which lens??

[bballboy30]

I am planning on getting a digital rebel. I will be using it mostly for wildlife (not birds). I am looking for a good lens for wildlife. I would like a 100-400mm with a low enough aperture for low light condtions. Oh, and I have a $500 budget. (if needed I could get 2 lenses one 400mm and one for low light.)

Thanks.
Alex

[roanjohn]

Hmmm.........your budget it probably not gonna cut it for those long primes.

maybe a used 200 f2.8 L...........a 1.4 tc and a 50 f1.8.

RO1

[Headcase650]

Your budget is the problem, Long and Fast doesnt come for $500. The cheapest way to get long and fast would probably be the sigma 70-200 2.8 ex hsm, the pick up the 1.4 or 2x teleconverter. but you are still out of your budget. That lense can be had for about $680 at adorama and I think the converter is less than $200. A cheaper option would be the 75-300 usm is. Its long and slow but has image stabalization but this doesnt stop subjest movement. Im sure someone else can hit this topic better than I.

[bballboy30]

I found a sigma 135-400mm f 4.5-5.6 for $550.

The only problem is the aperature. I don't know that much about aperature, so could someone tell me what is good for low light. I might end up buying a short lens with low aperature and the Sigma.

Thanks.
Alex.

[bballboy30]

I could also get the Canon - 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 IS USM EF Lens.

Is the image stabilizer worth the -100mm. It costs about the same as the sigma.

Thanks.
Alex

[ScottE]

Your best bet for a cheap 400 mm telephoto under $500 would be a used Canon, Sigma or Tokina 400 mm f/5.6 lens. Beware that some of the older Sigma and Tokina lenses will not operate on new Canon cameras and cannot be upgraded. The more recent models should be OK, but neither the Sigma or Tokina 400 is in production any more. If you are lucky you might find a used Sigma 50-500 in your price range. Don't waste your money on a telephoto lens unless you are also going to buy a good tripod and ball head.

I would live with the kit lens until I had more than $500 to spend if I needed a fast mid focal length lens. Remember the D Rebel is reasonably good at ISO 800 so the need for speed in lenses is not as great as it used to be.

[dhbailey]

For wildlife, though, which often stays in the shadows of the forest, you'll need the fastest lenses possible, even with the 800 ISO of the Rebel. That isn't all that fast and will have a lot of noise. Better to save your money for a great lens that will really help you, rather than spend $500 for a lens that will leave you frustrated.

Keep in mind that using an extender will slow your lens down by one or two stops, so you will lose any of the speed you might gain with a shorter lens when you use the extender to try to make it into a longer lens. Plus, extenders tend to emphasize any faults in the lens, so if you are buying a lower-price lens to start with the flaws will become readily apparent and you will be extremely frustrated.

Take a coffee can, put it on your dresser and everytime you have a spare $5 or $10 or $20 in your wallet at the end of the day, put it in the can. You'll be surprised how quickly that $500 will grow into an amount that will buy you a great lens for your purposes.

[bballboy30]

Thanks for all your help.

I understand what you are saying about a cheap lens but there is no way I could spend over $500 for a lens and I would rather have a ok lens than no lens at all. That being said I am still confused about the aperature. What is the maximum you recommend for wildlife?

Thanks again.
Alex

[mvonditter]

You might want to check out ebay. Just remember, buyer beware here. I would ask a lot of questions and make real sure that you get what you payed for. Also, Paypal is no help once you go over $500.00. :wink: