Help with choosing zoom lenses

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DoodleBopper

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Beth
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I want a zoom lens, are any of these any good?
Sigma 18-125 DC OS HSM
Sigma 17-70 DC Macro
Sigma 18-200mm DC
Sigma 24 1.8 DG NAF
Canon 28-105 f3.5-4.5 USM (not sure if this is a zoom lens)
Canon 55-200 f4.5-5.6 U (not sure if this is a zoom lens)
Thanks :)
 
What sort of stuff are you wanting to shoot? There a fair selection of focal lengths there.
Oh, and the Sigma 24 f/1.8 isn't a zoom ;)
 
Okay thankyou. Well i do nature adn wildlife photography. So wanted something to photograph birds and animals etc as often i have to take them from a distance and they look awful with my 18-55mm lens i have now
 
For nature/wildlife stuff, most of those are probably a bit short. Most of the bird shots on here are taken with 400mm+ lenses.
Have a look at the Canon 55-250 IS, 70-300 IS USM and maybe the Tamron & Sigma 70-300 offerings, these will all get you much closer to the action :D
 
If you don't want to part company with a load of dosh, the Tamron 70-300 is pretty decent. It's going for around £170 at the moment. E Bay probably even cheaper used.
It hunts a little on AF but produces some decent images.
 
lenses with two focal lengths are zooms - 55-250 is a zoom, whereas 24 or 50 on its own is a fixed focal length, usually known as a prime lens.

Personally I'd look at something longer such as a 70-300 or even longer.
 
Canon 55-250mm IS is the perfect choice to go with the kit lens for that extra reach. :thumbs:
 
The reason I have chosen these lenses is because they are being sold in a camera shop near me and I would like to get the lens before the weekend as I am going out to do a shoot and think a zoom lens would be useful
 
None of them are really long enough though. The longest there is 200mm and you really need to be in the 300mm+ range. There is no point in buying something that does not do the job just because it's available.

You could rent a belter from lensesforhire and you'll soon see the difference and that would be a better investment.
 
BouncyMelons said:
There is no point in buying something that does not do the job just because it's available.
.
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:agree:

What's your budget?

The problem with small birds is that they are very small in the photo normally unless you have a long lens or can get very close to them.

The latter you can do something about using hides \ putting up feeders etc but sometimes you will just need more lengh. For larger animals this is less of an issue, but generally for wildlife you can never have enough lengh ** slight generalisation some people are happy with wide angle!

You could always try macro as well for the very small bugs....
 
Depends, ducks in parks used to humans \ feeding etc you can get pretty close to so don;t need a long zoom for that, but if you want to get them flying in to land etc having that longer reach may help.

You can take bird pictures without a longer lens, there was a thread along similar lines on here a couple of days ago. I'll see if I can dig it out for you.

Al
 
DoodleBopper said:
Is the Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III any good?
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DoodleBopper said:
£260. What about ducks? And animals etc that size?
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The 55-250 is a better lens and within your budget.
If you can find another £40, you should be able to pick up a 2nd hand 70-300 IS USM on here which is far superior to the older 75-300.

And as mentioned, it's worth waiting and getting the right lens, rather than rushing and having to sell it on again to get the right thing.
 
BouncyMelons said:
None of them are really long enough though. The longest there is 200mm and you really need to be in the 300mm+ range. There is no point in buying something that does not do the job just because it's available.

You could rent a belter from lensesforhire and you'll soon see the difference and that would be a better investment.
Click to expand...

:agree:

As stated, you can't do wildlife on a budget, minimum focal length is 300/400mm for a lens and you looking at £500 (2nd hand) starting budget for something that will start you off. The canon 70-300mm IS is affordable and a good little lens, but abit short.

Ideal starter lenses are canon 400mm f5.6, 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 or (I'll throw this 1 in) the 300mm f4 (+/- 1.4x TC). Have a read of the thread posted above, it has some useful posts.
 
Beth, how close are you to Norwich? Warehouse Express has probably the biggest stock of any retailer in the country, and their prices are reasonable.

I would look at Canon 55-250 on a budget, or 70-300 IS if you can stretch things a bit (not 75-300). Anything longer gets big and expensive, and can be harder to use. You should be able to have a go at ducks and stuff with either of those.
 
Jim.R said:
What sort of stuff are you wanting to shoot? There a fair selection of focal lengths there.
Oh, and the Sigma 24 f/1.8 isn't a zoom ;)
Click to expand...

Also with NAF that is Nikon Auto Focus
 
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