A longer lens on a budget...

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Hello.

Having just got back from a Safari in Kenya I felt I missed out on having a longer lens and so on the lookout for a lens around 200/300mm

My cameras a Canon 600D and my current lens is the supplied 18 - 55mm which obviously doesn't zoom in very far at all.

I don't want to spend silly money as I'm still very much a novice and a £2000 Canon specific lens would be wasted!

I've had a quick look around and would this be an ideal lens to allow me to shoot objects a bit further away...

Tamron 70-300mm F4/5.6 DI LD Macro lens - Jessops - Lenses

I'm not au fait with all the numbers i.e f4 etc so need a little reassurance this would be ok for animal shots/aircraft etc.

Thanks
Mark
 
Canon 55-250 IS, dont bother with a long slow lens without IS in the UK.
 
Excellent, thanks for your help I'll get one ordered from Amazon.

Best regards
Mark
 
No problem, enjoy the new lens.
 
Mark

Out of interest where did you go on safari (and with which tour operator if you don't mind me asking), and did you enjoy it ? I'm asking as I have booked a Kenya Safari for next year so trying to gather as much info as I can. You may see from the "D90 lens for safari" thread by 5to1 I have asked about driver tips and currency so any pointers in this direction would be useful.

Thanks
 
Great choice of lens; I was amazed what it did for my 400D when I got one.
 
Canon 70-200mm F2.8 IS

:laugh: that's why I had to stipulate I was on a strict budget. I know how carried away I get when someone drops by the speakers section asking for some budget speakers :facepalm:
 
:D For the money, you won't do any better than the 55-250... great bang for buck! :smashin:
 
Mark

Out of interest where did you go on safari (and with which tour operator if you don't mind me asking), and did you enjoy it ? I'm asking as I have booked a Kenya Safari for next year so trying to gather as much info as I can. You may see from the "D90 lens for safari" thread by 5to1 I have asked about driver tips and currency so any pointers in this direction would be useful.

Thanks

Hello mate.

First of all Kenya is an amazing place, the best holiday my wife and I have been on and without wanting to sound big headed we've been to some nice places previously.

As for the Safari we booked through JT Safari's (check out trip advisor) and can't fault them. Excellent throughout and will certainly use them again.

As we'd not been on Safari before and only choose Kenya as a last minute decision as we was going to go to Mexico but thought we'd see what else was available for similar money.

We did a 2 day one night Safari staying at the Salt Lick Lodge. First day was an early start of 4.30am (still a little jet lagged so it felt like 1.30am :boring:) we did a game drive, before going to the Voi lodge for lunch. The Voi was fantastic and although the Salt Lick is classed as a better lodge I much preferred the Voi.

We did both Tsavo East and Taita Hills game reserves. They were great and certainly an experience however you had to stick to the roads (dirt tracks) so if you saw a Lion 100m away then that's as close as you'd get unless you was very lucky to find one near the road, which we didn't and hence why I want a better lens.

We both immensely enjoyed the whole holiday and also the Safari. However we would like to go back in a few years time and we'd stay in the same hotel (Baobab beach and spa resort, Diani Beach) but would most definitely do the Maasai Mara next time which involves a 2 hour internal flight but you can go off road etc and from speaking to other people its a much much better trip however expect to pay around £800 - £1200 each)

As for tips, I guess it depends on the guide/driver you have. We left ours $30 which is a HUGE sum of money for most Kenyans. My advice would be to pay for the safari in dollars and take Kenyan shillings for everything else.

Here's a couple of pics I took obviously nothing to show off about in this section but just so you get the idea...

Elephant nice and close.
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More elephants
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Giraffes...Along way off :rolleyes:
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Same with Lions, a male and female (if you can make them out :rolleyes:)
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Salt Lick lodge where we stayed over night.
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A pic of the watering hole at the Voi lodge. Best part of the safari with the elephants playing in the water and blowing their trumpets :thumbsup:
148_zpsd6a0d99e.jpg
 
Many thanks for the info, much appreciated. Interesting you would go back to the Baobab as that is where we are spending a week after doing the Hayes and Jarvis Mara to Coast safari. Great pictures also, shame I have got seven months to wait. Like you I have invested in a long(ish) lens for the safari but managed to get permission for 70-200 f4L IS with a 1.4x teleconverter (long story told in another thread) so will probably try and get to a safari park to try it out in the late spring. Also have an old 100-300 USM as a back up which is old but pretty good if I really need the extra reach. Glad you had a great time.
 
:laugh: that's why I had to stipulate I was on a strict budget. I know how carried away I get when someone drops by the speakers section asking for some budget speakers :facepalm:

Well I did not buy my 70-200mm f/4 USM L until I thought I was ready to step up to an L lens. Sure it has no IS, however I find using a monopod works just as well as IS for some shots i.e. Misty Rowers | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

From what I've seen of the lens you've picked out, it's pretty good.
 
Another quick question - what was the sea life like at the beach at the Baobab for snorkling ? I'm debating whether to get an Aquapac for my old bridge for use in the sea but if there is no life then I'll wait until I visit Egypt again.
 
For the money I'll buy the one from Amazon we're doing the West Coast of America next year inc a helicopter ride of the Grand Canyon, San Francisco (Golden Gate Bridge) and stopping at New York on the way back so it'll come in handy then too as well as when we go on Safari again.

I may look in to a higher quality lens for taking portrait pics, if that's the best way to describe its use, but I'll concentrate on this lens for the time being.

I really need a better tripod next!
 
Ugg10 said:
Another quick question - what was the sea life like at the beach at the Baobab for snorkling ? I'm debating whether to get an Aquapac for my old bridge for use in the sea but if there is no life then I'll wait until I visit Egypt again.

We didn't venture on the beach much as its a public beach and the beach boys are an absolute nightmare even if you persistently say no!

Didn't see a great deal in the water, there is a sand island approx 200m from the shore which you can get a boat to at low tide but again not a great deal to see.
 
Many thanks, I'll save the money on the Aquapac then. I have a mate with the 55-250 IS who uses it on a 450D and gets pretty good results, bit of a bargain by all accounts.

As for a portrait lens there are a few to go for and I am sure if you post here then there will be plenty of opinions but the usual suspects include -

50mm f1.8 (cheap and chearful but still pretty good)
50mm f1.4 (better quality but twice the price)
60mm f2.8 macro (smaller aperture, bonus of macro but small working distance)
85mm f1.8 (pretty sharp and nice wide aperture)
100mm f2.0 (slightly longer version of the 85mm, but may be a bit long for indoors on a 1.6x body)
100mm f2.8 macro (can be used as a portrait lens but doubles up as a 1:1 macro at a premium)

the 85mm is usually the most recommended for a 1.6x crop canon.

Good reviews on Canon & Nikon Digital SLR Camera and Lens Reviews at The-Digital-Picture.com, Welcome to Photozone! and Digital camera reviews, photography techniques, photography gallery and photography forums .
 
50mm 1.8 (worst made lens Ive ever used but for what it costs optically its good)
50mm 1.4 (these definitely cant take a knock or the AF goes, good but is it worth the premium over the 1.8?)
85mm 1.8 (excellent optically, pretty well built imo)

85mm is definitely not the most recommended focal length with a crop. Thats 135mm in 35mm terms.
 
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I know its taking it off topic slightly from my original question but what lens would be best for taking a picture of a car for example again within a tight budget? Any of those listed above?

Thanks
 
Difficult one, a lot of people use UWA lenses for rig shots, depends on the distance, what kind of look you want to achieve.
 
The 85mm f1.8 would be fine for portrait work. In olden days of film 135mm was recommended for portraits and I used my Mamiya 135mm f2.

My Sigma 105mm f2.8 macro was excellent for portraits on my Canon 20D/30D/7D
 
Fine if you want head only crops or can get a fair distance away from your subject.
 

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