opinion on this lens? I've read numerous reviews which say it is generally good betwen 70-200 and then a bit soft thereafter, but some STW knowledge never goes a miss!
Oh and if anybody has one that they may wish to sell.... 🙂
As I aim to complete my range of lens focal lengths
What do you have so far then? 🙂
Sigma 10-20 and a sigma 17-70 f2.8-4 🙂
edit: Oh and a 50mm f1.8 and a knocked up macro lens..
Cool... I seem to have ended up with 7 lenses, but there's overlap!
Where do you live?
I have one that I don't use.
I didn't have any problem with it, it was a decent lens. I don't use it any more as I upgraded to the 100-400 L lens.
McHamish, I live in Warwick, how about you?
Find a "magic drainpipe" 2nd hand if you can. Older generation 80-200mm f2.8. Brilliant pro quality lens, although be warned it's pretty weighty. Had a 70-300 prior to getting hold of one......worked OK in decent bright light but image quality drops off fairly quickly on zoom/low light compared to the drainpipe.
Half the price, better lens.
www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-EF-S-55-250mm-4-5-6-Lens/dp/B0056E49MK
Cougar; better in what way?
kiwifiz... I'll go and look on eBay now!
Cougar - Member
Half the price, better lens.http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-EF-S-55-250mm-4-5-6-Lens/dp/B0056E49MK
POSTED 26 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST
EF-S the S stands for shite!
I've got the 70-300 IS 4-5.6 which I travel with alot along with a wider lens. Great lens for the money and the AF is a lot quicker using the ultrasonic motor.. Where in NZ Are you going you want a wide angled lens for all the scenic views truly breathtaking views.
Slogo - I've got a week in the north island, then 2 weeks driving around the south in a camper van on my own. I can't wait! I'm off to Perth for Christmas afterwards which I'm not particularly looking forward to if I'm honest with you! The NZ trip is the reason that I got the Sigma 10-20, I have been very pleased with it so far. I have been reading a landscape photography books, and I've been very surprised at how many photos are taken at focal lengths > 70mm. It's a good excuse to get the range of focal lengths covered too....
The problem with this is that I hate taking photos and then getting home and wishing I'd used a better lens.
I use a sigma 70-300 and to be honest, I hate attaching it to the camera. Yes, I can get the shot, but it's always irretrievably wrongly coloured and soft. From 200-300 the resolution is roughly the same, so I could just use 200mm and crop into the photo.
I think I've only ever put about 4 shots from it on flickr.
If it were me, I'd save up for the f4L (although to be honest I always thought the 70-300 IS and the f4L were fairly close in price.
(£3xx vs £4xx).
I was once offered the Canon 200mm f2.8L prime second hand for £400 and I kind of wish I'd taken it (couldn't/can't really afford). I bet it's better cropped than most 300mm lenses.
Get the hell out of auckland asap. Bay of island, lake taupo, rotorua and the tongarrio national parks are all awesome places to see. The south island was where I spent the most of the time. You're gunna love Queenstown. Make sure you get some ice climbing done in franz josef.
I'll be heading back in the summer for my 2 year working visa this year hopefully.
AlexSimon - MemberI was once offered the Canon 200mm f2.8L prime second hand for £400 and I kind of wish I'd taken it (couldn't/can't really afford). I bet it's better cropped than most 300mm lenses.
Did it burn your fingers? 😉
No, it was from a friend. He sold it on avforums for about £450 in the end I think.
This was back when the pound was really strong and he bought it from onestop-digital for less than £500.
Canon ebay outlet currently has a 70-200 f4L IS for £700. It doesn't list it as IS, but when you look at the detail it suggests it is. Bit pricey for me mind!
The canon 55-250 is widely regarded as the best budget zoom Available for canon cameras, I have owned this lens and also the 70/200 F4 Is, whilst not as good as the 70/200 it's pretty dam close, I have also had a sigma 120-400 and the canon is far superior to that
Just google 55-250 and its hard to find a bad review and at £110 secondhand it's an absolute bargain
So what I can deduce from this thread is that the 70-300 is a good lens, unless you've got the money to pay for Canon L lenses. Anybody care to disagree?
I have the 70-300 DO IS lens. I love it. It is a staple part of my travel photography kit as it is not only a fantastic lens (and the image stabilisation makes up in part for the relative slowness), but it's also (again, relatively) compact and lightweight for a decent zoom.
If you are using it on one of the smaller sensor canons, the crop factor works well too.
I'm not selling mine.
EDIT: I also have a 17-40 L lens, which is relarively cheap for a fantastic bit of glass, and it works well in tandem with the zoom as a travel pack of two lenses.
Cheapest I can find the 70-300 IS: £369.00
Cheapest I can find the 70-200 L: £489.00
I know that for me personally, I would lose the IS in order to have a lens I was happy with in basic quality terms (and would hold it's price).
I would probably bump up the ISO to compensate slightly.
You can pick up a 70-300 IS on eBay for about £275, new. Originally I did think that £100 between the 70-300 and 70-200L would be worth it, but when the difference is closer to £200 then I'm not sure I can justify it.
In response to an earlier question...I'm in London (New Malden by night, Canary Wharf by day).
Yes, I understand. £275 is a very good price. Unlike the poster above, I've seen comparisons with the 55-250 that show the 70-300 being much better.
Although - there is a good 55-250 grey-import price on ebay right now for anyone else reading the thread:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290777278728
McHamish... do you have a price in mind/pics? By chance, I'm down in London (Wimbledon area so I guess not far) on Saturday afternoon / Sunday morning. It is maybe better to chat offline? My email is in my profile if you are interested
Cheers
Ian
[url= http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-70-300mm-f-4-5.6-IS-USM-Lens-Review.aspx ]Some good reading and pics[/url]
Tamron 70-300 VC is supposed to be very decent for the money
My daughter has the 55-250mm IS and its excellent for what it costs
Can't comment on the 70-200mm non IS, but supposed to be excellent and best of the lot although pricy is the new'ish 70-300L IS
Personally use a 70-200 f/4 IS with a 1.4 TC for a bit extra focal length when required.
Depends what you want to spend, but not heard anything great about the lens you mention in your title and think my choice would be the Tamron or the 70-200
70-200 is the way to go f2.8 or f4
If your not shooting sports then f4 will do rightly
Got an original 70-200 f4 non IS (sharp as a butchers knife) that i might end up selling
In fact a whole host of stuff but thats for another post
Be interested in any canon lenses (decent ones not slow kit zooms) if you have any in your "whole host of stuff"
All canon
300 f4 lS
135 f2
200mm f1.8 IS
70 /200 f4 non IS
1.4 mk2 extender
2 x 580 ex flashes
2 x 1d mk2 bodys
For starters lol
Seems funny nobody has asked the op what camera body hes shooting with....
Already have the 70-200 2.8 zoom and MKIII extender but would be interested in the 135f2
I have a 45 Tse that's up for grabs. Possibly a 24-70 2.8 but I haven't decided if it needs to go yet.
I am looking for a 24-105mm if either of you are selling one
stuarty - I'd seen in another thread that the op had a 600D.
That's quite a sell-off - are you swapping brands? It's probably well above my price range - a 200mm f1.8 IS - oh my 🙂