Marilyng Loc: Lorain,Oh.

I am looking at a refurbished canon lens 75-300 mm for my daughter-in-law as a Christmas gift.She has a Canon T3i.She takes photos of our granddaughter who runs cross country & our grandson who plays hockey.She has a Tamron 75-200.My question is,will There be that much of a difference in this Canon lens compared to the Tamron? I only shoot Nikon & know nothing about Canon.Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

CHOLLY Loc: THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE!

More reach, better optics. ;)

Marilyng Loc: Lorain,Oh.

Thanks,just wanted to be sure!

George Kravis

I bought that lens a number of years ago when it was the first of that size with built in Image Stabilization. It has since been superceded by the 70 to 300. The lens has done well for me, and the only complaint is that it's slightly slow at f4-f5.6,that has not hampered me and is a good buy at today's prices.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

I don't know about the Tamron, but for the intended use of the Canon, you could better spend your money on another lens idea. I'm referencing specifically the EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM which will take good pictures of non moving things, particularly when using a tripod. You might look at KEH for an EX rated copy of either the EF 70-200 f/4L (the non IS) or the EF 70-300 f/4-5.6 IS. She and you by extension should get a lot of crisp pictures of the grandkids with either of these alternative ideas.

Photocraig

I've had the 75-300 IS lens for about 15 years. I currently shoot my grandson's soccer and baseball, and now indoor soccer--wild. I have to push the ISO to 3200 indoors with OK Image Quality. The IS and the 300mm reach on my 50D Cropped sensor, same as you daughter's, gives me a 35mm equivalent reach of 480 mm. That means that I can get full isolation on a single player across the entire (Smaller) soccer field or baseball diamond.

She wil enjoy the lens and she will get great results.

Marilyng Loc: Lorain,Oh.

Oh good,thank u all for your input,I appreciate it!😄

jimmya Loc: Phoenix

I'm long time Canon owner and I owned one Tamron lens that had issues so I don't buy their stuff any longer.

Remember this, Canon lenses are intended specifically for Canon cameras and will perform well for your daughter-in-law.

I also own a 75-300 and though many complain about it's quality I have very good, very sharp luck with mine.

Just make sure it's refurbished by Canon and not by some fly-by-night outfit and you should have good results.

Good Luck

FredB Loc: A little below the Mason-Dixon line.

Agree completely. The Canon 70-200 f/4L lens without IS is a bargain, especially if you find a gently used one. Even on the daughter's APS sensor, it will provide a generally superior image to either of the 'consumer' grade lenses you are currently considering. If it's good enough for Art Wolfe to carry, it should be good enough for high school track...

Marilyng Loc: Lorain,Oh.

I purchased the Lens from Adorama so I have no worries there. I didn't know there were any complaints about this lens! Everyone I talked with seemed happy with their photos.I know she will be so happy as she has wanted this lens for awhile & has no idea she is getting it! Thanks for your input,I appreciate them all!😊

jimmya Loc: Phoenix

Well some talk down the "quality" saying the lens has a plastic barrel - no big deal really because if your daughter-in-law cares for her gear the way I do mine she'll have the lens for a long time.

Best of luck and you're welcome

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

There are two current and several previous models of 75-300.

For sports photography, USM lenses would be best... STM would be pretty good... micro motor lenses are too slow for fast action or tracking subjects.

The EF 75-300mm III USM is okay. Just "okay". Not the greatest image quality, but decent focus performance, low cost. No image stabilization. Cheap build. Slightly better "feel" than the non-USM (below). It sells for $188 refurbished at the Canon online store.

The EF 75-300mm III (not USM, nor IS) is the cheapest ($160 refurb) and weakest telezoom that Canon makes. Image quality, build, focus performance are all sub-par. No image stabilization, either.

FYI, here is a not very complimentary review of the better of the two... the EF 75-300 III USM:

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-75-300mm-f-4-5.6-III-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

There also was an EF 75-300mm USM IS... but I think it's been discontinued. It got stabilization, but if anything it's image quality is even worse (stabilization requires additional elements, so no doubt the optical formula had to change to accommodate it).

The best thing about the Canon EF 75-300mm in all their versions is that they're cheap. Unfortunately they prove the old adage, "You get what you pay for."

For not a lot more money ($200 refurb), the EF-S 55-250mm IS II is a sharper lens with less chromatic aberration, and - especially - with stabilization. Not the greatest build quality (plastic), and not the greatest focus drive system, but it will make better images than either of the 75-300mm lenses. The IS alone will help a lot with a telephoto zoom, especially at the 250mm setting and on a crop sensor camera.

The EF-S 55-250mm IS STM is a nice step up for about $50 more ($240 refurb), with all the same benefits as the non-STM model, plus better STM (stepper motor) focus drive performance (smoother, quieter).

Here is a review for the EF-S 55-250mm IS STM:

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-S-55-250mm-f-4-5.6-IS-STM-Lens.aspx

The Digital Picture doesn't have a review of the EF-S 55-250mm IS II... But Ken Rockwell does:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/lenses/55-250mm-is-ii.htm


The next step up are $600+ 70-300mm lenses, three version (IS/USM, DO/IS/USM, L/IS/USM). Then beyond that there are the four premium 70-200mm (all L's... two f4, two f2.8, both with and without IS), starting at around $700 and going up to and over $2000.

Presumably you are looking for a low cost, lighter weight lens. If it were me, for my money I'd go with one or the other of the EF-S 55-250mm... They are still among the least expensive available. But spend just a little more and get much better images as a result.

I can't compare with the Tamron lens you mention. Check on some of those websites and elsewhere, you might find a review of it. I have used some Tamron lenses and one thing I'd almost guarantee if it's a lower cost model... it will not focus as quickly and surely as either Canon STM or USM lenses will, making it less fun to use for sports photography. Tamron does make a few USD lenses, that give focus performance similar to Canon USM, but they typically are the more expensive Tamron models.

With any of these lenses, using a T3i for sports your daughter will probably want to set it to use only the center AF point. It's the only "cross type" point in that camera model... which makes it faster and more responsive than the other eight AF points. Set the camera to AI Servo, and she's ready to shoot cross country. Indoor hockey is probably going to be challenging, as most arenas are not terribly well lit. This is where expensive f2.8 lenses are popular (IS helps steady shots by counteracting camera shake at slower shutter speeds... but it can't do anything about subject movement that might cause blur at those same shutter speeds). Still, depending upon conditions, she can probably boost the ISO in her camera to 3200 and get some decent shots.

EDIT: I just did a quick search and find no reference to Tamron 75-200mm anywhere.

There is a Tamron SP 70-200mm f2.8 lens. Again, I've never used one with my Canon cameras, but it's a premium lens that might blow away any of the above in terms of image quality, build and overall performance. If your daughter has one of the Tamron 70-200/2.8, she probably wouldn't be very excited about any of the above lenses. In particular, the current Tamron SP 70-200mm f2.8 USD VC is very highly regarded (Canon's $2000 EF 70-200/2.8 IS USM Mark II is better... but a lot more expensive).

Marilyng Loc: Lorain,Oh.

Well,this reply really has me confused & worried!!The replies I got here were positive,plus I also talked to a few people who have this lens & they are happy with their photos.My daughter-in-law is not a professional photographer but loves to take photos of her children & their sports events.I guess if she isn't happy with it I can return it for her.😞

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Sorry about that... but also see my late edit... just added.

You need to get a peek at the Tamron lens she has now, to see what it is for certain. There's no such thing as a Tamron 75-200 that I can find. If it's a Tamron 70-200 it is almost certainly an f2.8 lens and might well be in a different league from any of the lenses you're looking at.

Marilyng Loc: Lorain,Oh.

Well then she must have the 70-200 Tamron,are you saying the Tamron lens is better than the Canon I just purchased for her? I had three different lenses by Tamron wasn't impressed with any of them,I sold them all.