Buying some Lenses - 70-300mm and Macro

[geebs2006]

I am looking to get a couple of lenses for my Canon 650D.

I am after a 70-300 zoom and a Macro.

I am looking at getting both from Tamron (70-300 at £300ish and the 90mm Macro)

The Macro I'm settled on but wondered is the 70-300 as good as Canon's own or am I better stumping up the extra for the Canon.

Cheers for any info/opinions.

 

[geebs2006]

Anyone

 

[Deleted member 34016]

I know nothing of the make Canon, I can say however; that my branded lenses ( Sony) seem a tad sharper than any Tamron/Sigma version Ive ever owned

I that helps :shrug:

Les

 

[aethelstan927]

Have you considered a second hand canon70-300? Or even the tamron second had can be had much cheaper than £300
From what iv seen Tamron are supposed to have the better optics of the 3rd party bands but sigma are faster to focus. Obviously the canon is going to have superior build quality and you would hope optical performance, tho that may not always be noticeable( please note some with disagree with the last statement)

Hope that helps

 

[stu.artd]

I have a Tamron 70-300VC (it's about £300 so think this is what you're looking at) and for the money it's good. I have occassional issues where it seems to focus on nothing at all, but that only happened a few times and hasn't happened at all the last 2 times I've used the combination so I'm not sure what's going on.
If you buy a UK sourced lens then the Tamron lenses should come with a 5yr warranty upgrade from Tamron, so if any issues crop up after a couple of years then they should get resolved anyway.

I've read reviews that tend to place the Tamron 70-300VC slightly above or at least on the same level as the Canon 70-300IS. One good thing about the Tamron is that
the front of the lens doesn't rotate when zooming or focusing so it's OK with polarising filters etc...

If you're interested then everything in the Edinburgh Zoo gallery on this link was taken with my 7d and Tamron 70-300VC.

 

[andyred]

I've the Canon 70-300IS lens and really like it, get good results with it and the IS can rally make a difference, especially at the long end. I used it the other day at a track day @ Oulton Park and got some very nice shots with it.

Personally, if you can stretch the extra or are happy with a 2nd hand, I'd opt for the Canon, but that's just my choice ...

 

[woof woof]

I have the Canon 70-300mm f4-5.6 and optically I think it's ok, not great but ok. Mechanically it seems like a rather agricultural thing, the IS rumbles and groans (but seems to work well,) the USM doesn't allow full time manual focus in AF mode and the front rotates as you focus. All in all it seems a bit previous generation than state of the art.

The IS does seem good though but I'd deffo look at the competition before buying the Canon.

 

[andyred]

the IS rumbles and groans (but seems to work well,)

Mine doesn't ?

It's certainly slower to act and i can hear it, it is noisier than an L (and cheaper) but wouldn't say it rumbles and groans ...

Mines not that old, perhaps they've upgraded the IS ???