I currently have a 55-250mm zoom for my Rebel t2i. I want to get a longer zoom, but am not able to afford the 600mm that most have recommended. would the 75-300mm be much of a difference? Its mainly for nature pics - thanks!
not sure i'd want to spend alot for a new lens just to gain 50mm, when is your birthday, maybe all your friends or family can chip together for a lens in the 400mm range? do a google search of second hand camera shops in your area or the area when postage is still good price see if you get lucky. i found a couple of nice lenses like that rather than just searching ebay, sometimes facebook photography group members sell stuff with first options to other group members. have you tried a teleconverter on your existing lens?
Hello and welcome to the forum Eva. I don't think that you will see that much of a difference between the two focal length. I know that it is going to cost more, but I think that at least a 400mm and preferably a 600mm is going to serve you better. Gary
No. I have both of these lenses, and I now know it was a beginners mistake to get the 75-300. There is nothing wrong with the lens itself, but as the others have said, the difference in range seems negligible in comparison. The 300 is also a lot heavier than the 250, which means that it is not quite as easy (for me) to use for hand held shots. I wish I had asked here before I spent the money!
I would concur that an extra 50mm is probably not going to feel like you gained much, you can get an idea of this by seeing what you gained zooming at 200 and then at 250 on the lens you already have. I I also feel that you may be better off saving for a 400 500 or 600 lens. I would take your budget and get a quality canon tele-converter that you can use with all the lenses you may invest in down the line. A 2x TC will make your lens feel like a 100-500 and probably be a good option for your walkabouts in nature.
Welcome Eva, there is another option and that is use a 2x extender the drawback to this is you will loose two stops of light, one way around this is increase your iso by two stops, you will get a 110 - 500mm focal length.
They can be used by hand, the tripod vs by hand argument will come down to shutter speed, you need to freeze movement, if you have a teleconverter (TC) on a 250mm zoom the rule I would use is 1/500 speed shutter or faster. Though you have IS in the lens so should be able to get by with a shutter between 1/100 and 1/200, I do not have experience with that lens & TC combo so someone else would have to jump in. A tripod still may come in handy eventually depending on the subject being captured, but that's another investment, for portability and weight investing long term in a lightweight and compact carbon fiber tripod is probably ideal, but I would say start with your TC first. . There are two current canon TC models( see link below), they are a bit pricey but its not like they don't hold value. There are 3rd part models, which I would read reviews before buying, and some are manual only ones so they do not have the electrical contacts for the lens. You can probably get a decent used model/or last generation canon TC (you will note they are new III or 3rd gen) or a 3rd party brand for somewhere around $200 if you want to save some money . https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/products/compare?models=20940,20939
quick question to johnsey or someone else who knows, will the lens eva has except any canon teleconverter? ie the tc stick out? to Eva, some teleconverters have element that goes to the lens stick out further than others, i dont have you specific lens to know but you will need to make sure the teleconverter is compatible with your lens. i have a couple of lenses where the rear element of that lens is right at the back leaving no space for a teleconverter to slide into where other lenses have the rear element some distance into the lens so a teleconverter with a longer sticky out bit can fit into there is a way around it with an extension tube to act as a spacer but this won't be good for you as a n extension tube will move the focusing parameters away from long distance focus, they are mainly used to shift a lens closer to a subject for near subject close ups. i manages to pick up both my canon x2 III converters for under £100 uk on ebay, there isn't alot to go wrong with them as they are just a set of direct electrical connections and some non moving glass, if its damaged then its pretty obvious straight away.
https://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/8/0300004658/01/extender-ef-2x-iii-en.pdf Gosh Caladina your right, I looked at the TC compatibility chart, the 55-250 is a EFs lens and thus not supported, looks like none of the extenders work either with EFs lenses in general based on quick search online https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/2777094 Something like a 150-600 is now looking like a better option if you need the extra reach. Still a thumbs up for the extender, just not on EF-s lenses. Thumbs up for the 55-250 its a great lens for the price compared to some of the others similar to it Long reach past 300mm gets spendy quick and there isn't a perfect solution people who shoot long invest in decent zooms to hit 400/500/600 or they spring for an expensive prime like a 300mm or 400mm and pair it with a quality TC. Another way to get budget zoom is to look at some of the higher end bridge cameras, the sx70hs has a 4.3–247 mm which compares to a 21–1365 mm in 35mm terms. It wont be top notch optical quality at the far end but it should be serviceable and a good value for a $600 camera, There are other options but this is a the canon one so I used that as an example.
Just another thought that comes to mind. Would this camera autofocus with this lens attached? I am guessing that we are looking at f5.6 at the long end, and then attach the x2 teleconverter and then lose two stops of light. I am thinking that it wouldn't. Gary
Eva, may I also suggest that if you wish purchase a 2x extender go along to your local camera shop, take your camera and lens along and ask to see what they have and try it out on your camera and lens, most good camera shops will allow this, that way you will get a feel for the weight and how it works with your camera and the price range of the different extender they have available, all the best with it.
i found a couple of nice lenses like that rather than just searching ebay, sometimes facebook photography group members sell stuff with first options to other group members.
i have a kenko tele plus x3 converter for ef mount that has no protrusions and works on the lenses with close up rear elements
