Advise please on better lens: G/day from AUS, I have a canon 600d with kit lenses,ie 18x55 and 55x 250, now I find the 18x55 ok but the 55x250 is rather poor at focusing, on scenery...

COLANN Loc: Pahiatua Tararua New Zealand

G/day from AUS, I have a canon 600d with kit lenses,ie 18x55 and 55x 250, now I find the 18x55 ok but the 55x250 is rather poor at focusing, on scenery shots its OK, but say on birds, well not so good.
can any one on the Hog advise re a better lens, and if possible ,one with a little more reach I have thought of the canon 70x300 which available out here for around $500AD and seems much quicker at focusing,
thank you all ,Colin

djtravels Loc: Georgia boy now

I replaced my kit lens with a Tamron 18-200mm lens. Many here use an 18-250, some maybe go to 300mm. I found it to be a good all purpose walk around lens. I recently purchased the Canon 70-300mmL, IS glass. Absolutely great. So it depends on how deep your pockets are.

COLANN Loc: Pahiatua Tararua New Zealand

Thanks djtravels for your reply, yes I had thought about the Tamron 18x270 or the sigma 18x250, as they seem to get good reports as a general walk about lens, however the canon 70x300, I think even though it is a bit more expensive, would be a better choice,
will have to have a look on the web,and see what price I can get one for here in Australia, I just might be lucky,

thanks for your prompt reply, and help, oh if only money was not an issue. Colin

haroldross Loc: Walthill, Nebraska

COLANN wrote:

G/day from AUS, I have a canon 600d with kit lenses,ie 18x55 and 55x 250, now I find the 18x55 ok but the 55x250 is rather poor at focusing, on scenery shots its OK, but say on birds, well not so good.
can any one on the Hog advise re a better lens, and if possible ,one with a little more reach I have thought of the canon 70x300 which available out here for around $500AD and seems much quicker at focusing,
thank you all ,Colin

Canon makes a few lens in the 70-300mm range. The one you saw listed at 500AD probably the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens and it is only marginally better than the Canon EF-S 55-250mm lens for image quality. Focus is slightly quicker than the EF-S 55-250mm.

The Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens is a whole different animal. It is a great lens and is not cheap- about $1500.00 USD.

Canon still has the 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III lens available for about $150.00 USD. This lens is older technology and does not have image stabilization. From my experience, this lens is on par with the EF-S 55-250mm for image quality. Photos get soft close to the full telephoto range (220-300mm).

There are a number of third party lens available that are pretty good but I have no experience with them.

COLANN Loc: Pahiatua Tararua New Zealand

haroldross thanks for the reply, and info, that's the beauty of the Hog, people have the knowledge to put us that don't in the right direction,
as you say the 70x300 is only slightly better than what I have got, so it would be a waste of money buying it, better waiting until I can afford the more expensive L range, or maybe a lens from Sigma or Tamron, if any of there's are OK,, Will do some more research, thanks again Colin

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

COLANN wrote:

Thanks djtravels for your reply, yes I had thought about the Tamron 18x270 or the sigma 18x250, as they seem to get good reports as a general walk about lens, however the canon 70x300, I think even though it is a bit more expensive, would be a better choice,
will have to have a look on the web,and see what price I can get one for here in Australia, I just might be lucky,

thanks for your prompt reply, and help, oh if only money was not an issue. Colin

Sigma has a sale on the 18-250 right now for $349.00. They also have their new 18-200 for $399.00. The new lens looks like a winner. I am considering it as my next lens. My last lens purchase was the Sigma 18-35 1.8, which rocks!!!

I also shoot a t3i.

jimbrown3 Loc: Naples, FL

My 70-300 4-5.6 IS USM is a great lens. Check out Ken Rockwell, he puts it up with the L version. I use it on T2i and 5D III. Only quirk is front element rotates when focusing making it problematic when using a polarizer. I bought mine refurbished from Canon for $365. USD.

haroldross Loc: Walthill, Nebraska

jimbrown3 wrote:

My 70-300 4-5.6 IS USM is a great lens. Check out Ken Rockwell, he puts it up with the L version. I use it on T2i and 5D III. Only quirk is front element rotates when focusing making it problematic when using a polarizer. I bought mine refurbished from Canon for $365. USD.

I'm glad you are pleased with the 70-300mm lens. Not to start an argument but re-read the review again, especially the section Sharpness. Also note how he compares the lens to the L series lens. There is a world of difference between my 70-200mm f/4L lens and the mentioned 70-300mm. The 70-300mm IS USM is very soft compared to the 70-200mm f/4L.

Blurryeyed Loc: NC Mountains.

COLANN wrote:

G/day from AUS, I have a canon 600d with kit lenses,ie 18x55 and 55x 250, now I find the 18x55 ok but the 55x250 is rather poor at focusing, on scenery shots its OK, but say on birds, well not so good.
can any one on the Hog advise re a better lens, and if possible ,one with a little more reach I have thought of the canon 70x300 which available out here for around $500AD and seems much quicker at focusing,
thank you all ,Colin

Canon makes a 70-300mm IS that is very well reviewed optically. It can be purchased on the used market very reasonably and you will be very happy with the results of that lens. This is not the L version it is the non L version but does have comparable optics.... I am not saying that it is the same, but it does compare favorably and can be purchased at a much more budget friendly price. Currently here in the states Canon USA has that lens refurbished in the $260 range which is an excellent value and I believe about half of what they normally charge for the refurbished lens. I own one and the performance between 70-200mm is absolutely excellent, I also have a 300mm f/4L prime lens and the 70-300 at 300 mm is not as good as my prime lens but it did not cost as much either...

Here is the photozone review, if you click back a couple of pages you will see test results and be able to read the comments regarding the optical quality of this lens.

http://www.photozone.de/reviews/200-canon-ef-70-300mm-f4-56-usm-is-test-report--review

coyotecall Loc: New Mexico

After a lot of avoidance of spending $ for a better lens and settling for inferior lenses to "save money" I sprung for the very most I could afford and got a Canon USM L 75-200 non-IS. (about $500 US) If I use it on a tripod EVERY TIME I get good results (almost) every time. As "the man" says, "You'll never get a big enough lens....you just have to get closer." (for birds, etc). Next step up, a Canon USM L 100-400 mm IS. (You can use a good quality doubler with this one and get good shots. That can work with the 75-200 too, key here is "good quality". A lousy, cheap doubler will defeat a good quality telephoto every time.)

Blurryeyed Loc: NC Mountains.

haroldross wrote:

I'm glad you are pleased with the 70-300mm lens. Not to start an argument but re-read the review again, especially the section Sharpness. Also note how he compares the lens to the L series lens. There is a world of difference between my 70-200mm f/4L lens and the mentioned 70-300mm. The 70-300mm IS USM is very soft compared to the 70-200mm f/4L.

Again you are talking about a much more affordable lens, and it is a high performing lens, also it will perform better on a crop camera than it will on full frame.

From the Photozone verdict section of their review.

Quote:

The performance of the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 U... (show quote)

sirlensalot Loc: Arizona

Have you considered the 70-200 F/4 IS and a 1.4 teleconverter? Great combination for outdoor use. The non IS version is the deal of the century for an L lens.

COLANN Loc: Pahiatua Tararua New Zealand

Well thanks for the info, I wasn't expecting as much info from Hog members as I got, but WOW, there certainly is a lot of knowledgeable people out there.
I Know what lens I would like, but as usual for most of us, what we want,and can afford are two different things,so it looks like the 70x300 canon lens at the moment is the winner,it will give me a little more zoom then my 55x250, plus better AF, and by the looks of it a generally better photograph, thank you for your time and knowledge, colin