Upgrade suggestions from Sigma 70-300 APO?

Greg

Greg

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I use a Sigma 70-300 APO DG mainly for wild life shots. Any suggestions for a relatively modest cost £200/£300 to upgrade, for better IQ and even IS, if that's not too tall an order? A bit more reach would also be useful, though not essential. I already have a Kenko 1.4x teleconverter.
 
I think it will be difficult for £300

The main question would be do you need the same focal length?

Something like a 70-200 f/4 L can be picked up for £300 - £350 but that will loose you 100mm and you still wont gain IS.

To be honest I dont really think you can do much better without a bigger budget.
 
OK - just ignore the £200/£300 budget for now. Cost is obviously a factor but let's what what suggestions materialise.
 
Give me a week and I'll let you know what I think of the 50-500... :)
 
Canon 70-200 L lenses are fantastic.
Come in 4 varieties.

f/4 - around £350
f/4 IS - around £600
f/2.8 - around £600
f/2.8 IS - around £1000

Another thing to consider would be the Sigma 70-200 macro.
Or the Sigma 50-500.
 
Assuming that your Kenko is a Pro version and not the cheaper MC series then a 70-200/4 L would work quite well and IQ should show a fair improvement.

Does the budget account for the sale value of your existing lens or can you find the extra in addition to this. If that's the case then a 300/4 IS L or 400/5.6 L might be close enough for you to get tempted.

Bob
 
I think you have a couple of options, but it depends on what you shoot and what you need from the lens.

There is the Canon 70-200 L range, these might be a bit short but have great IQ and you should be able to use your teleconvertor.

If you need a zoom with more reach, then there is the sigma 100-300 f/4 at around £500 or the canon 100 - 400 f/4.6-5.6 for about £750
 
If you shoot wildlife then 200mm is no where near long enough.

Look at the 300mm f4 IS L (£670) and 400 f5.6 L (£650) :)
 
Thanks to all for response. Budget is flexible but is on top of trade-in value of Sigma. Tele converter is Kenko 1.4x Teleplus Pro 300 - just bought it. Have not used it yet.
 
Matt & Canon Bob both suggest Canon 300 f4 IS L and Canon 400 f5.6 L. If I were to seriously look at these 2 lenses presumably there are trade-offs. The 300 is a faster lens with IS while the 400 gives more reach. With teleconverter the 400 may be too slow. Prices are similar. Is that about it?
 
There is some information about how these lenses adapt to wild life photography here.

If you were to go with the 300 then you have IS and can ad a 1.4x to make it a 420 f/5.6 although I dont know how big the reduction in IQ would be.

Obviously as you say, adding teleconvertors to the 400mm is probably a no go area.

The 300mm will be easier to handle, but there isnt a massive increase in size and weight withthe 400.
 
Thanks, A.B. I'll check out your link.
 
you are going to be lucky to upgrade to anything bigger that what you have at that price..i have a sigma 170-500 apo and it's ace.if you look around you can pick them up for just over 500 smacker's..seeing you already have a converter too it would be ideal for what you have in mind..
 
A.B. said:
.....
Obviously as you say, adding teleconvertors to the 400mm is probably a no go area.
Click to expand...

Both these lenses take a 1.4x T/C very well and the 300 copes with a 2x if needed....on a sunny day.

Bob
 
You'll lose AF on the 400 with any TC though (unless you have a 1 series). However, you might lose AF on any of these lenses with a non-Canon TC?
 
Thanks to all for your help.
 
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