Camera Labs

Anyways, I was at a graduation last weekend and I was pretty far from the panel and I wanted to take AWESOME pictures. That didn't happen with my starter kit lenses that came with my xsi canon.

Anyways, I think I got enough help for the close up protrait side with the canon lens, what about the far away ones?

I saw these one amazon for cheap.. what do you think? Which one would help?

Sigma 55-200mm f/4-5.6 DC Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras
Sigma Zoom Telephoto 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG Macro Autofocus Lens
Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG Macro Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

Thanks in advance!

Hi HydroxylicAcid,

oops..looks like I missed this one..and a belated, but no less warm welcome to the forum!!

Personally I swear by the 55-200mm range for portraits. Certainly 70-300 gives more range, but I rarely find myself in a position where 200mm isn't enough...when combined with my feet.

I don't have hands-on experience with these particular lenses and of course the individual price vs. quality equations have to be weighed in as well in your decision.

Considerations on the require maximum aperture should perhaps be added to your deliberations as well, especially if you shoot indoors or in otherwise dim light. There are primes out there in the 100-120mm range with a larger maximum aperture that would do better in low light. Of course with a prime you might need more room to move though, so it's a trade-off there too.

Good luck with your choice!

Cheers

What is your budget?

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Bodies: Nikon D80, Nikon FM2n, Zenit 3M, Olympus Pen EE-3
Glass: Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 + Nikon 50mm f/1.8 + Nikon 35-70 f/2.8 + Industar 50mm f/3.5 (M39 Screw mount)
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i would like it to be around 300 bucks.

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Canon Digital Rebel XSi with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens and a hood!
Canon Powershot G10