Canon Zoom Lens

[James_8970]

I know this is a Nikon bias board, but I figured I'd ask.
I'm looking for a zoom, multipurpose lens, but don't want to sacrifice much quality. I'm going a little on the cheap (~$400 budget) as I'm just getting into the hobby of photography. I just came across this lens, what do you guys think?
Sigma 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 DG

Would the Canon EF 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 II USM Lens be better?

Does anyone else have a better suggestion? Once I figure out how to use a 50mm lens on the other side of my lens for macro capability (anyone have a good tutorial?), I'd like to do that as well. I'm assuming I need two lens' with the same size diameter to achieve this. Am I correct to assume this?
James

Edit: BTW I have a XTi camera.

[Nate P.]

I'm a Canon shooter, and I recommend the Canon EF 28-135mm F/3.5-5.6 IS. It's a great cheap lens, has a good zoom range, and should get your started. I haven't had experience with the Sigma 28-300mm or the 75-300mm, but I have used the 28-135mm and I highly recommend it (especially for the price)!

[James_8970]

Yeah, but I don't think that lens will have enough of a zoom on it.
I'm going to be working on a farm shortly for two weeks, so I want a good lens to take some pictures of the enviroment. I'm also investing into a polarizing lens.
The Sigma lens I mentioned also seems to have wide angle purposes. I'm not looking for anything specilized at this time, just hoping to find a general purpose lens that I could also use for macro photography (put a 50mm on the other end). I'm going to look at the lens you mentioned, but anyone have a suggestion for a lens that has a maximum magnification of 250mm or 300mm that retails for ~400$ or less?
James

[Nate P.]

I'm not exactly sure why you would need a telephoto on a farm, personally I would get a wide angle to take pictures of the landscape. Oh, and don't forget to factor in the sensor crop of the X00D and X0D Canon cameras... so 135mm is actually 216mm (135mm x 1.6 = 216mm).

[James_8970]

I'll want to take a few pictures of wild life, which is why I want the zoom. Also, the description states that this lens has wide angle capabilities..... not sure if I'm reading that right as I've never heard of a lens that can switch between a regular shot and a wide angle shot.
This is the lens here.
http://www.donsphoto.com/products.html#DHE:Specsheet:Id:303881:Section:Spec s
James

[Nate P.]

Well, wide angle is just that, it has a wider angle of view. I'm not sure what your definition of wide angle is, but really it doesn't look any different then any other type of lens, except zoomed out. Maybe you are thinking of a fisheye?

[NWEng]

I *think* I have the Sigma lens and both the Canon 28-135 and 70-300 IS lenses, I say I "think" because the Sigma doesn't get used. The Canon 28-135 IS is a great all purpose walk-about lens, and once you try an IS or VR (Nikon) you won't buy anything else. I suggest taking your camera to your local camera store and giving those lenses a try before spending your money. Also head over to www.dpreview.com and see what you can research on the forums there.

[CBGPCS]

This is Photo 37 & CBGPCS. You are going to want to get the 35mm to 350mm 3.5f-5.6f L series lens(better glass, trust me). It is the best all purpose lens in my opinion. Outside slap a 1.4x on it and it is amazing. Other wise go with 70mm-200mm 2.8 L series for any indoor shooting your going to do you’ll need the fstop. You can pick up the 35-350 some where for 600-800$

stay with the L series... we are professionals and they last

[James_8970]

Well, wide angle is just that, it has a wider angle of view. I'm not sure what your definition of wide angle is, but really it doesn't look any different then any other type of lens, except zoomed out. Maybe you are thinking of a fisheye?
Yeah, it was a late night there, I have no idea what I was thinking about there. :shrug:



This is Photo 37 & CBGPCS. You are going to want to get the 35mm to 350mm 3.5f-5.6f L series lens(better glass, trust me). It is the best all purpose lens in my opinion. Outside slap a 1.4x on it and it is amazing. Other wise go with 70mm-200mm 2.8 L series for any indoor shooting your going to do you’ll need the fstop. You can pick up the 35-350 some where for 600-800$

stay with the L series... we are professionals and they last
I'm actually picking up the Canon 70-200mm F/4L IS USM as I found a great deal on it used. As much as I would like the F/2.8L lens, I don't have that much money to spend at the moment and don't feel like bying a lens quite that bulky at that time. I originally was planning on purchasing a lens with a lower focal length and cheaper, but decided that the stock lens (18-55mm) would suffice till I have enough money to replace it with the 24 - 105 mm F4.0L IS USM lens. In addition to that, I figured I didn't want to buy a lens that I knew I'd want to replace a few months after purchase and I needed something that was weather sealed as I'm going on a farm in a few days and it's harvest time. However before I pick up the 24-105mm lens, I believe I'm going to pick up a wide angle lens. That being said, I'm only spend 1000$ on photography every 9month, so I'm waiting till next summer. I have money in my bank account, but if I keep up my spending habits with computers and photography, I'm going to drain it very quickly. These are great hobbies, but MAN are they expensive.

That aside, anyone know how well an extention tube would work on this lens for macro photography?

Since I'm going to be taking lots of pictures on a farm, does anyone have any recommendations for landscape photography? I know I should have a wide angle lens, but at this point I'm not willing to spend any more cash on this hobby till next year.
James

[shimmishim]

For a crop body, the Sigma 10-20 f/4-5.6 is great.

The tokina 11-16 f/2.8 is also wonderful but a bit on the pricey side.
The canon 10-22 is also another good choice.

I own the wigma and I'm lovin' it so far!

Check out photography-on-the.net for image archives with those lenses.