Please help me choose the best telezoom lens

[_MD_]

I'm fairly new to photography, but already got myself a Canon 7D with a 17-55 f/2.8 IS USM lens.


I'm on the market to get a good zoom lens, but I'm contemplating as to what brand, focal length, aperture, etc...





After some research I see that the most popular lens (in terms of build/picture quality) is Canon 70-200 f/2.8. For me, price isn't a big concern, but what I'm looking for in a lens, is a magnification level (and quality of the resulting picture too of course!) as well as versatility - it has to be a zoom lens and not a fixed focal length. Take for instance binoculars or bird-watching scopes - those lenses can magnify an object 20, 40, 60 times... From what I've been able to gather, a 70-200 lens is an equivalent of 10x magnification. So I've looked at a bigger focal length lens such as Sigma 150-500 (Sigma also has 50-500), but most of the reviews say that the picture quality is not that great. So perhaps it will make sense to get a canon 70-200 f/2.8 on top of a canon 2x extender to achieve the maximum magnification? Please advise.





Thanks

[Sean Setters]

I must say, the 70-200mm f/2.8 L is a magnificent lens with superb picture quality. However, you already seem quite concerned about the focal length. Are birds your primary subjects? If so, we've got a few photographers in this community that specialize in birds, and they should be able to weigh in on the lenses with longer focal lengths.

[Sheiky]

You might want to read this:


http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Canon-Lenses/Canon-Wildlife-Lens.aspx





I've got the 70-200 f4L myself, but for wildlife I wouldn't recommend it. For larger animals the 200mm might do the trick if you get close, but for birds you must be very very close to get a nice shot.


The 70-200 f2.8L lens is a very nice zoom-lens though. Also comes in handy for a lot more than just wildlife. I must say that the Image Stabilized version is certainly a major plus.


You might also want to look into the Post your best nature picture and post your best birds picture on this forum and look at the lenses they use for the pictures:


http://community.the-digital-picture.com/forums/t/850.aspx


http://community.the-digital-picture.com/forums/t/2706.aspx


That must give you a good insight of what you want and what to expect.


good luck

[Sinh Nhut Nguyen]

Hi MD, welcome to The-Digital-Picture Forums []


I advise against the 70-200 f/2.8L + 2x extender. This seems like a good way to have a 70-200 f/2.8lens and a 140-400 f/5.6 lens, but in reality the image quality that you get from a 70-200 f/2.8 + a 2x extender is not great and the autofocus is significantly slower than that ofthe bare lens. I recommend you reading Bryan's Lens Recommendation page and you'll see why it's almost impossible to have a do-all lens.


Nate

[Fast Glass]

As I have said before in this forum, consider a longmanual lens. Such as the FD 300mm f/2.8 L with a 2X, FD 400mm f/2.8 Lwith a 2X, FD 500mm f/4.5 bare L, Nikkor 600mm f/4 manual or the FD 800mm f/5.6 L. The FD 600mm 4.5 is not a great lens, the Nikkor (Nikon) is a better lens in this focal length. You will have to convert these lenses but because of the cost for the new stuff it will be worth your time.


I am using a Minolta 600mm f/6.3 bare and with a 2X and I love It!


Here is an example shot.


[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.28.86/_5F00_MG_5F00_4030-reduced.JPG[/img]


Here is a 100% crop.


[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.28.86/_5F00_MG_5F00_7774.JPG[/img]


Pretty good eh?


John.

[_MD_]

Thanks a lot guys for replying. I've looked at the amazing willife pictures, and it looks like most of them are done with lenses under 200mm (Except for Sinh Nhut 400mm [8-|])... This lead me to a conclusion to get a 70-200 f/2.8 lens now and if that won't be enough I will look into 400-600mm lenses.


Also thanks for welcoming me to this site, this is the best resource for beginners like to me to get an overview of variety of lenses, cameras and accessories prior to buying them!

[Sheiky]

You might consider the IS version, I think it's really worth the extra money. I'm sure you won't regret your decision, it's a great lens!


Welcome

[2slo]

if you have time, I'd appreciate a 100% crop of either ducks eye/headin the example shot.

[btaylor]

I know it's not the newest of Canon lenses but don't discount the 100-400mm f/4 - 5.6L IS.


Nate used this for a lot of his bird shots before upgrading I believe (correct me if I am wrong) and the results were outstanding.


It may not be the fastest lens in town but unless you go for a prime lens then it's as good as it gets for a telephoto zoom. And since you mentioned that it must be a zoom lens you should keep it in mind.


Good luck, Cheers.

[Colin]

If it has to be a zoom, the 100-400 is, in my opinion pretty good. It doesn't compare to a prime, but it'sa zoom! Certainly better than a 70-200 with a 2x teleconverter. I did that a couple times, EVER. Was not happy with it at all. I was actually kind of pissed off. Bryan said it wasn't that great, but I had to learn for myself...