best zoom lens for canon EOS 350d

Hello, I am looking for a new zoom lens for my canon 350d digital slr.
I have looked at several. I saw one today at circuit city that is a
70-300mm zoom lens. I am not sure what the best zoom lens that I could
get for the best price is.

The one I saw at circuit city was $199. That is about all I want to pay
right now. But I want to be able to zoom into animals such as birds,
deer, mountain cats, etc... From a distance such as up to 100 yards or
so. It did not seem like that 70-300mm lens would do that. I have also
looked at 2X adapters but am concerned with the quality of the image
with such a configuration.

Anyway here is some of the shots I have taken with my 350d with the
standard 18-55mm lens. http://www.forestwander.com The only issue is I
wish I could zoom in from far distances on shots like the owl. To make
the image larger I had to blow the image up to 100% and then crop the
owl from the rest of the surroundings. The shot would have much better
and cleaner with a better lens I think.

Any advice or constructive comments are appreciated greatly.

Forest Wanderer wrote:

The one I saw at circuit city was $199. That is about all I want to pay
right now. But I want to be able to zoom into animals such as birds,
deer, mountain cats, etc... From a distance such as up to 100 yards or
so. It did not seem like that 70-300mm lens would do that. I have also
looked at 2X adapters but am concerned with the quality of the image
with such a configuration.

You get what you pay for. $199 won't get much for wildlife telephoto.
---been there, done that, and in the process spent more in the
long run upgrading.

Zoom lenses in general can be OK, but not great. Cheap zoom
lenses are usually not even OK. Adding a 2x, you will lose
autofocus, and just make a soft image softer. The 350 will not
autofocus beyond f/5.6.

Fixed lenses will give you quality.

A good beginning wildlife lens is the 300 f/4 L IS lens.
You can add a 1.4x TC and still have autofocus at 420 mm f/5.6.

Roger
Photos, digital info at: http://www.clarkvision.com
example 300 mm image:
http://www.clarkvision.com/galleries...962.b-700.html

Roger N. Clark (change username to rnclark) wrote:

The 350 will not autofocus beyond f/5.6.


Not true. I just tested a 400, 5.6 with a TC and the AF on my 350d
worked... it's not 100% full proof, but it works more often than not.
_____
Slack

In message ,
Slack™ " wrote:

I just tested a 400, 5.6 with a TC and the AF on my 350d
worked... it's not 100% full proof, but it works more often than not.

Did the combo report the wrong f-stop?
--


John P Sheehy

wrote:
In message ,
Slack™ " wrote:

I just tested a 400, 5.6 with a TC and the AF on my 350d
worked... it's not 100% full proof, but it works more often than not.

Did the combo report the wrong f-stop?


Now I remember why it worked... you're correct, the TC wasn't reporting
it to the camera. So Clark is correct; F8=no AF

But there is a work-around, for those who don't have another option.
_____
Slack

Forest Wanderer (pun intended?):
The one I saw at circuit city was $199. That is about all I want to pay
right now. But I want to be able to zoom into animals such as birds,
deer, mountain cats, etc... From a distance such as up to 100 yards or
so. It did not seem like that 70-300mm lens would do that.

You may have a problem there. Say the dear is 2 meters wide, so you
want a frame of 4 meters, 100 yards away. That is a ratio of 1:23. Your
sensor is 24mm wide, which means you need a focal length of 550mm. The
right lense would be the 500/4, or the 400/2.8 with a teleconverter.

And a quick reality check with the price list will tell you that on
your budget, you may have to get closer to the dear. And let's not do
the same calculation for the cat.

If you want to give it a try anyway, get the 70-200/4. Everything
cheaper is a waste of money.

Thomas

"Forest Wanderer" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello, I am looking for a new zoom lens for my canon 350d digital slr.
I have looked at several. I saw one today at circuit city that is a
70-300mm zoom lens. I am not sure what the best zoom lens that I could
get for the best price is.

The one I saw at circuit city was $199. That is about all I want to pay
right now. But I want to be able to zoom into animals such as birds,
deer, mountain cats, etc... From a distance such as up to 100 yards or
so. It did not seem like that 70-300mm lens would do that. I have also
looked at 2X adapters but am concerned with the quality of the image
with such a configuration.

Anyway here is some of the shots I have taken with my 350d with the
standard 18-55mm lens. http://www.forestwander.com The only issue is I
wish I could zoom in from far distances on shots like the owl. To make
the image larger I had to blow the image up to 100% and then crop the
owl from the rest of the surroundings. The shot would have much better
and cleaner with a better lens I think.

Any advice or constructive comments are appreciated greatly.

300mm on a 350d =480mm. Should be enough. A 2x adapter on a lens like that
will result in a minimum f number of about F11. won't be able to see
anything and autofocus won't cope. Anything over 300mm tends to be
expensive, even primes. Fast long lenses are damn heavy. stick with the
70-300. If it turns out not to be enough you are looking at 4 figure sums
of money.

Slack™ wrote:

wrote:

In message ,
Slack™ " wrote:

I just tested a 400, 5.6 with a TC and the AF on my 350d worked...
it's not 100% full proof, but it works more often than not.

Did the combo report the wrong f-stop?

Now I remember why it worked... you're correct, the TC wasn't reporting
it to the camera. So Clark is correct; F8=no AF

But there is a work-around, for those who don't have another option.

But that option results in poor AF lock, meaning you miss shots
during action, and when you do get lock, it is often a soft focus
because the lens moved a little too far from prediction.

Roger

Roger N. Clark (change username to rnclark) wrote:
Slack™ wrote:

wrote:

In message ,
Slack™ " wrote:

I just tested a 400, 5.6 with a TC and the AF on my 350d worked...
it's not 100% full proof, but it works more often than not.

Did the combo report the wrong f-stop?

Now I remember why it worked... you're correct, the TC wasn't
reporting it to the camera. So Clark is correct; F8=no AF

But there is a work-around, for those who don't have another option.

But that option results in poor AF lock, meaning you miss shots
during action, and when you do get lock, it is often a soft focus
because the lens moved a little too far from prediction.

Roger


I wouldn't argue with with you. It certainly isn't an ideal setup.
_____
Slack

John A. Stovall wrote:
On Sat, 25 Mar 2006 20:22:26 -0800, Slack™ " wrote:

Roger N. Clark (change username to rnclark) wrote:

The 350 will not autofocus beyond f/5.6.

Not true. I just tested a 400, 5.6 with a TC and the AF on my 350d
worked... it's not 100% full proof, but it works more often than not.

Which mean's you'll miss shots.


Well, some of us miss shots anyway ;-P
_____
Slack