replacing my canon 75-300: Hello everyone im looking into replacing my canon 75-300 lens. I shoot mainly wildlife and landscapes. Mostly birds and im not happy with the Results im...

out4life2016 Loc: Bellingham, Washington

Hello everyone im looking into replacing my canon 75-300 lens. I shoot mainly wildlife and landscapes. Mostly birds and im not happy with the Results im getting from my 75-300. Currently i am looking at a canon 55-210. I like the focal lengths but as most single parents am on a tight budget. currently i have about 200 to spend. Are the any suggestions or would it be a waste of money to even by that lens also.

ole sarg Loc: south florida

why aren't you happy? Is it the lens or you? I would find out before changing lenses!

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

For wildlife and landscapes your money would be better spent on one of the several versions of a EF 70-300 lens. Look for used copies of the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens, such as at KEH or ebay or similar used resellers have them listed around $250. There's a v II copy of this lens that was $499 new yesterday at B&H (after rebate). Another used lens to consider is the EF 70-300 f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM, used around $360.

Blurryeyed Loc: NC Mountains.

I don't know much about that lens but I read a review on it where it reviewed poorly. I know that it must be tough on the budget being a single parent but my suggestion is to save some more money and watch the classifieds here for a used but well cared for Canon 100-400L MK 1, a 300mm f/4L, or a 400mm f/5.6L. You should be able to buy any of these lenses between $700 and $800. If that price is too far out of reach the Tamron 70-300 or the Canon 70-300 IS would both be an upgrade over your 75-300 and when purchased used are more inline with the price range you have identified.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

In your topic yesterday you mentioned you've only been doing photography for four months and shoot mainly in auto. A new lens will not give you better results until you spend some time learning focus, exposure, metering, and the importance of faster shutter speeds for moving subjects.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

out4life2016 wrote:

Hello everyone im looking into replacing my canon 75-300 lens. I shoot mainly wildlife and landscapes. Mostly birds and im not happy with the Results im getting from my 75-300. Currently i am looking at a canon 55-210. I like the focal lengths but as most single parents am on a tight budget. currently i have about 200 to spend. Are the any suggestions or would it be a waste of money to even by that lens also.

It would help if you told us what camera you have. I'm assuming APS-C given your budget.

The Canon EF 75-300 is an inexpensive (read cheap) without image stabilization. Although Canon makes very good lenses, the EF 75-300 is widely regarded as being at the bottom of the barrel. On the other hand is there a Canon 55-210? Perhaps I missed it, but it seems to be a Sony lens specification.

Within your reach is the Canon EF-S 55-250mm F4-5.6 IS STM Lens for Canon SLR Cameras, which is a pretty good lens optically and has image stabilization.

The older EF 70-300 IS lens has also been mentioned, and it is also affordable used, and although not the latest technology is still pretty good optically. I'm happy with mine for the money that I paid. It is far superior to the EF 75-300.

Good luck.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

Linda From Maine wrote:

In your topic yesterday you mentioned you've only been doing photography for four months and shoot mainly in auto. A new lens will not give you better results until you spend some time learning focus, exposure, metering, and the importance of faster shutter speeds for moving subjects.

Yes, I agree, however a better lens with IS would definitely make a difference. It's harder to learn with tools that are sub standard, and even after learning the basics of your advice, that lens is still a dog!

out4life2016 Loc: Bellingham, Washington

Thank you for your response and i will admit that i am still learning the camera itself. i spend hours reading and practicing however most of the terminology seems greek to me.
At th esame time i have taken what i thought of as pretty decent pics but still not the sharpness im looking for and most of my pics that i seem to be having trouble with are birds in motion. here is a example taken this weekend.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

out4life2016 wrote:

Thank you for your response and i will admit that i am still learning the camera itself. i spend hours reading and practicing however most of the terminology seems greek to me.
At th esame time i have taken what i thought of as pretty decent pics but still not the sharpness im looking for and most of my pics that i seem to be having trouble with are birds in motion. here is a example taken this weekend.

Birds in flight are challenging even for more experienced photographers. What was the shutter speed here? Can you repost with "store original" checked? Thanks!

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Hey out4life2016, if possible, can you re-post these examples and "store the original"? It's hard to say how sharp these two examples are from just the thumbnails. I will say they look good, particularly given the disparagement your current 75-300 tends to receive. When you store the original, we can access the embedded EXIF and we might have some constructive tips to employ before my make any changes to your equipment. You certainly should be encouraged by these results.

out4life2016 Loc: Bellingham, Washington

Thank you for your reply
I have to admit im still learning my canon t3 and unfortantly a lot of what i read seem greek. i have taken some decent images but they just dont have the sharpness that im looking for. I will say that when looking at my pics it seems the ones in motion are where im having the most trouble. Example is being sent with reply.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

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out4life2016 Loc: Bellingham, Washington

Thank you for your reply. I admit that i am still learning my canon t3. Unfortantly most of the language seems greek to me no matter how much i read and practice. Upon reviewing my photos the ones that are giving the most trouble seem to be ones of birds in motion. I have included an example below. This was the best out of ten photos that was taken in sport mode on the camera.

out4life2016 Loc: Bellingham, Washington

not sure how to post with store original shutter speed was 1/1600 is what the camera says for that pic with 5.6 arpeture

out4life2016 Loc: Bellingham, Washington

not sure how to post with the stored original. im learning still.

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