Value for money tele lens

[Burrd255314]

Hey.
I know this has probably been covered a lot, but the conclusion is always to go for the 100-400L.
I would love to, but funds don't really stretch that far yet.
I was wondering if anyone can offer something else which is good value for money.
I have a 350d, and currently use a 75-300 f/4-5.6 canon lens.

I was thinking of the bigma, or 170-500 or 135-400 or maybe jus the canon 70-200 f/4L

Can anyone please shed some light for me?
Thanks

[Top_Gun]

what are your funds, that would help limit us.
I'm a big fan of the Bigma, funds was the reason I went that route. You can't beat the 50-500 for $900.00 IMO.

[dvincent]

what are your funds, that would help limit us.
I'm a big fan of the Bigma, funds was the reason I went that route. You can't beat the 50-500 for $900.00 IMO.

Take it from another Bigma user, that lens can't be beat.

Except when a tiny screw in the zoom lock switch works itself loose and jams up the lens (which is being fixed under warranty) but other than that, it's one awesome value.

[Burrd255314]

Well, I'm guessing aroung £750, so roughly $1000 given ou equipment coss a lot more here.

I'm gonna go to my local store today to see if I can try the bigma on for size

[LX-A343]

What about the Sigma 80-400? Not that I have any experiences, but I heard good feedback already.

[seahawk]

You really need/want 400 ?

[Burrd255314]

Well, I currently have 75-300, and find that I'm using the lens above 200 most of the time.
This would seem to count out the canon 70-200, but L-glass !!!!!!

80-400 sounds good, but i think it is still a bit too expensive.
I mean, if I say, I'll spend another £80 on the 80-400, then I might as well spend another £100 ontop of that for the 100-400. . . .

[seahawk]

I was thinking about the Sigma 100-300 4.0 HSM.

[brianw999]

I have a Sigma 170 - 500 which I am pleased with but, and I believe this goes for the Bigma as well, they both need good light.

I paid £280 for a mint 170-500 on Ebay. Go here

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/?pho...sigmalens.html

where you'll find the Bigma for £750 and the 170-500 for £528.

[Burrd255314]

RE: sigma 100-300 f/4, it costs the same as the bigma - is it worth the smaller focal length?
7dayshop is also pretty cheap for lenses.
I wanna get it from jessops though so I can test it out, and they pricematch amazon -pretty good

[seahawk]

Imho the 100-300 beats the 50-500 clealry in IQ, but obviously it has a much smaller zoom range.

The 100-300 Sigma is imho one of the best Sigma lenses available.

http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/lenses/sigma_100300_4/index.htm