canon zoom lense advice please.

[twinkle]

can some give me some advice on a lens i have seen for sale and a rough price it would be second hand?

its a Sigma AF 75-300mm f4.5-5.6 "APO" (Canon AF)

i have seen it for sale in my local LCE.

is it a good zoom lense?? and it would be going on a canon 400D.

cheers :thumbsup:

[Alastair]

I have one I use on a 40D (http://www.flickr.com/photos/saltgeorge/sets/72157612109742808/).. be aware that these were dirt cheap new (compared to the list price) at the begining of the year (under £130 mark) and have even now only crept up to just over £150.. so bear this in mind when considering second-hand prices.

It's not a brilliant lens but it's a "value" lens. It's a nice filler zoom, does nice bird table shots and general telephoto duties for me, and it's reasonable (but not outstanding) as a macro lens (a 65mm or 105mm macro prime is far superior). Even though, it's the second-least used lens out of four in my bag.

Whether it's any good for you depends what you plan on using it for.. and what other lenses you've got. What do you want to do with it?

[samwiseman]

I had the Nikon version of this lens and it cost £125 brand new.....I would expect to pay no more than £50 second hand in excellent nick

[Alastair]

Buying privately second-hand I wouldn't pay more than £60.. but assuming that LCE will be offering some sort of warranty on it I would guess that they will be trying to shift it at £80-100. Anything over £100 and walk-away, I wouldn't pay over £80 with a 3-month warranty.

But it comes down to what it's worth to you.. and, like I said, what you want it for (which will determine if it's any good to you).

[twinkle]

Buying privately second-hand I wouldn't pay more than £60.. but assuming that LCE will be offering some sort of warranty on it I would guess that they will be trying to shift it at £80-100. Anything over £100 and walk-away, I wouldn't pay over £80 with a 3-month warranty.

But it comes down to what it's worth to you.. and, like I said, what you want it for (which will determine if it's any good to you).


thanks for the advice. i want it for general zoom and not for the macro. i will get a lense just for macro work. It will be for cars on the race track or aircraft work really.

the price there are selling it at, is £50 so sounds about right price wise then.

I will give them a bell to make sure it fits the 400d first, as it does say it will only fit the old type canon DSLR??

the only other lense i got is the kit lense, so looking for a general zoom lens really.

[Alastair]

Either EF or EF-S lenses will fit the 400D.. I didn't think there was an older Canon didgital fit as I'm pretty sure the FD fit is film camera only.. is it on theLCE (http://www.lcegroup.co.uk/Secondhand_results.asp) secondhand site?

I took mine to the boundary at Stansted (none uploaded yet) and got some ok shots of planes coming in to land, it will work fine in good light.


Hang on.. just spotted something in your original post.. are you sure it's 75-300 and not 70-300? The 70-300 is the current model, can't see a 75-300 on the lists.

[twinkle]

Either EF or EF-S lenses will fit the 400D.. I didn't think there was an older Canon didgital fit as I'm pretty sure the FD fit is film camera only.. is it on theLCE (http://www.lcegroup.co.uk/Secondhand_results.asp) secondhand site?

I took mine to the boundary at Stansted (none uploaded yet) and got some ok shots of planes coming in to land, it will work fine in good light.


Hang on.. just spotted something in your original post.. are you sure it's 75-300 and not 70-300? The 70-300 is the current model, can't see a 75-300 on the lists.

Sorry, yer was a typo, should of been 70-300.:o

I have just looked for the lens to post a link, but its gone now :( instead they have a Canon EF 75-300 f4.5-5.6 for £69.
http://www.lcegroup.co.uk/SHdetails.asp?Item=6861

Hows this lense compared to the sigma one??

[Alastair]

Not a lens I'm familiar with, but it was one I considered before getting the Sigma (I decided on the Sigma because it was so heavily discounted).. I believe they are comparable, some reviews give the slight edge to the Canon.