Author Topic: Best 350D lens for around £100?  (Read 3045 times)

Best 350D lens for around £100?
on: October 22, 2007, 18:17:04 PM
Id like to get my sister a lens for her 350D as an Xmas pressie. She only has the standard 18-55mm at the moment.

I know shed like a zoom/telephoto lens but I dont know what im looking for.

Reading this thread (mrt and serious) have given me a much better idea of whats going on with lenses in general.

Price range around the £100 mark .....

      Sigma 28-70mm & 70-300mm for £130

or is one lens better than two?

Sigma 28-300mm DG Lens for £150ish (cant see postage)

Also, is ebay the cheapest/ok place to buy?

Cheers!
Formerly sexytw

Re:Best 350D lens for around £100?
Reply #1 on: October 22, 2007, 18:42:09 PM
Depends on what kind of photos she take.

Personally, I would look at the 2nd hand market & get a Canon EF 50mm Prime Focus & Canon EF 70-210mm f/3.5-4.5 (not any other as theres a few 70-200 / 70-210) - Might be able to squeeze both for around £100-120

Best 350D lens for around £100?
Reply #2 on: October 22, 2007, 18:52:11 PM
Cool, any suggestions on where to look for second hand lenses?
Formerly sexytw

  • Offline Dave

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Re:Best 350D lens for around £100?
Reply #3 on: October 22, 2007, 18:52:41 PM
you can get a canon f1.8 50mm brand new for just over 60 quid from www.cameraking.co.uk

edit - Id be very tempted by the sigma ones youve linked to

Best 350D lens for around £100?
Reply #4 on: October 22, 2007, 18:59:10 PM
Quote from: sexytw
Cool, any suggestions on where to look for second hand lenses?


Ebay

but like I said, it really depends on what she shoots.
50mm is a good potrait lens, maybe she would be better off with a wide angle  lens for landscapes, etc.

  • Offline Serious

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Re:Best 350D lens for around £100?
Reply #5 on: October 22, 2007, 19:03:19 PM
Tamron 55-200/4-5.6 Di II  outdoes the Canon ones on performance and price. Should cost well under £100 too, Ive seen them for about £70.

One lens can mean that you get everything in a single unit, but you pay for that in a drop off in quality. Two lenses will almost always out perform a single covering the same focal length. As she already has the kit lens another one covering the same range isnt worth it unless she has expressed problems with the one she has.

IF you want a second bit then get an X2 teleconverter, that would give the option of 110-400, which would cover virtually everything. Or go for a 50mm, great for portrait work.

  • Offline Dave

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Re:Best 350D lens for around £100?
Reply #6 on: October 22, 2007, 19:24:53 PM
Quote from: Serious
As she already has the kit lens another one covering the same range isnt worth it unless she has expressed problems with the one she has.


it is IMO - a kit lense is just a kit lense - it covers the range that a lot of people will use most often & if you dont replace it then youre just not going to get as much out of your camera

Best 350D lens for around £100?
Reply #7 on: October 22, 2007, 19:44:43 PM
[clueless]

Whats a 50mm lens then? Not the same 50mm as the 18-55mm covers?

She shoots all sorts of stuff, but I know she has expressed an interest in getting a telephoto lens for wildlife and things which is why I was thinking something upto 300mm might be good.

[/clueless]

So these two lenses might be suitable?

Tamron Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto AF 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 Aspherical Lens
and
Tamron Zoom Telephoto AF 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 LD Macro Autofocus Lens
for £107
Formerly sexytw

  • Offline Loki

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Best 350D lens for around £100?
Reply #8 on: October 22, 2007, 20:21:00 PM
Last time I looked, One Stop Digital did the Sigma 70-300mm DG APO (the one in your link is the non-APO version) for £110 incl delivery and all taxes (they will reimburse you your customs fee should you incur any).


Edit: Personally, I wouldnt trust the seller youve linked to on ebay:

http://toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs?Dirn=Received+by&User=opteka

Many similar items making it to the UK, or not making it, but a lot of recent unhappy customers.  A lot of customers incurring an import tax as well.  Fair enough he might have a better overall good rating, but I wouldnt risk it.

Best 350D lens for around £100?
Reply #9 on: October 22, 2007, 20:42:38 PM
Quote from: Loki
Last time I looked, One Stop Digital did the Sigma 70-300mm DG APO (the one in your link is the non-APO version) for £110 incl delivery and all taxes (they will reimburse you your customs fee should you incur any).


Edit: Personally, I wouldnt trust the seller youve linked to on ebay:

http://toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs?Dirn=Received+by&User=opteka

Many similar items making it to the UK, or not making it, but a lot of recent unhappy customers.  A lot of customers incurring an import tax as well.  Fair enough he might have a better overall good rating, but I wouldnt risk it.


Cheers, hadnt noticed all that negative feedback, dont think ill be buying from them!

OneStopDigital Sigma lens here does look like a good option and from a proper store.


EDIT: Also, is APO a must/does it make a lot of difference?
Formerly sexytw

  • Offline Loki

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Best 350D lens for around £100?
Reply #10 on: October 22, 2007, 21:04:56 PM
APO lenses are made to lower and minimize colour abberations:

http://www.sigma-imaging-uk.com/support/abbriviations2.htm

I think the general consensus is that if you can afford APO, then go for APO.  It would make the difference at the longer end of the lens.  Some sites will say dont bother with non-APO, others will say the cost differential is not worth saving over non-APO - so to answer your question, APO :)


http://www.dpchallenge.com/forum.php?action=read&FORUM_THREAD_ID=598010
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=261940



Re:Best 350D lens for around £100?
Reply #11 on: October 22, 2007, 22:40:31 PM
Quote from: Dave
Quote from: Serious
As she already has the kit lens another one covering the same range isnt worth it unless she has expressed problems with the one she has.


it is IMO - a kit lense is just a kit lense - it covers the range that a lot of people will use most often & if you dont replace it then youre just not going to get as much out of your camera


its worth replacing the kit lens with something better once youve outgrown it, but its only worth replacing it with something better. No standard zoom in the price range mentioned will be better by enough to be worth the upgrade, even the Canon kit zoom isnt that bad.

Im planning to replace my 18-55 when I have the cash, but Im replacing it with £300 worth of 16-45 F4.

The Tamron Di 70-300 is supposed to be pretty good as cheapy long zooms go, and is around the £100 mark.

  • Offline Serious

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Best 350D lens for around £100?
Reply #12 on: October 23, 2007, 00:21:39 AM
Quote from: Dave
Quote from: Serious
As she already has the kit lens another one covering the same range isnt worth it unless she has expressed problems with the one she has.


it is IMO - a kit lense is just a kit lense - it covers the range that a lot of people will use most often & if you dont replace it then youre just not going to get as much out of your camera


The kit lens on the 350d is certainly not a quality product, but that is why I said, unless she has expressed problems with the one she has. Unless she has noticed then the kit lens can be used until it falls to bits, which in the case of the 350d they do tend to do.

Quote from: sexytw
[clueless]

Whats a 50mm lens then? Not the same 50mm as the 18-55mm covers?

She shoots all sorts of stuff, but I know she has expressed an interest in getting a telephoto lens for wildlife and things which is why I was thinking something upto 300mm might be good.

[/clueless]


As simple as I can make it. On a camera a single focal length lens will always give a clearer, more defined, image than a zoom that has the same focal length within its range and is built to the same quality.

Secondly: 50mm on a 350D needs multiplying by 1.6 to equal a same focal length on a 35mm camera. This puts it at 80mm, which is ideal for portrait work.

Thirdly: You can also buy a reversing ring and stuff it on the zoom backwards, this allows you to use it as a macro equivalent.

Fourthly: a 50mm is cheap to make. They used to make millions of them as it was the kit lens before zooms took over so they are practically guaranteed to be made to a good standard.

Fifthly: it has the advantage of a wide aperture, for sporting and low light.

This makes buying a 50mm good sense and value for money.

Best 350D lens for around £100?
Reply #13 on: October 23, 2007, 18:46:01 PM
Thanks all, this forum has become a top place for camera advice!

I think im going for the Sigma APO 70-300 from onestop digital (linked above).

Does anyone want a referal (Loki), not sure what you get but it asks me for a referers email?
Formerly sexytw

Re:Best 350D lens for around £100?
Reply #14 on: October 27, 2007, 02:13:35 AM
make sure and then check again that its the APO version youre buying.

that lens is a good choice for the money, it should serve him well.


I echo what Serious said about the 50mm, IMO there is no good reason NOT to have a 50mm F1.8/1.7 in your kit bag. So cheap, so small and SOOO useful.

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