what lens's are you useing with your camera?

Daniel Koster said:
Depends on who you ask, Seth.

Personally, I really like the Bigma. Like I said, it is a great walkaround lens that gives great results. It does great across nearly the entire range, peaking at 400-420mm, and at f/8.

It does not do as well as a prime, of course, but imho, better than any zoom in its class (mm for mm).

People who prefer long primes for birding will not like it...those who already have a 70-200 won't like the overlap...

I got mine for $675 used....:D....and I don't mind the length/weight...so for me, it's perfect.

Do I wish it was a f/4 "L" type lens? Heck ya!!! But it's good enough for now. :p
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even with the overlap, its hard to find a lens at 200-500, or any zoom within that range that goes up that high at all, let alone at a decent price...
 
Daniel Koster said:
Personally, I really like the Bigma. Like I said, it is a great walkaround lens that gives great results. It does great across nearly the entire range, peaking at 400-420mm, and at f/8.
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Sigma just released the Bigma for the Four Thirds Bodies (Olympus, Panasonic, Samsung). Since these are at 2X multiplication factor, Bigma becomes a 100-1000mm. Something to think about. ;)
 
Crazy....

On my 1.6 crop I get 80-800mm and with a kenko 1.4x on its way...should take me up to 1120mm at f/8...the sweet spot of the lens anyway. So, for now, I'm happy. :D
 
Daniel Koster said:
On my 1.6 crop I get 80-800mm and with a kenko 1.4x on its way...should take me up to 1120mm at f/8...
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You lose an f-stop with the Kenko. So, it'll probably be more like an f/11.
 
I used to do a lot of photography. I've got an old EOS 300n and an EOS 5, and some canon standard zooms (average performance) and a speedlite 540ez

I also have a Power Shot S80 and an EOS 350d (I think you call it the digital rebel xt in the US?) which I brought recently to try and get back into photography. If I take it up again I will buy an EOS 5d next year I think.

I've also got a Sigma 105mm f2.8 EX macro and a Sigma 24 - 70mm f2.8 EX. If you cant stretch to the Canon L series lenses these give very good results. The build quality is lower than the L series but the optics are very good. Again if I re awaken my interest I will probably buy a Sigma 70 - 200mm f2.8 EX later this year.

I'm disapointed that the new canon digital cameras wont work at all with my Speedlite 540ez. Its looking like I will have to fork out £270 for a 580ex to replace it. I could have understood it only working with basic TTL or ATTL as it obviously wont support the new ETTL II, but they dont work at all, it was the Canon flagship flashgun when I bought it, matches to the EOS 5 and 1n...typical :)
 
thanks to you guys...just added another lens. 85mm f/1.8

Right price, right time. Pics when it shows up.


Tony - yes, thanks. forgot about the light loss with the TC.
 
im went and bought the sigma 170-500mm lens.... we'll see how that works out. didnt get the 2x telephoto adapter though, since i shouldnt have bought the lens in the first place :(
 
m went and bought the sigma 170-500mm lens.... we'll see how that works out.
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Within the specific context of getting something that covers that 200-500mm focal length where you had a gap, and doing it for "cheap", I think you made a good choice. Also, while I haven't used the "Bigma", I would venture to guess that the 170-500 is probably optically better, because 3x zooms tend to be optically superior to 10x zooms.

Be sure to test it thoroughly, quickly. While I haven't ever had any trouble with Sigma lenses I have heard that their big failing is in quality control, i.e., a lot of below spec lenses are rumored to get through. So make sure to determine whether the lens is up to par while you still have time to return it.

Assuming your lens does not have such problems, let us know what you think of it.
 
generally speaking (and like the canon "L" lenses) the higher-end Sigma lenses are miles ahead of their entry-level lenses nowadays. Bad copies do get through...but that happens to Canon too...


The one downside with the 170-500mm is that it is not HSM. But it's supposed to be as sharp as the Bigma. (as per reviews posted on dpreview)

The Bigma really does everything you'd expect it to (and more). The focusing element is in the rear and it has HSM, so it's fast...relatively speaking, of course. The problems come when people use it outside of what it was designed for. It is not a low-light lens. In low light, you'll lose focusing speed as well as sharpness. If those are must-haves, you're better off with a prime anyway.

So, the 170-500 should indeed do as well when used right.

And either of those lenses is much better than the Tamron 200-500.
 
another quick note...check out this Sigmonster (from Romy over at dpreview) - he stacked all but one of his teleconverters. 12,800mm focal length.

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Sadly (and not too unexpectedly) the results were not that great...:(...but looks neat. :D
 
i basically want it to see if i really need the 200-500 range... if i find i never use it, i'll leave it at that and use the sigma when i get the itch to


but if i do find that i use the 500mm end a lot, i'll have to set down and invest in the 400mm f/4 l lens from canon.... or one of the other high end primes....

thats a lot of money though...
 
My needs are for wedding photography so the main lenses are:

1) 24-70 L (use this the most....still the best even with my 20D 1.6 crop factor)
2) 17-40 (need this for bigger groups...an f4 lens but i just bump the ISO up a bit if i really need it)
3) 70-200 IS L (hate lugging this lens around...produces beautifully sharp pictures but at a wedding i get tired easily using this lens)

other lenses i have are for backup

-28-135 IS (actually a good lens and what i use on my film body the most)
-100mm 2.8 macro (superb macro pictures....i think one of the top canon lenses...pity i don't use it much)

That's about all i carry. I'm not into having so many lenses. I like other gadgets more...and i'm not a big fan of primes.
 
Point44 said:
My needs are for wedding photography so the main lenses are:

1) 24-70 L (use this the most....still the best even with my 20D 1.6 crop factor)
2) 17-40 (need this for bigger groups...an f4 lens but i just bump the ISO up a bit if i really need it)
3) 70-200 IS L (hate lugging this lens around...produces beautifully sharp pictures but at a wedding i get tired easily using this lens)

other lenses i have are for backup

-28-135 IS (actually a good lens and what i use on my film body the most)
-100mm 2.8 macro (superb macro pictures....i think one of the top canon lenses...pity i don't use it much)

That's about all i carry. I'm not into having so many lenses. I like other gadgets more...and i'm not a big fan of primes.
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im afraid that if i had the 50-500 sigma, i'd end up using that most of the time for that exact reason... i know it wouldnt give as good of quality as the lower zooms, or primes, but having that big of a range is sooooooooooooo nice.... im used to prosumer digicams with 12x zooms, and not having the range immediately at your fingertips is sometimes frustrating
 
i have a Eos 350d and and an old eos 300
i have the 18-55 , 28-80 and 75-300 non usm lenses
 
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