Cheap Telephoto Needed

Hi all,

Simple really, I need a cheap (as in under £100/$200) telephoto that should cope with 'moderate' action; My dad has an old Canon 75-300 w/o USM, and I would really like something with a bit of a step up in IQ and focus speed.

And finally, don't tell me 70-200L - I have owned one and I know they are fantastic but I just need a half decent telephoto to see me through winter hibernation, and I still have my 400L to fall back onto anyway if I NEED the razor IQ.

Thanks in advance,

Ben

I have a Sigma 70-300 APO. The AF is noisy, but it produces great images. Should be able to find it used or new for close to that price.

Do you mean telephoto or zoom? If not a zoom, what mm? You can get a used 135/2.8 SF for around $200. Great lens even if you never use the SF feature.

You are a little limited with that price range, I have not used the canon lens however Sigma has a decent 70-300 Apo lens which i do own and used alot before i got my 70-200.

Oooh sorry I meant erm...Telephoto Zoom!
That 135 sounds nice, but possibly needing a touch more reach; are there any cheap but good ~200mm primes out there?

If you're willing to bump your price range up to $275 then I highly recommend the Canon 55-250mm IS lens. I've owned it for about 8 months and it's an absolute delight. There's a big difference between IS and non-IS when you're shooting at 150mm, 200mm + levels.

DONT get the non-APO Sigma 70-300- it is worthless junk, or atleast my copy is.

Another vote for the Canon 55-250 IS at around $275.

Nothing comes close to it in this price range.

Two other cheap options are either the Canon 70-210 3.5-4.5 USM or 100-300 4.5-5.6 USM. Both can be had for about $200 used.

I have the Sigma 70-300 APO DG. Very happy with it.

-js

msowsun wrote in post #6674182
Two other cheap options are either the Canon 70-210 3.5-4.5 USM or 100-300 4.5-5.6 USM. Both can be had for about $200 used.

Yeah, you get ring type USM with those and so they're better than the Sigma in my opinion. I had the 100-300 and it was a decent lens.

I would highly recommend a Sigma 55-200

I have a Quantaray 70-300 for sale, from what I've read it's a rebadged Tamron lens.

200mm f2.8 L is a good telephoto lens. I love it a lot

http://www.roentarre.c​om/Gallery.aspx?id=1&l​id=25

Just sold a Pentax SMC 200/4 manual focus with M42 mount - bought for 20 pounds - great IQ wide open. Best cheap tele...