Whats my best bet for 70-300mm?

[Bskaggs]

So thinking about getting a zoom lens but dont have a whole lot of money to spend. So narrowed it down to 3 lenses all same focal length and apature but besides that dont know which one to go with if I chose to get a zoom lens. Looked at reviews and they all have about the same rating. My main concern is rather or not my photos will be blurry from camera shake since they dont have IS and the quality of the photos. So if you have any experience with any of these please give m some feedback.

Tamron 70-300mm

Sigma 70-300mm

Canon 70-300mm 1

Canon 70-300mm 2

Leaning more towards the Sigma since comes with lens hood and bag and can do simple macro photos. Also hear alot of good stuff about Sigma as a company and thier lenses. Plus the lense looks rugged. Also know i could save up and get A better one but still new to photography and couldnt see spending a hole lot of money on a lens. Thanks

[HomeschoolWinner]

Hello there

I recently purchased the Sigma and I'm happy with it. You can expect some trouble getting a perfectly clear focus, because like you mentioned it does not have an image stabilization feature. A lens with that kind of option will cost you big bucks. But if you use a tripod or practice a steady hand, you will get some nice shots.

Keep in mind too that the aperture is not terribly wide, so in low lighting situations you're gonna need to come up with lighting or have a super steady hand and a still subject- or you won't get a lot of nice shots. Bumping up the ISO does not cover all your bases.

Here's a couple examples from my shots:




This shot was hand-held, I was lucky enough that the little guy stood still and I had great lighting!





Overall, I'm pretty happy with it. I don't know much about your other options though.

Hope this helps!

[RichardTaylor]

The Canon 75-300 is a budget lens, only.
Can be slow to focus and IQ at wider apertures is not great.
I used to use one.

With any 300mm lens that doesn't have IS or used on a tripod, or mono pod, will need to be used at higher shutter speeds of at least 1/300~1/500 depend on the camera and user.

[inkista]

If you're on a budget, the Sigma 70-300 is probably your best bet. The Canon 70-300 IS USM is more than twice as much, and the 75-300 III isn't as nice optically as the Sigma, even though it's cheaper. And all of these lenses are slow (i.e., has a small max. aperture), so don't expect to use the lens for available light, unless a slow shutter speed is ok.

Most of these lenses will be sharper if you stop down to at least f/8, and you will need to shoot at 1/300s or faster if you're zoomed all the way in to avoid camera-shake blur. Longer lenses magnify and exaggerate camera shake, so the rule of thumb is to shoot at 1/focal_length or faster. Some folks will throw in the crop factor, too, which is why the previous poster mentions 1/300-1/500s.

Given that you're going to be limited to f/5.6 @300mm, and 1/300s, chances are good you'll only really be able to use the lens in bright sunlight or at high iso settings.

[WVCoalMiner]

I own the Canon 70-300 III and let me suggest if you can wait and save the money do so and get the 70-300 IS it will be worth the wait and money. I have missed many many shots due to the 300mm hand/camera shake. Almost to the point that I ONLY use this lens on my Tripod unless I am going down to the 70-100mm range.
And like others stated above it is not the greatest in low light as with most of the other budget telephotos you just cannot let enough light in at f5.6 @ 300mm to get any nice shots in low light unless you are shooting something that is motionless and you are on a Tripod.
In bright daylight/sunlight the lens is a dream but as soon as you lose the sun things just start going downhill.
I shot a high school football game with mine and luckily the field had decent lighting and I was able to get maybe 20 useable shots out of over 200 that I shot.


See shutter speed not fast enough to stop motion


In bright daylight it works great:

[WVCoalMiner]

Here is one for $145.00
Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM Lens - eBay (item 180449773266 end time Jan-01-10 17:44:13 PST)

[SuperDan]

i was interested to find this thread...
its funny that there are a few for the same lenses, but mine is for the nikon but I love that you all used examples...
I AM STILL TORN ON WHICH WAY TO GO... 70-300 or the Nikon 55-200 with VR!

AHHH!

[ddr]

I dont' know what you're location is, but locally here in Vancouver there's an add for a slightly used canon 70-300 IS USM for only $450CAD. that's a steal if you ask me.