Telephoto lens Help Please....Urgent

GR3Z

GR3Z

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Graeme
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I've recently bought a new camera canon 550d it's my first slr and am a novice in photography, I bought a telephoto Lens a budget Tamron 70-300mm F/4-5.6 di ld macro (A17) lens without image stabiliser. I've been experimenting with shutter speeds and and apertures, and struggle to get sharp images at large focal lengths, mainly wildlife and nature shots,I must say I get better results shooting with the kit lens which has "IS" but just can get the zoom obviously, I've got one week left until I can swap my lens for one with IS and pay the difference, i was thinking of upgrading to the Sigma 70-300mm f4-5.6 DG OS Lens It's an extra £190 but will it be worth it. The reason I'm thinking of doing this is becasue a friend of mine has 250mm canon kit canon lens with IS with his 500d and his results are really good... It just makes me think that it's the IS feature making the difference

Advice would be really appreciated
 
What shutter speeds are you using and at what focal length? The shutter speed should be as fast or faster than the focal length, so if you are shooting at 300mm you need your shutter to be faster than 1/300. Below this and you risk camera shake. IS will you a few extra stops, but not a great deal. Bear in mind the Tamron probably isnt all that sharp at 300mm even in the best conditions.
 
The Canon 50-250mm IS will give you much better results. Or if you need something longer, there's the new Tamron SP 70-300/4-5.6 VC (has optical stabilisation).

As the 2nd poster stated, you will need a fast shutter speed at 300mm. Because the lens has a crop factor, you will actually need closer to 1/500 second, and if you're shooting wildlife, it is likely to be moving. Which means you will need an even faster shutter speed which means opening the lens up to f5.6 and shooting at a higher ISO setting, unless it's really sunny.
 
manualfocus-g said:
The Canon 50-250mm IS will give you much better results. Or if you need something longer, there's the new Tamron SP 70-300/4-5.6 VC (has optical stabilisation).

As the 2nd poster stated, you will need a fast shutter speed at 300mm. Because the lens has a crop factor, you will actually need closer to 1/500 second, and if you're shooting wildlife, it is likely to be moving. Which means you will need an even faster shutter speed which means opening the lens up to f5.6 and shooting at a higher ISO setting, unless it's really sunny.
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mmmmmmm :lol:zzzzzzzzzz zzzz

they are a beginner dont forget all that is probably psycho babble to them
 
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Hi i have that same lens what works for me:

How you hold ** camera and watch your shutter speed
Also experiment lots and try manual focus and get comfortable
With messing with ** AF points.

Also ISO depending on lighting conditions you can experiment there too. The lens is fine just takes a lil practice
 
Just Dave said:
mmmmmmm :lol:zzzzzzzzzz zzzz

they are a beginner dont forget all that is probably psycho babble to them
Click to expand...

True, but buying a new lens isn't going to give the OP sharper images unless they change their technique and learn about the equipment. And suggesting 200mm for wildlife is a bit daft :lol:
 
manualfocus-g said:
True, but buying a new lens isn't going to give the OP sharper images unless they change their technique and learn about the equipment. And suggesting 200mm for wildlife is a bit daft :lol:
Click to expand...

Yep totally agree, good stance and holding is the most important to me, yep 200 is pushing a bit so is 300mm, may suffice
 
Or get a Sigma with OS (optical stabilisation) i once got a sharp bird shot at 1/100 @ 500mm, allowing 4 stops lower which is very good for a telephoto zoom manufactured lens.
 
Just Dave said:
mmmmmmm :lol:zzzzzzzzzz zzzz

they are a beginner dont forget all that is probably psycho babble to them
Click to expand...

Oh no, please don't explain them, because they might accidentally understand or learn something. Not everything needs to be oversimplified, does it?
 
I've been hammering the net, books YouTube etc.... So i have a small understanding regarding shutter speeds iso and aperture etc.... It's just at full zoom my images look a little fuzzy and just aren't as crisp as I would like, would "IS" make the difference, or is it just that it's a cheap lens, I appreciate technique plays a large part to, but even with it on a tripod pointing at the bird feeder in the garden the results weren't amazing.
 
GR3Z said:
I've been hammering the net, books YouTube etc.... So i have a small understanding regarding shutter speeds iso and aperture etc.... It's just at full zoom my images look a little fuzzy and just aren't as crisp as I would like, would "IS" make the difference, or is it just that it's a cheap lens, I appreciate technique plays a large part to, but even with it on a tripod pointing at the bird feeder in the garden the results weren't amazing.
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If your shooting anything thats moving IS wont help - post an example with EXIF so we can see the problem
 
GR3Z said:
but even with it on a tripod pointing at the bird feeder in the garden the results weren't amazing.
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In which case something isn't right, be it the lens or your shutter speed. I was going to suggest you try a monopod, but if results are poor on the tripod then that's pointless.

How far away are the birds in the garden and what focus options are you using ? If you don't at least fill all of the centre circle with the subject and are using single spot AF you will have a problem getting it sharp anyway. Believe me, I have the same issue with a 7D and Canon 20-200 f2.8, unless I get close enough to give the camera a decent target to focus on.

Steve
 
Here are some of my bests pic's,usually they turn out crap... http://www.flickr.com/photos/gr3z/

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1 and 2 are front focussed for a start.

By that I mean the leaves are in focus in shot 2 and the flowers in the first shot. Can't really tell with the third one. For birds you will probably need 400mm to be honest.

You might want to check that the lens is focusing properly.
 
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