help deciding on a new lens

[GTV681]

Hi all,
after getting some helpful advice from the friendly and knowledgeable people here i bought a 300d a few months ago,i am more than happy with it,when i bought the camera i got the standard 18-55,and also got a 55-200.Now i have decided that i want something to get a lot closer to wildlife and other stuff,i thought about getting a 1.4 TC,But was told by the guy at the camera shop yesterday that i would be better getting a new lens,i figure if i get a TC now i can still use it down the track with other lens,obviously i would love to be able to go out and buy the latest L series ,but that aint going to happen until my photography improves,and bank balance!
How good are the canon 75-300,and what are the sigma and tamron equivalents?also what is a good site to see all the available lenses?
I know that i could search and find all these answers,so i apolagise now as i am in a hurry.
thanks all.... 8)
ps what and where are the best places for good prices for gear in Australia,any aussie's round here ?

[Persian-Rice]

fredmiranda.com > reviews

I think the 1.4 only works with a very narrow range of Canon long telezooms. State you budget before these guys start suggesting $1500 L glass.

[mblanton]

I own the 75-300 and I like it for some applications. It's great to take to the park and photograph kids, ducks, that sort of things. It is also not bad when shooting long range as long as you don't try to crop your image. Example...I setup on opening day of deer season, and had a big 10 pointer pass within 125 yards of my position. This image I captured looked great until I tried to zoom in where you could actually see the deers antlers. Zooming in that much degraded the image to the point of being useless. My wife on the other hand who likes to shoot pictures of our 5 year old playing wouldn't part with it for anything in the world. So it really depends on the application.

I am seriously thinking of upgrading next year...I just don't know what I want to get. Here are the lenses I have been pondering:

70-200 2.8
200 1.8
300 4
100-400 (this is not my first choice)

These are all very expensive pieces of glass and like you I have to justify spending that kind of money. I will more than likely buy the sigma 70-200 2.8 just because cost is such an overwhelming factor.

Mike

[Jon]

I think the 1.4 only works with a very narrow range of Canon long telezooms.
Canon's and Sigma's 1.4x TCs only work with a few lenses; Tamron's 1.4x TCs don't have that limitation. They don't have the protruding front element of the Canon and Sigma models. Of course, none of them will work with EF-S lenses.