Need some lens suggestions.

[Wayne Ek]

Hi All:

I want to purchase a telephoto lens system for my camera. I'm currently shooting a Canon Rebel XT. Any ideas would be appreciated.

[mmeyer]

Wayne,

The first thing everyone is going to ask is what are you shooting? What you need depends on if you are shooting birds, large game, people, sports etc. Also if you are shooting in low light conditions would help.

I'm sure someone can help with some more info.

Thanks

Mike

[Wayne Ek]

Good point. Most of my shots are hunting and fishing orientated. Fish,fowl and action shots. Almost all shots are done outdoors and during the daylight hours.

The desire for a good lens for bring distant shots up close came from an incident this week. I was fishing a small lake by Alexandria for bass. I needed a couple of good shots for an article I'm working on. While working a piece of shoreline structure I see a mink working down the shoreline towards me. I was tossing a tube (texas rigged) so I flipped the tube over a tree limb right on the shoreline, that I thought the mink would pass by if it stayed on the same course. Sure enough this little critter passes by the limb and I move the tube out of the water into the air. Wow... for about 10 minutes I had great photo oppurtunities as this little mink behaved just like a cat. Stalking the tube, jumping out onto the limb trying to figure out where the tube went when I dropped it back into the water. I was shooting like a fool. When I down-loaded all the shots it was a flop. I knew what I was looking at but my wifes first statement was, what mink? So now I want a lens that would have put that little fur ball front and center.

[Jim Almquist]

Mike hit the nail on the head because you can spend a lot of money and not have the right lens for what you want to shoot. If its moving and in low light you will want a fast lens which will drive up the cost.Canon has a 75-300 F4 that will cost about $550 or you can get L quality which is more of a pro grade lens 70-200 F4 about $980 70-200 F2.8 $1575 or a 100-400 F4 $1400.How much do you want to pay to play Hope that this gives you some food for thought.

[finnbay]

I second Jim's advice - right on the money!

Most third party lenses (Tamaron, etc)will have similar features at less cost. Lots of arguments pro and con for going Canon vs third party - to each his own.

[polarsusd81]

Agape...

I would think that the lens you are seeking is most likely the 100-400 L IS. STF has one as well as one or two others here and it is a great lens for most things outdoors. It is probably the next big lens I will buy when I can afford to do so. I have the 70-200 F4L non-is version and it is a great lens, extremely sharp, and very quick to focus. The only problem with it would be the times when I wish it were able to get to the 400mm range. Moon shots like a bunch on here shot last night would be excelent with the 400. Take a look at the other thread that has the moon shots and you can get a feel for what some of the different telephotos will do for you.

The other thing to consider, if you are inclined to do so, teleconverters are sometimes a feasable option.

[Steve Foss]

Wayne, now that we know what you want to shoot, cost will be the prime factor.

What's your budget? For wildlife/birds 300mm is the bare minimum, and 400mm is really considered necessary by most who do it a lot. A zoom is the most flexible option here, as it allows you to choose your focal length on the spur of the moment.

You can "get by" with $160 for a Tamron 70-300, but that lens focuses very slowly. Big problem for wildlife/birds, which move quickly.

About $600 will buy you a Canon 75-300 image stabilizer, and the same money will buy you a Canon 70-200 f4L, which is a better quality lens but too short for your needs, really. Sigma makes a 200-500 for somewhere around $800 that's pretty good but does not have image stabilization, and of course if you have the $1,400 to spend, the Canon 100-400L image stabilized lens is Canon's biggest kid on that particular block. All but the Tamron will give you nice image quality, with IQ being best in the 70-200 and 100-400.

[finnbay]

I did have a 75-300 IS for awhile and it did well for me until I started to shoot a lot of sports inside. It wasn't fast enough for that. When I traded it, the camera store was happy to get it because it was a popular lens and they always had someone looking for a used one. Guess that might say something about it.