lens advice

petebuster1

petebuster1

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peter
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Hi all, i have a canon sx40hs which is a very good camera which i'll be hanging onto for the zoom but decided a while back that i want that something with a bit extra so i can get into photography that bit more.
After 3 months of review and information overload i finally decided on the canon 650d which i'll be getting in the next few weeks but was wondering whats a good all round lens and a decent zoom for wildlife, nothing too expensive as budget is limted just something that will do a good job,will be taking things slowly as i'm sure it will take a while to get used to the 650d
 
I've heard good reports of the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II - which is a good all-rounder budget buy (around £170 - £200) - 55mm is a bit too long for all-round use though. If budget is tight, I'd get the 650D with the kit lens for starters - it's not got the reach, but it is a 'walk-about' lens (if you get the 55-250 too, you will cover quite a range). If by 'decent zoom for wildlife' you mean magnification for, e.g., bird photography, then you will probably want something with a bit more reach. A popular 'budget' telephoto zoom lens for wildlife is the Sigma 150-500 OS (about £700-£800).

Edit addition: There's always second hand too. I'd wait a bit and get used to the new camera before throwing money at new lenses.
 
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How much is 'not too expensive' ?
 
You can easily pick-up an old EF 75-300 USM lens for £100 (or less) these days and it's a perfectly good lens which will give decent reach on a crop body (effectively 120-480mm). Get yourself a smaller lens like a 24-70 for landscape/portrait work and you will be sorted. Of course, this assumes that you don't have the funds for an all-out assult on L-series lenses costing lots more than your body!
 
I'm looking at no more than £300 give or take for a couple of lenses for the time being, as i say will take things slowly anyway. i'm still not 100% sure (about 95% though) on the 650d was looking at the 60d to, trouble is i'm in a rural area with no camera shops nearby but am going to Turkey 2 weeks saturday so will have a feel of the cameras at the airport curry's,dixons or what ever it is so will make the final decision then
 
Keep an eye on the used market, I got a 55-250mm II, 18-55mm is II and a 50mm f1.8 for £110 last week. All in almost as new condition.
 
petebuster1 said:
I'm looking at no more than £300 give or take for a couple of lenses for the time being, as i say will take things slowly anyway. i'm still not 100% sure (about 95% though) on the 650d was looking at the 60d to, trouble is i'm in a rural area with no camera shops nearby but am going to Turkey 2 weeks saturday so will have a feel of the cameras at the airport curry's,dixons or what ever it is so will make the final decision then
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In that case the 150-500 OS Sigma is out of the question, not even a used one. There other older versions though, pre OS, but 150 at the shord end is not ideal, if it has to be useful for other than wildlife.

55-300 or 75-300 is your best bet if you want to include wildlife, but would be a small compromise on the short end. Or maybe 18-200 at a pinch for the long end, with a much more useful short end
 
Yes thanks it would have be something that fits with canon,whatever my final decision it will be a canon i think, lol
 
FourRingCircus said:
You can easily pick-up an old EF 75-300 USM lens for £100 (or less) these days and it's a perfectly good lens which will give decent reach on a crop body (effectively 120-480mm). Get yourself a smaller lens like a 24-70 for landscape/portrait work and you will be sorted. Of course, this assumes that you don't have the funds for an all-out assult on L-series lenses costing lots more than your body!
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I think the L lenses are something in the far off future at the moment
 
petebuster1 said:
I'm looking at no more than £300 give or take for a couple of lenses for the time being, as i say will take things slowly anyway. i'm still not 100% sure (about 95% though) on the 650d was looking at the 60d to, trouble is i'm in a rural area with no camera shops nearby but am going to Turkey 2 weeks saturday so will have a feel of the cameras at the airport curry's,dixons or what ever it is so will make the final decision then
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If you don't mind grey imports, you could get the 650D + kit lens considerably cheaper from DigiRev.

They are well-regarded even on these forums, and that should free up some funds to invest in a better lens. Used 70-200mm f/4 go for around £350 - £390 on ebay.
 
theRecluse said:
If you don't mind grey imports, you could get the 650D + kit lens considerably cheaper from DigiRev.

They are well-regarded even on these forums, and that should free up some funds to invest in a better lens. Used 70-200mm f/4 go for around £350 - £390 on ebay.
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Thank you, I know already planned on getting it from digitalrev not paying the uk prices,surprised anyone does but not from ebay you'll get custom/import charges but if you buy directly from their website there's no custom/import charges as they pay them (they dont on ebay) and they supply guarentees etc i also dont think they can be classed as grey imports.they do things properly.Or seem to anyway, not so sure about some of the others.
 
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I managed to pick up a 70-200 f4l non-IS for £439 about a month ago new from amazon, im sure you could pick up a used one in your budget, you just gotta know where to look
 
If not the 70-200 F4 try the tamron SP 70-300 VC, its sharp across the zoom range and the IS on it is amazing, just click the link in my signature to see what it can do, and those are shooting through double glazing!
 
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