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Zoom Lens
#1

My wife and master has given me a much larger budget for Santa than I anticipated.... so I am going to splash on some far reaching glass....

Question is do I show some control and get the sigma 50-500..... or do I blow my whole wad on a Canon 100-400L with IS?

Or would I be better off getting a range of shorter lenses?

I currently have the kit and a Quantaray 70-300-F4-F5.6 for my rebel.
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#2

If your wife your master? Or wife and master are different people :|
At first, when I read it, I thought that "budget for Santa" meant that they give you some money to dress as Santa; but now I understand! Wink (I think!)

I've read that the 50-500 is big, slow and noisy, but that is only what I've read a while ago, nothing that I've actually experience for myself.

Ask Santa what you should get.
I'd prefer the Canon 100-400L to the Sigma 50-500 though I've not seen either.

I think zoom lenses are quite convienient - getting all those focal lengths in one; as compared to shooting primes where you would have to move around (but another thing that I read (YES, this is all based on what I read! not what I experience myself! so... sorry if I just sound like I'm repeating other people's comments) is that prime lenses have less elements, and ummm *something*, so they are supposed to be better in image quality that zoom lenses (the relevance of mentioning this is in response to the "Or would I be better off getting a range of shorter lenses") I think one with a large zoom range would be good as you don't need to keep changing lenses when you decide to shoot something else. But the trade off is that (again, from what I've read, not my own opinion) the lenses with larger zoom range tend to be softer.

I guess it also depends on what you'll be taking photographs of.

Sorry a lot for just repeating things I read. Hope you don't mind Wink
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#3

Not at all, just confirms what I have been reading Smile

Lately I have been spending time in the three National Parks near me trying to get shots of wildlife, so a longer lens is essential, while a fixed 400L would be great, it may be too long for some situations, so the zoom is probably the best way to go for me.

The only thing making me hesitant is that that lens alone would cost me more than EVERYTHING I have already spent on rebel, lenses and kit!
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#4

The 100-400L IS renowned to be one of the finest lenses in it's class. The Sigma 50-500 does not get any reviews like that. The difference between 400mm and 500mm is not that great and you undoubtably have the 50-100 range covered already.

When you are spending that kind of money on a lens - go for quality and forgo the extra little bit of range. My 2 cents (Canadian).
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#5

i agree 100% with Rob. Go with quality, otherwise you will be selling the other stuff after a few years to upgrade to what you really wanted in the first place. Save yourself a step in the process.

Jerry

I have been tempted on MANY occasions to get a more budget oriented lens. Won't do it though. Just means I have to save for another month or two instead, but the please factor is exponentially greater.

Nos an modica tantum nostri somnium
"We are limited only by our imagination"
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#6

BTW: it isn't necessarily the lesser lens because it says Sigma or Tamron or whatever on it rather than Canon and Nikon. Some outstanding lenses are made by 3rd parties.

Read the reviews - solicite opinions. Make your own decisions. For this kind of thing I usually ask advice at dpreview - there are thousands of know-it-alls there happy to advise on anything. Big Grin
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#7

Toad Wrote:For this kind of thing I usually ask advice at dpreview - there are thousands of know-it-alls there happy to advise on anything. Big Grin

Now there's a true statement! Yeah, I'll ask over there once I am closer to a purchase.
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#8

Put the three words Canon, L and IS together and you've got me hook, line and sinker!

Read reviews, etc., but most importantly, go down to the shop and play with the lenses yourself. Someone I knew got a 70-200L IS without even seeing the thing in real life... and then was shocked to see that it turned out to be a bazooka... not quite the portable little baby he was hoping for.

But if you can, have a play at the shops, see which one feels right for you. Bring a memory card in if you can and compare the pics as well...
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