Lense help.

dizbo

I'm looking into getting new lenses. At the moment i just have the standard 18-55mm.

Can someone please tell me the difference between

Canon EF 100-300mm f/4.5-5.6 USM Lens (can pick up for €220 bran new)

and

Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM. (can pick up for €160 bran new)

Would anyone reccomend these lenses? I'm just starting off so don't exactly have €800 to spend on a lense and i found these ones.

Also found this one

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS Lens (can pick up for €180 bran new)

kumate_champ07

you can pick up an EF 70-200mm F4L for 450-500euro second hand in Ireland, check adverts.ie you will be very happy with that lens. you can also get it new from hong kong on ebay for around 500euro but you might have to pay import tax

heres a review http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-70-200mm-f-4.0-L-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

dizbo

Just edited in the prices.......

FoxT

I have a 70-300mm IS f/4 - f/5.6. Works well enough for me, but using the IS properly needs practice, and while IS is sometimes handy it is of little to no help with sports photography. This lens is not as expensive ( and also optically not as good ) as the 70-200 f/4. It has a longer reach but the difference between 200mm & 300mm is not huge. (The difference between 50 & 85mm is far greater. ) Also, in our cloudy weather, f/5.6 is a pretty small aperture when you are trying to keep your shutter speed at 1/500, which is about what you need at 300mm.

If I was doing it all again I'd go for the 70-200 f/2.8 non-IS but that is what would suit my photography best.

Finally, I woul recommend eBay (but you need to research it to do well out of it) and I would avoid buying lenses from outside the Eu as I have been caught for import duties in the past...

Cheers, FoxT

AnimalRights

For your price range a 2nd hand 70-200L f4

dizbo

so none of the above lenses would be recommended then??

AnimalRights

Not really, once you get better at Photography you will want a better lens, It may seem dearer now but in the long run it's cheaper.

kumate_champ07

dizbo wrote: »

so none of the above lenses would be recommended then??

do you want ok image quality or do you want excellent image quality?
the 70-200mm f4L is a great value lens

dizbo

Ok well any tips on telling a good lense from a bad lense. Like looking at them lenses they seem ok. i'm not going to be wanting mad expensive lenses yet. I am just starting of and it'll only be my first lense purchase.

Like.... If i go on adverts.ie how can i tell a good second hand lense for €150 compared to the bran new lense above for €150?

AnimalRights

BranD

dizbo

Well all the above are canon???? Is canon not good?? I thought it was???

Is this the lense you guys are talking about?? http://www.simplyelectronics.net/mainproduct.php?pid=646

kumate_champ07

dizbo wrote: »

Ok well any tips on telling a good lense from a bad lense. Like looking at them lenses they seem ok. i'm not going to be wanting mad expensive lenses yet. I am just starting of and it'll only be my first lense purchase.

Like.... If i go on adverts.ie how can i tell a good second hand lense for €150 compared to the bran new lense above for €150?

canon zoom lens reviews http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-Zoom-Lens-Reviews.aspx

canon prime lens reviews http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-Lens-Reviews.aspx

AnimalRights

dizbo wrote: »

Well all the above are canon???? Is canon not good?? I thought it was???

Arsenal are a great team but it doesn't mean every player is great.

PCPhoto

dizbo wrote: »

Well all the above are canon???? Is canon not good?? I thought it was???

Is this the lense you guys are talking about?? http://www.simplyelectronics.net/mainproduct.php?pid=646

Firstly ..... dont look at that website - they are regarded as scammers.

Secondly - the cheaper lens will be ok for starting off - HOWEVER - like everyone else here has hinted, you might be better off purchasing a more professional lens - as the more into it you get the more you will upgrade or want to upgrade your lenses.

so while I agree with the others advising you to purchase a better quality lens my advise is - go with what you can afford - go into a shop and test the different lenses, and if you can decide which lens you want to purchase - then by all means.. buy it (online or in a shop)

PS there is a lot of quality lenses on adverts/ebay and other sites.

dizbo

ok well can you tell me what the like of "L" or "USM" stands for. and the f4 or f4-5.6 whats all that about??? And is it better that its higher or lower.... Maybe that would help me understand lenses a bit more????

PCPhoto

I think you might need to do some research online before investing in anything.

USM - Ultrasonic Motor ...means its quieter than a "normal" lens when focussing
L - not 100% but the professional series lenses are 'L' Lenses.

theres usually a mark ll version of lenses - meaning the second version - with slight improvements on original.

I think you have a lot of reading to do OP.

as regards F-stop.... the lower the number the better it will work in low light.... you should research and understand the relationship between aperture (f-stop)...usually on a camera seen as 'AV' and shutter speed usually 'TV'.

dizbo

Well hense why i'm asking the questions here. I've been doing a lot of reading that why i thought for example the one with the Mk III i thought was a decent lense..

dizbo

Looking on tose websites with the reviews this lense seems to be ok??? Is it??

http://cgi.ebay.ie/Canon-EF-70-300mm-f-4-5-6-IS-USM-Lens-UV-Filter_W0QQitemZ260488770711QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CamerasPhoto_CameraAccessories_CameraLensesFilters_JN?hash=item3ca6573497&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

kumate_champ07

dizbo wrote: »

ok well can you tell me what the like of "L" or "USM" stands for. and the f4 or f4-5.6 whats all that about??? And is it better that its higher or lower.... Maybe that would help me understand lenses a bit more????

L is what canon put on their professional lenses. USM means that the autofocus is quiet, ultra sonic motor. no other lens brands uses L or USM but usually have their own versions



this will explain what the numbers on lens mean

http://www.photography101.org/basics/how_to_choose_a_lens.html

Qwikpix

PCPhoto wrote: »

Firstly ..... dont look at that website - they are regarded as scammers.

It's not right to say something like that in a public forum. I bought a lovely Canon 100mm 2.8 macro from them about two months ago. The customer service was superb and the lens was delivered perfectly packaged and promptly by DHL.

Qwikpix

Chorcai

Qwikpix wrote: »

It's not right to say something like that in a public forum. I bought a lovely Canon 100mm 2.8 macro from them about two months ago. The customer service was superb and the lens was delivered perfectly packaged and promptly by DHL.

Qwikpix

He's wording might be a bit harsh but there are alot of horror stories about the company. It is a public forum after all, so people can take what they like from what other people say.