For a while now I've wanted a zoom lens, but haven't been able to afford one. I still can't afford a brand new one, but I've been told about a store nearby that sells secondhand gear. So right now, I'm sitting in my garden, with my 18-55mm kit lens, throwing bread at birds in the hope that they'll come close enough for me to get some sort of decent photo of them. It's actually working, there are two rather tame blackbirds that like to visit here, but while I've got a few shots of them, there are blue tits and robins sitting in the trees and bushes, much too far away for my little lens.
I have the 18-200mm lens (My daughter managed to break my 18-55mm kit lens, I claimed for it on the house insurance and they decided to upgrade it for me!) it works well at a range of ditances although sometimes has difficulties focusing at closer ranges. That is more due to it not being a macro lens so I suppose I sometimes expect too much for it.
My lens wishlist at the moment comprises of:
100mm f/2.8
50mm f/1.8
and 70-300mm f/2.8, searching different sites I found the 70-300 for approx £120 so quite reasonable!
My opinion is that if you find a good deal on an f/2.8 lens take it as the fast aperture is an added bonus - but from the little I browsed I found out that f2.8 telephoto lenses are not cheap. The focal length will determine how close you can get to the subject so if were up to me I would go for a 70 to 300mm f/4.0-5.6 that would give me the range at an affordable price. This is just the opinion of an amateur though...........
On the assumption that price is the critical factor, go for the longest focal length you can afford, you can always make up for it being f/4-5.6 rather than f/2.8 by bumping up the ISO - and that's much easier than finding another grand for a L-series f/2.8 optic!
I used to have the Canon 75-300mm lens (f/4-5.6) that is around £200 brand new, and it was absolutely fine.
Depends on your budget, you use what you can afford. I have a Canon 70 - 200mm f4 - 5.6 with IS and it does what I want. I paid Canadian, $1300 plus tax. Would I like the same focal length but an f2, yes.......but that lens is double the price at $2529.00 then add the tax. You can get less expensive lenses but they do not have the IS feature. I think I'd opt for a longer length, 300mm and stay at f4 for the $$
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My lens wishlist at the moment comprises of:
100mm f/2.8
50mm f/1.8
and 70-300mm f/2.8, searching different sites I found the 70-300 for approx £120 so quite reasonable!
I used to have the Canon 75-300mm lens (f/4-5.6) that is around £200 brand new, and it was absolutely fine.