Help with a new lense...

[Onwuma]

I am a photography newb, but i do have an idea of the types of pictures i would like to take. Earlier today i went out for a walk in the woods and i took a bunch of pictures of turkeys and a racoon, but they weren't close enough. What would be a cheap lense that would get me good close photos of birds and such? Maybe... eh... $250 range.

[Persian-Rice]

100-300mm f/4.6-5.6 is the best in that price range.

There are Tokina, Tamron, and Sigma, but I dont know much about them, I bet they have something better in that price range.

Ill be the first to tell you though. You might not be satisfied with cheap lenses. Especially a long ones.

[wolf]

The Canon 75-300 f/4.0-5.6 III USM (non IS) is a pretty good bang for the buck at about $190US. It is a decent lens if you stop it down a couple of stop from wide open.

[Persian-Rice]

I would say the 100-300 is far better then the 75-300. Just from reviews and image comparisons I have seen............

[wolf]

Actually the 75-300 is graded at 3.1 (MTF test) and the 100-300 is rated at 3.0 (MTF test) so they are quite similar except in build where the 100-300 wins out. http://photography-on-the.net/forum/images/icons/icon12.gif