Are any of the budget zoom lenses worth their salt?

Rayn

Rayn

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A friend of mine has just bought his first camera ever, and went for the same camera as me (Canon 550D). He only got the body, as he had a few lenses at home, given to him by his brother. As it turned out, the lenses he was given, was for Pentax cameras, so now he's selling those to fund some Canon glass.

He really wants a zoom lens, but won't have a big budget, so hes wondering which one to go for. As I'm a beginner myself, I dont have enough experience with glass of any price range to reccommend him anything, so I throw the ball to you guys.
He's been looking at a few 70-300mm lenses. A Sigma one @ £85, a Tamron @ £110 and a Canon @ £140. There's also a 55-250 IS one from Canon @ £190.

Of these, are any of them producing ok pictures? He's not into pixel peeping or anything, and he's well aware of cheaper lenses equals worse IQ, he just wants something to bring on family picnics and strolls around the city.
 
I had the Sigma17-70. Useful range, light, sharp. Good value for money. Recommended.
My version was without image stabiliser. Never missed it ! Actually not sure if it's even available with IS !
 
The Canon 55-250 is a great lens for the money - I would not hesitate in recommending this one, and infact did own it for a while. My mother now has it and loves it. Gives a good IQ and comes out well in tests.

There is a good Canon 70-300 (And a bad one) - Not sure which is which, someone will probably be able to tell you which is which. May be more ££'s though.
 
The Sigma one at £85 I'd give a miss, there is a slightly dearer one (Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG - I just sold one on here for £100) that has much better IQ and is much sharper. The cheaper one is much worse on both counts.

I can't comment on the Tamron and Canon 70-300mm's as I haven't used them. I am about to get the Canon 55-250mm IS and from what I've read in reviews it seems to be pretty good, I'll see for sure pretty soon. :D
 
Thanks for the feedback, guys. Seems like I was a bit too quick to write my post, my mate hasn't looked at the Canon 70-300s, as they are outside his budget, I was supposed to type 75-300. I just noticed there are two 75-300mm from Canon, both below £200.
Are any of these any good?

Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5,6 III

Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM

I would guess they are the exact same lenses, but the latter would have quicker AF?
 
Just keep eyes peeled for a 2nd hand bargain around your budget...

Al'
 
Rayn said:
Are any of these any good?

Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5,6 III

Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM
Click to expand...

Avoid!

Seriously rubbish there - CA's all over the place.

Caon 55-250 will be far better, although bear in mind its non-USM and so not up to fast focusing.... the Canon 70-300 IS is king of the budget non-L zooms but by the sound of things, slightly out of budget so go for the 55-250..
 
desantnik said:
Avoid!

Seriously rubbish there - CA's all over the place.

Caon 55-250 will be far better, although bear in mind its non-USM and so not up to fast focusing.... the Canon 70-300 IS is king of the budget non-L zooms but by the sound of things, slightly out of budget so go for the 55-250..
Click to expand...

:agree:
 
I've got the tamron 70-300mm I think it's good for the price I have found focusing a bit of an issue on times, but when it's spot on it's spot on.

26492_371858502476_722067476_4212595_2474476_n.jpg
 
In the 70-300mm range, you should avoid the 75-300 USM lenses.

For under £200, you can't go too badly wrong with the Sigma 70-300 APO (make sure it's the APO version!) or the Canon 55-250.

Or if you want to aim a little higher, there's the Canon 70-300 IS.
 
For a general purpose zoom, the tamron 55-200 is amazing value for money, and I find it to be pretty damn sharp over the entire length.

Many of the budget lenses tend to be poor at 300mm anyhow, 200mm may be more than adequate for the purpose you describe.:)
 
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