Telephoto zoom lens for around £700

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Jon
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Hi guys,

I feel I am fairly limited with my current set of lenses (standard 18mm 55mm kit and the 1.8 55mm) And im looking to invest in a telephoto to get some extra reach.

I have a canon 500D.

I have a budget of £700

I want to use it for Motorsport (lemans for my 6th year) as well a wildlife. Naturally IS is a must as I took a 70-300mm (friends) with me last year and my results were not what i wanted to say the least.

Currently I am very taken by the Sigma 150-500mm f5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM at the moment however after never handling the lens some advise would be nice.

Thanks
 
The IS on that sigma lens is really good. For Motorsport a 300mm f/2.8 would probably be better but that's a far more expensive lens. For your budget I don't think there is anything which comes close to he sigma.
 
Have you given any thought to the Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 VC ?
Their 3 axis vibration control is nothing short of amazing. I've had good results with shutter speeds as low as 1/15 sec. @300mm handheld. The IQ is also very good. Focusing and zooming is very smooth with no dead spots unlike some other Tamrons on my shelf.
Be warned though, it's a large lens. Check out the Tamron website and some of the reviews on the web.It's worth a look.
 
150-500 or 100-400 would be good length for motorsports, I think you might struggle a bit with a 300 at the long end.

Obviously somewhere like Brands you can get away with far shorter in places like Druids, but I'd rather have too much length, and be able stand further back or w/e than wishing for more?

Hope that helps.

Btw the IS on the Sigma is really quite good. Various motorsports images taken with it in my flickr
here if you're interested.

-edit also wildlife ones on there too, just saw you mentioned it.
 
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Sigma 150-500 at 500mm handheld with a 1/15 shutter speed and then cropped with IS disabled.

Sigma 150-500 OS Test Shot #1 by grblades, on Flickr

And then with IS enabled. Apart from the cropping no other processing as been done.

Sigma 150-500 OS Test Shot #2 by grblades, on Flickr

The only issue I have is the camera keeps setting the ISO to maximum so it can use a fast shutter speed when in poorer light although with the quality of the IS that's not required. So I limit the max ISO when I have this lens fitted.
 
Thanks for the responses guys, how is handling the lens as it reads as being a bit weighty. Chances are im going to need a monopod to rest it on rather than hand held?

Gblades thanks for the above test shots they really do send out a clear picture. Also if my maths is right at the long end its really 800mm due to crop sensor which is quite huge really with the quality of IS shot

Thanks
 
It's fine for walking about and lifting it up to take photos. If you are going to be holding it for any extended amount of time then a monopod would be best. The lens weighs 1.9kg.
 
grotty said:
Could you elaborate on that post a little?
Click to expand...

Lens is the correct spelling, rather than lens in the thread title.
 
Craikeybaby said:
Lens is the correct spelling, rather than lens in the thread title.
Click to expand...

Oh right, I see. Seems a little pedantic for a forum to be honest, I'm sure Gerard knows exactly what the OP is referring to. God forbid (continuing with the biblical exclamations) he should ever get anything wrong while using the forum.
 
What are you planning on getting from Le Mans?

To be honest, spectator photography ops are few and far between. Besides, Le Mans isn't about the racing anyway :D

In the sub 1k motorsport capable 300mm and upwards zoom lens department there's not much choice really, a second hand Sigma 100-300 f4 would be the best choice, but no IS on that.

Beyond that you are into expensive territory... Canon 100-400, Sigma 120-300 f2.8 OS, Canon 70-300 L and then the real nice stuff with the Canon long primes... 300 2.8, 400 2.8 etc
 
I didnt reaslise IS or VR made that much of an impact. The photos above suggest the difference is massive.

Question though, do you have to turn off IS for panning because surely it wont have a clue how to deal with it?
 
I'd recommend the Sigma 150-500, used mine for three years, mainlyy for birds, but had a successful outing to Silverstone with it last year. I now have a 120-300 f2.8 and it's flipping heavy compared to the 150-500.
 
I have the 150-500 sigma, it takes great shots! It is heavy but thats to be expected!
Got mine from panamoz at a great price aswell ! Worth the money !
 
dannyrich said:
I didnt reaslise IS or VR made that much of an impact. The photos above suggest the difference is massive.

Question though, do you have to turn off IS for panning because surely it wont have a clue how to deal with it?
Click to expand...

It has two settings for the image stabilisation. The II position is designed for panning.
 
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