Canon Rebel Lens options.

[Michael_Lambert]

Hello Everyone.

Alright so my delema..

I just bought the rebel, and well getting engaged soon so i dont have money to spend on high end lens that i need or want..

What i shoot is mixed, Family stuff, Wildlife and some macro mostly of my aquarium as most of you have seen..

I can not afford a grand for a Macro lens and then another 5-6 hundred for a decent lens for the family and wildlife..

I was suggest to pick up this lens..

Sigma 300mm With super Macro (http://www.blackphotostore.com/english/proddetail.asp?sku=95645)

I was playing with it in the store and it seems very cool for a All around lens for what i need..

Just wondering if anyone is uses it ?

Thanks

Michael.

[CDM]

I use Sigma 70~300 for family and scenery. I think it's good enough for me (though the sharpness is on the soft side). IMO, it's not convinient when using it on aquatic photography. Its macro end is not 1:1, and the closest distance is far from the subject. If the subject is the smaller fishes like tetra and dwarves cichlids (less than inch size), you'll found the 70~300mm lens is not really handy. Therefore, I got a Sigma 105mm macro lens (1:1), which can get close to 12". After then, I always use the 105mm lens for the aquatic photography (for those smaller fishes).

[Michael_Lambert]

hummm..

Soo tell me.. The Macro on this lens.. Would it be better than what im getting with the stock 18-55mm that came with my rebel?

[hir0]

i have the tamron version of this lens for my nikon w/1:2 macro mode. it's capable of decent sharpness in the 70-200~ range but suffers from pretty bad chromatic abberations (purple fringe). i'm not sure how the sigma compares, but from what i've read all the 70-300 lenses are fairly similar. i also found the macro mode to not be very useful and picked up a tamron 90mm macro. i found the 70-300's optics, ca, and slow af caused many missed or unusable shots. BUT, i did manage to get a few keepers also :) to be honest, this really not a good alternative to a dedicated macro lens. it will allow you to focus closer though. really depends on what your definition of macro is. there are other options. what lenses do you currently use?

[Michael_Lambert]

Well,

Currently for all my Aquatic shoots i use the Canon 18-55mm lens that came with my digital rebel, Its the EFS 18-55mm..

i mean at the moment its not a bad lens for shooting the macros, you can see some of my threads.. But it really LACKS and actually Sucks big time on shooting anything more than 30 feet away.. :( See, my long term goals are..

Canon 100mm Macro , and looking at the 70- 300MM by canon with the Image Stablity.. but both these lens fall in and around a Grand each Canadian..

So i really dont mind keeping the current lens for some of the macro work till i can get back on track and get what i want.. But this Sigma lens has some decent range i think for shooting some distance wildlife/sporting events.. and well its somthing i can aford to buy today kind of thing at $250 Canadian..

[hir0]

tough decision then. i would definitely hold out for a real macro lens for macro work. as for the telephoto - it really depends on what you want. at the very least i would recommend the canon 75-300 just because it has USM and that will be way more useful than the 1:2 "macro" mode. also, resale on a canon lens will be better than the sigma if you decide to trade up.