Sigma 70-300 f/4or Canon EF 75-300 f/4

[fishyone]

I am patiently waiting for the UPS guy to bring my 20D tomorrow and wanted to know which lens would be better for wildlife. Price is only ten dollars difference on B&H. Tamron also has one for ten less than the Sigma. I blew most of my money on the 20D and so am on a budget. Thanks

[bibteewolfe]

for what its worth i have the sigma and have been pleased with the results... i had my mind set on the canon but the guy on the other end of the line at abes of maine convinced me to get the sigma... the price was a bit better and he claimed the lenses were almost the same... i just wish it had some sort of IS

[Tee Why]

Sigma

[crn3371]

I have the Canon 75-300 back from my film days. Not the greatest lens out there, but stop it down some in good light and it gets me by ( at least until an IRS refund). In trolling the threads over the years I will say that the Sigma does seem to be more favored though.

[ron chappel]

The canon is a pretty good budget lens but it's weak point is that it gets abit to soft at the long end.
You don't say which sigma so i'll describe both versions-
The sigma (APO version) is one of the better consumer zooms and is well worth getting.
The sigma (DL macro version) is not as good as the APO but i have seen reports that suggest it's a little better than the canon.

Another lens really worth considering on a budget is the tamron 70-300LD macro.It's impressively sharp for the price,the only real drawback is the slowish focus speed.

[fishyone]

Thanks everybody. I didn´t realize their were different lenses such as the APO and the DL versions. Why do they do that? It´s confusing enough for a newbie with all these different numbers. Looks like the Sigma APO is the way to go. Thanks again

[ron chappel]

Yeah they do have too many models.
To add to the confusion they have recently updated all their lenses to the 'DG' designation but there may be some older models still being sold new.

To clarify- the model you want is the 70-300 Apo macro DG (allthough it would be no disaster having the non DG apo version,it's still an excellent lens)

[SezzySue]

I got the Canon and I am so happy with it. I also have the 20D and they just work so well together. I went through B&H. $10 is worth going Canon, IMO

[SSquared2000]

I don't have either lens, but have done research on this several months ago. The Sigma seems to be the clear leader. The only Canon 70-300 which seems to get any type of positive feedback is the 70-300 IS USM.

One thing no one has mentioned regarding the Sigma is you also get a 1:2 macro lens. You may or may not care about macro, but it may be fun to at least experiment with it.

[condyk]

The Sigma is favourite. APO DG as Ron says.

One thing to remember is that ANY long lens without IS needs a tripod, monopod, beanbag, or other kind of stable platform to give their very best. Some complain at blury shots at long lengths but that's usually because of camera shake. Fast shutter speed helps and you'll need decent light to achieve that. If not, remember that stable platform to counter any shake.

The Canon options at this range is mediocre at best. The 100-300 USM is Ok, but not worth the extra.