HELP! Lens decision

[treynolds]

I have a canon rebel xti. I love it! I currently have two lenses...ef 28-90mm and a ef canon 75-300mm. I take a lot of action sports photos and also wildlife photos. I want to be able to get closer than the 75-300mm will get me. What do I need? I am on a budget, so no $3000 lenses. Do I need to get a whole new lens or a lens extender? Does a lens extender cause the photos not to be as good? I am very confused.

 

[DueyDooDah]

I could be mistaken but I don't believe your lens lineup has compatible extenders available. I know that Canon's extenders will not work with either of your lenses (they only work on primes and some L series lenses) but don't know if there are any after-market solutions.

 

[pisco]

Sigma has a new 120-400 4.5-5.6 with image stabilization that should street around $800.

That is a big increase in reach at a reasonable price.

ETA - Tamron has a 70-200 2.8 for $699. With their $189 2x extender that would be a 120-400 5.6. This is the setup I am considering for my 40D as I shoot a lot of low light events were the 70-200 2.8 would be perfect. And at $1000 less than the Canon equivalent I can afford to buy their 28-75 2.8 as well.

 

[0bli0]

i would recommend the sigma over the tamron + extender if the reach is what you're after and you shoot mostly at this focal length i see BH has them for $849.
if you are after low light or this is not your primary use of a lens, i would recommend a different approach as Derald has suggested.

 

[zackiedawg]

I shoot alot of wildlife and birding in the Everglades and nature reserve areas down here in Florida, and needed as much reach as I could get...though I am shooting with an Alpha A300, I bought a Tamron lens which might be worth a look if you really want serious distance with great IQ.

The Tamron 200-500 F5-6.3 is around $800 list, and you might find it cheaper shopping around. With your crop factor, you get over 700mm optically. Given reasonable light, it performs excellently, for birds, wildlife, and even action shots. CA/fringing is basically nonexistent, no distortion throughout the range, good, deep color, etc. It's a surprisingly good lens for the money, and built extremely ruggedly. It is also usable handheld, which is not easy for a lens that reaches this long (it's lighter and easier for me to handle than the 'Bigma' 50-500).

Some sample shots I've gotten from the lens:

A few 'action' type shots too, just to show some flexibility with the lens:

It wouldn't be an optimal lens choice for low light zoom work - but might be better optically than some average 200-300 lenses with extenders on them. If you want F2.8 at that distance, then you have to sell your car to pay for it - so it's a nice compromise that gives you superb range in good light and solid image quality compared to a cheap lens and extender combo - and all for $800 or less.

I've been happy with mine!

 

[jann1033]

I have a canon rebel xti. I love it! I currently have two lenses...ef 28-90mm and a ef canon 75-300mm. I take a lot of action sports photos and also wildlife photos. I want to be able to get closer than the 75-300mm will get me. What do I need? I am on a budget, so no $3000 lenses. Do I need to get a whole new lens or a lens extender? Does a lens extender cause the photos not to be as good? I am very confused.

tamron teleconverters will work with most 90mm plus lenses, zoom or prime. it doesn't work electronically with my phoenix 100 prime( which barely works as it is) but all my other lenses( theycan be f4 or larger even though they recommend 2.8 or larger, the sigma was f2.8 or larger which is why i went with tamron over sigma, the canon only works with a very limited selection of mostly L canon lenses) .imo the iq is very little changed with the converter. it's slightly under $200 and is the same as the kenko pro so you can see which is cheaper. my exif doesn't say if i use the converter or not( i used it with my 70-200 f4 canon, which is a really sharp lens, i would think you need a good lens to start with ) and i don't remember so i can't post any but i know i did need a tripod for sure. although i am guess ing that would be a given for any longer lenses you might be looking at. not sure what your 70-300 is at 300 so not sure how well it would work if the f stop is big enough or not. i am happy with the tamron tele however if it would work,
i got the tamron pro, (they make 2, one is lots cheaper.) i got the 1.4x( 1 stop light loss) since the 2 means you lose 2 stops of light and wasn't as well reviewed but you can find tons of 2x second hand. ( at least i saw them a few months ago when i got the 1.4)