Camera Labs

Sir , thank you for your great site .

I 've been always reading your site before buy any camera of any kind.

I think your detailed review is jsut better than anything else out there.

I am a poor photographer technically and maybe financially too.

Looking for a budget tele photo zoom for my XTI.

I've been interested in Tamron 55-200mm , 70-300 F4-F5.6 DILD macro and Sigma 70-300 F4-F5.6 DG macro AMP.

I have been reading so many articles on those and asked many people at a camera store in my area, but all of them are rated similarly.

I also checked many pics taken with them at flickr.com but I can not make my mind ....

I 've had the EOS with EF50 F1.8 and EF-S18-55- the kit lens.

Actually , coming from a tiny PS , I am shocked at the IQ of this Canon and I do not think the kit lens is so bad .... so my level is relatively low and not in need of the level of Canon L lenses ....


Would you please recommend a lens which covers up from 55-200 or 70-300 for me .....I 'll have about USD250 to spend for a new lens.

I just want to cover up the same focal length as my old Fuji S6000 FD covers up with its fixed lens...

Thanks alot of your wonderful site ...

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best regards.

Hi Derek, welcome to the Cameralabs forums and thanks for your kind comments!

I have changed the title of your post so people can see more easily what it is about and provide their advice. I hope you don't mind!

I haven't tested the three lenses you suggest, so I can't comment on them. I have however tested the Canon 70-300mm IS USM and while the construction isn't fantastic, the quality is pretty good - and it has Image Stabilisation to combat camera shake.

I also hope to test the Sigma 50-150mm f2.8 soon. It doesn't have stabilisation, but it is optically quick.

But both lenses cost about $550-$650 US, so they're beyond your budget.

Have you considered a second hand lens? You might find a bargain?

But if your budget for a new lens is US $250, then it looks like a cheaper Sigma is probably your best bet. The Sigma 70-300mm APO is available for about US $200. It's a little bit more expensive than the non-APO version, but the APO models are normally worth having. It's probably your best bet unless you want to go for the stabilised Canon or the faster f2.8 Sigma lens.

Has anyone out there got a 70-300mm for their Canon which they'd care to comment on? Or indeed tried the Sigma telephoto zooms on a different mount?

Cheers!

Gordon

First , thank you ,and I think your right the Canon is out of my budget since I will also have to buy a macro lens (probably Canon EF-S 60mm).

I went to my local dealor , and had a few munites conversation with a owner of the store .

He said in Aisa ,a Tamron would be more much cheaper than Sigma and canon equivalent model.


So considering the fact , a Tamron is always a greater deal than a Sigma equivalent model of it.


I found a Tamron 55-200 was sold here for around USD 120 with 6 years of warranty while a Sigma 55-200 was sold here for around USD 160, is this a good deal?



Also, found a Sigma 18-200 was sold for about USd 230 , is this a good buy?

I know you reviewed this sigma and compared this with Tamron version of 18-200 super zoom , and I know both are in IQ term , just ok ..not too sharp ...


So is this Sigma really so bad or ok at least as good as the lens on a FZ50?

I also saw the Sigma 70-300 f4-f5.6 APO, which you suggested me to see two day a go , and quite impressed with it though , it would be a bit too long for me to keep it always on my XTI in my Lowe pro bag when I go out of my house.


But I really like the focal length and the price of the Sigma , this 70-300 was sold for 6700baht (about USD 160).

I also confirmed the price of Tamron 70-300f4-f5.6 DI LD macro , this was sold for 6000 baht , which is much cheaper than on line price of the same lens at a Circuit city in SanDiego area.

I also found a Canon 60mm macro lens , and I think I will have to buy this although this one was priced at 19.400 baht (about USD500).


In SE-Asia a brand like Canon , Sony and Nikon are super expensive(over priced) but Tamron or Sigma are extremely cheap...


Any way, thanks for your suggestion and I will try all on my camera once and see how it works on my XTI, though if the quality of Optics of the Sigma 18-200 is good enough or better than that of the Tamron 55-200 , which is highly recommended by ephotozine.com, thinkcamera.com and photo.net , I will get the 18-200.

Hope your test on this lens (Tamron55-200) comes out soon ,in the same manner as the Sigma 18-200 review , in which you compared it against the Tamron 18-200 and the Nikon original version of it, that review was a great esp , I like the gallery .


Thanks alot again.

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best regards.