10 Best DSLR Cameras Under $500
| Last Updated: August 13, 2018
If your Canon camera kit came with two lenses, chances are excellent that one was a telephoto. It wasn’t the most powerful lens in the arsenal of possibilities, but it does the job and gets you started on a range of photography, meeting your needs for a long time to come.
Let’s say, though, that you’re ready to step up in capability, quality, or both. You have choices to make, and none of them will be easy.
Telephoto lenses for Canon bodies include both Canon brand and third parties, primes as well as zooms, and different ranges and focal lengths as well.
What does a telephoto lens do? It allows you to get sharp images of a subject that’s far away or draw attention to a single subject while the background remains blurry. You’re pulling in for a shot so tight, it’s like you’re standing feet away instead of a football field’s distance.
Functions differ, as do what each telephoto lens offers in terms of power. It’s time to look at your options and determine how you’ll select the right one (or more) for you.
Top 10 Canon Telephoto Lenses
| Ranking | Lens | Type | Aperture | IS | Weather sealing | Weight | Review | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 |   | Tamron SP 85mm f/1.8 Di VC USD | Prime, 85mm | f/1.8 | Yes | Yes | 1.54 lbs. | Read Review | |
| #2 |   | Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM | Prime, 200mm | f/2.8 | No | No | 1.69 lbs. | Read Review | |
| #3 |   | Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM | Prime, 300mm | f/2.8 | Yes - 4-stop | Yes | 5.29 lbs. | Read Review | |
| #4 |   | Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM | Prime, 400mm | f/4 | Yes - 4-stop | Yes | 4.28 lbs. | Read Review | |
| #5 |   | Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II USM | Zoom, 70-200mm | f/2.8 | Yes - 4-stop | Yes | 3.28 lbs. | Read Review | |
| #6 |   | Canon EF 70-200 f/4L IS USM | Zoom, 70-200mm | f/4 | Yes - 4-stop | Yes | 1.68 lbs. | Read Review | |
| #7 |   | Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2 | Zoom, 70-200mm | f/2.8 | Yes - 5-stop | Yes | 3.31 lbs. | Read Review | |
| #8 |   | Canon EF 70-300 mm f/4-5.6L IS II USM | Zoom, 70-300mm | f/4-5.6 | Yes - 4-stop | Yes | 2.31 lbs. | Read Review | |
| #9 |   | Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD | Zoom, 70-300mm | f/4-5.6 | Yes - 4-stop | No | 1.69 lbs. | Read Review | |
| #10 |   | Sigma APO 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG Macro | Zoom, 70-300mm | f/4-5.6 | No | No | 1.21 lbs. | Read Review | |
What You Should Know Before Buying a Telephoto Lens
Making your selection should be based on criteria including the types of shooting you’re planning to do, the amount of gear you’re willing to carry, and the size of your budget.
Canon gear, while expensive, works almost interchangeably with any Canon DSLR body. Better yet, there are lots of choices within the brand across many telephoto strengths.
Many third party brands offer great (and often less expensive) options too, but may not be seamless, requiring an adaptor. Functions such as autofocusing may not work. These lenses from other brands also may not be made of the same quality materials.
To make the most informed decision possible, it’s important to understand the various features of a telephoto lens and how it works. Armed with this data, you can match your shooting needs to the best glass your wallet can afford.
What is a telephoto lens?
A telephoto lens magnifies your subject, allowing you to bring something in the far distance closer, or ensure something close fills your complete shooting frame. Lest you think this is a new concept, ancient Egyptians developed the process and system for telephoto, with Galileo advancing technical concepts.
Early mariners carried spyglass telescopes for sighting across the seas which were made from designs like the telephoto lenses we use today.
This category of lens is designed in two ways: a prime lens with a fixed focal length, meaning it has a single distance of reach; and a zoom, allowing you a range of focal distances.
Anything with a focal length of 60mm or longer is generally labeled as a telephoto lens. The focal length is based on a full frame sensor, one that aligns closest with 35mm film in our digital age.
Once you work your way up past 60mm, telephotos are further divided into categories based on overall strength. Medium range telephotos fall within the 70-200mm range as a prime or a zoom lens.
Beyond that, and especially above 300mm, they are called super telephotos. How much power you have is based on more than the focal length alone, though, as aperture size also plays a role.
How does a telephoto lens work?
A telephoto lens creates its various image effects through the miracles of manufacturing optics, creating a lens that is shorter than its focal length. In effect, telephoto compresses the length of glass necessary to carry the incoming light to the sensor to capture the image.
Without this compression, you’d be toting around a lens that’s considerably longer and heavier than the telephotos you see today.
Because it allows you to bring things in close and ignore the background, telephoto lenses are terrific for photographing anything you want to bring near. Wildlife work, where you can’t necessarily get close without disturbing the action you’re trying to shoot, is one example. Sports action is another, where you can’t be on the field of play and in the players’ faces.
Telephotos are also great for any instance in which you want to blur the background. Think of a portrait shot with a sharp rendering of the face surrounded with warm fuzzies and you’ll get the picture. Experts comment that portraits shot with a telephoto are more proportional, feature to feature.
Why is the aperture size important?
Your lens carries an f-stop number, represented as f/#. This is the aperture, the greatest width the lens can open to allow light to come in. The higher the number, the narrower the opening.
Confused? Think of it as a fraction, 1 over the f-stop number. A f-stop of f/4 is one-fourth, as compared to f/2 or one-half. One half is wider than one-fourth, ergo the aperture on the f/2 lens is larger.
The wider your aperture can open, the greater the amount of light that reaches the sensor and results in an image. In low light conditions, or when you’re shooting fast-moving subjects, this translates into a faster shutter speed. This in turn means your subject will be crisper and the background will be even blurrier.
What does the lens mounting system have to do with telephoto selection?
Your Canon camera body has a lens mounting system that allows you to interchange lenses. Within the Canon brand, you also have flexibility beyond the type of mount you have. Let’s look at five common Canon bodies for their lens mounting system configuration, with sensor type noted as well:
- 1D Mark II – Canon EF; Full Frame
- 5D Mark IV – Canon EF; Full Frame
- 80D – Canon EF/EF-S; APS-C
- M6 – Canon EF-M, EF with adaptor; APS-C
- Rebel T7i – Canon EF/EF-S; APS-C
You’ll recall the earlier comment about Canon glass working on ‘almost’ any Canon body. That is due to the mount. EF is the standard Canon lens type with over 250 lenses available overall, of which there are over 20 prime and 20 zoom telephoto choices.
EF-S (or EFS) is a newer mount type with less than 50 native lenses available overall, of which a handful are telephoto. These lenses are only for APS-C sensor cameras. Canon wisely decided to add an adaptor to expand the selection for APS-C format cameras to the full list of EF lenses in addition to EF-S.
EF-M is yet another mounting type for mirrorless cameras only, with only around 15 native lenses available and only a single telephoto. Because of their small numbers and specific body use, they have not been included in this comparison.
Why is image stabilization so important for telephoto shooting?
While professional photogs might shoot without a tripod on a regular basis, they’ve developed tricks in their craft to compensate for the lack of a steadying base for their cameras. Think the sports photog on the sidelines who needs to be able to move with the action. Their secret is often a great image stabilization (IS) system to compensate for minor shakes and tremors.
Some Canon bodies come with an image stabilization system, but more and more, we’re relying on our lenses for that function. Not all lenses are created equal in this category. The best of all worlds would be IS in the lens (called optical IS), and a tripod to balance things out.
Another feature of IS to watch for is the number of stops the system adds to your effective shooting range. A 4-stop IS means your image will be the equivalent of one shot as four stops’ faster shutter speed while allowing in more light.
This results in a sharper, more balanced picture, getting more bandwidth from your lens.
What’s better, prime or zoom?
The prime versus zoom debate will probably always continue, despite improvements that level the playing field. For years, the general opinion was that prime lenses were made with better optics and therefore were better quality. In the hands of a skilled photographer, that converted to amazing shots.
In the last ten years, zoom lenses have caught up to prime in terms of quality, but that doesn’t mean they are necessarily ‘better’. The reason is – you. If you study how best to use your focal length, such as what combination of aperture and zoom works best to capture the shot and features you want, you can maximize its use.
Telephoto lenses, zoom or prime, are not point-and-shoot, and some understanding of what blurs the background and why will help improve your results. As you’re figuring out how things work together, it’s often best to set your Canon body to ‘aperture priority’ (Av).
Depress the shutter release button half-way and you will see in the viewfinder what the image will capture, shallow blurry depth of field background and sharp subject combined.
How much telephoto power is enough?
The amount of telephoto power you need is probably best understood based on what you want to shoot, and opinions vary. In prime lenses, something as small as 85mm would be fine for portraits and intimate settings, such as wedding photography, where you want to focus on the details.
Moving up to a 135mm adds wildlife and sports action to your mix, because you can bring distance in closer.
In zooms, the 70-200mm that came in your kit is probably enough for the standard shooting most prosumers would do for nature, action, and close-ups. At 100-400mm zoom, you can be further away from wildlife and sports and still capture the drama. Past this, you’re in ultra-fantastic distance mode – and your bank account is over ten grand smaller.
Bottom line, it pays to develop your skills with the basic 70-200mm or 75-300mm first (again, often part of the Canon kits) before deciding what you want next. That first telephoto zoom may be all you need to shoot outstanding initial images.
Criteria to Consider When Buying Your Canon Telephoto Lens
What’s the best telephoto lens for your Canon? Our criteria were chosen based on the experiences of expert reviewers with the serious enthusiast to prosumer in mind. More power equals a bigger price tag, so think seriously about how much zoom you need to do your kind of shooting.
Mount type
Not all EF mounts are the same, as we’ve noted above. EF-S only works on APS-C cameras. EF works on almost all Canons, except you’ll need an adaptor for EF-S type. Not all third party brands are guaranteed to be fully functional across all EF types.
Focal length
The greater the focal length or #mm, the closer you can come to your subject. This is true for both prime and zoom. A prime of 135mm falls within the range of a zoom 70-200mm, and one is not better than the other.
Aperture
Remember, the smaller the f-stop number, the wider the aperture opening and the more light that can reach the sensor. You’ll want a smaller number if you plan to shoot in low light conditions or fast movements. Zooms, by their nature, will achieve a range of effects across f-stops.
Autofocus motor
For Canon, the two primary types listed in our comparison are ultrasonic and ring-type ultrasonic. Ultrasonic means the motor built into the lens will focus slightly faster than standard. Ring-type ultrasonic is even faster and quieter, making it good for conditions where blending in is important.
Many lenses also have full time manual focusing capability without stopping to switch modes, meaning you can fine tune your shot manually once the autofocus motor has done its thing.
Image stabilization
Canon usually relies on image stabilization (IS) to come from the lens. Not all lenses, Canon included, have this capability. Consider your shooting style such as common use of a tripod or subjects that move rapidly to determine how important optical IS is for you.
Weather sealing
While no lens is 100% weather-proof, knowing if your lens is weather sealed means having a sense of confidence about exposing it to the elements. Resistance to dust and moisture under normal conditions of use is a nice feature to have if you shoot outdoors regularly.
Weight
People like to equate weight with the quality of construction and optics, but that’s not always true or a deal breaker. The light weight options are not always the worst glass. Sometimes a lighter weight is more important to avoid shake during hand-held shooting.
Understanding the naming conventions
For the most part, you can understand a lot about a lens’ capabilities by reviewing its full name. Typically, this includes a common set of features. We’ve noted the Canon versions below. The lens descriptions explain third party brands.
Focal length is the number or range before ‘mm’. A zoom range is variable, and a prime is fixed.
The ‘f/’ is the aperture. A single number implies prime fixed and a range is zoom. For Canon, the ‘L’ designation indicates its professional lenses line.
IS means the lens has internal optical image stabilization. USM is an Ultra Sonic Motor, a small motor built into the lens that allows it to autofocus faster.
Be mindful of any Roman numerals in the lens name. Any number indicates a later generation of the lens. For example, ‘III’ is a more recent (newer) model than ‘II’, and they may not perform consistently or have the same specifications.
We’ll now move on to the recommendations of reviewers and what they like best in the telephoto category to shoot on a Canon DSLR body. The first four on our list are prime lenses, meaning a set focal length. The rest are zooms offering you plenty of range options.
#1. Tamron SP 85mm f/1.8 Di VC USD
- Mount type: EF
- Focal length: 85mm
- Aperture: f/1.8
- Autofocus motor: Ultrasonic silent drive
- Image stabilization: Yes
- Weather sealing Yes
- Weight: 1.54 lbs.
What reviewers like:
This medium telephoto prime lens from Tamron kicks off our list as a highly rated option for portrait and other close-up photos, as well as travel and landscape work. Light weight makes it easy to use, adding mobility as a benefit for those shorter focal length shots.
Reviewers comment on how it renders your subjects bright while creating a good blur to the background, even in less than optimal lighting conditions.
The VC in Tamron’s lens vernacular stands for Vibration Compensation, their version of IS, something reviewers feel make this a superior lens for lower light situations as well as videography. When added to the inherently very fast lens at f/1.8, images will be sharp and clear within this focal length. Its ultrasonic silent drive (USD) autofocusing motor is said to be silent and speedy, with full time manual focusing available as well.
Di in the lens name stands for digitally integrated. For this model, it indicates optics and structure are optimized for use with both full frame sensor and APS-C sensor cameras, the two variations Canon offers in its DLSR bodies for our comparison. This adds to image quality out to the corners and lowers possibilities for distortion.
Considerations:
Some reviewers report an audible click or whirring as the image stabilization system works; others maintain it’s not enough of a problem to warrant any concern. Users have reported vignetting for the first two f-stops when the lens is fully open. For portraiture, though, this might be an advantage.
The price for this lens is somewhat higher than comparable Canon lenses. However, reviewers call Tamron’s performance and image quality superior. What is clear is that Tamron is now in the running to match Canon for lens quality in side by side analysis.
#2. Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM
- Mount type: EF
- Focal length: 200mm
- Aperture: f/2.8
- Autofocus motor: Ring-type utrasonic
- Image stabilization: No
- Weather sealing No
- Weight: 1.69 lbs.
What reviewers like:
Reviewers speak highly of the ultrasonic autofocusing motor on this medium telephoto prime lens, coupled with full time manual focusing driven by a smooth focusing ring. It remains sharp under many shooting conditions with no distortion or chromatic aberration. Adjustments are quick, so you won’t be worrying about missing the next important shot while waiting for your lens to catch up.
This fast lens is rated as excellent for action sports photography, as well as indoor work in low light conditions. An optional tripod mounting ring can be added for additional stability, such as for portrait shots or lengthy framing situations. Users like this lens’s ability to shoot almost any subject where compression and telephoto framing are your intention.
Canon offers the 200mm as a professional class lens, meaning it incorporates superior optics and build. For the serious photography enthusiast, this lens comes at an affordable price and successfully covers a wide range of skill development possibilities.
Considerations:
There are reports of varying levels of vignetting in use of this lens on Canon bodies with full frame sensors. This means the color saturation and light will be darker at the corners than in the center of the frame. This can largely be eliminated by stopping down (narrowing) the aperture from a wide open setting.
All in all, reviewers found this to be a lens that professionals appreciate due to its rugged build, while consumers love how it improves their skills and image quality. It does not come with weather sealing, a consideration if you often encounter wet or dust at your shooting sites.
It lacks the versatility of a zoom and does not come with image stabilization, and if your budget is tight, you might consider a zoom lens with a maximum focal range of 200mm, as listed later in this article.
#3. Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM
- Mount type: EF
- Focal length: 300mm
- Aperture: f/2.8
- Autofocus motor: Ring-type utrasonic
- Image stabilization: Yes – 4-stop
- Weather sealing Yes
- Weight: 5.29 lbs.
What reviewers like:
This super telephoto prime lens is designed with lighter weight materials without sacrificing quality. Double check that you are purchasing the second generation (II), since its improvement make it far superior to the earlier model.
Sharpness is superb, while a 4-stop image stabilization system and ultrasonic focusing motor help you take the clear shots you want under many types of conditions.
Its rugged build makes it a good choice for outdoors photography, working well as a fast prime lens to encourage its regular use. The optical IS is praised for capturing sharper images even at lower shutter speeds, such as lower light situations.
Weather sealing makes it a good choice for the outdoors and its tripod collar helps steady it in wait-and-see situations like sports action.
Considerations:
Weight jumps out as a big worry, as is the high price tag. It finds its home most often in the bags of those with full frame sensor DSLRs, including photogs for wildlife, sports, fashion and photojournalism. Owners of APS-C sensor Canon cameras report it to be less effective, particularly for portrait and other shooting where background blurring is desired.
To compensate for its weight, make sure to use a tripod. Handheld use must occur under perfect conditions, like stable footing and no wind. Other than these points, reviewers had few negative remarks to share.
#4. Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM
- Mount type: EF
- Focal length: 400mm
- Aperture: f/4
- Autofocus motor: Ring-type utrasonic
- Image stabilization: Yes – 4-stop
- Weather sealing Yes
- Weight: 4.28 lbs.
What reviewers like:
This professional grade prime lens is known for its sharp optics and effective image stabilization, making it great for shooting sports or other action scenes. It offers silent autofocusing with full-time manual focusing override, meaning you can fine tune your shot after mechanics do their thing.
Reviewers love its low rate of distortion and low chromatic aberration, a condition when the same color tone in the shot is not captured equally across the complete image.
Considered moderately fast, this super telephoto lens captures sharper images at lower shutter speeds than comparable settings on a zoom. Weather sealing makes it a trooper outdoors when combined with a weather sealed body, and its supplied hood and tripod collar add to its ease of use. Its ring-type ultrasonic autofocusing system partners with full time manual focusing to fine tune your shots after the system has done its work.
Considerations:
Price is a big concern here. Plus it hefts at a heavy number of pounds, which accounts for the much-needed tripod. Or as one expert put it, this lens feels like it weighs half a ton on its own.
It’s often thought of as a wildlife and sports photog’s dream because it makes handling the camera easy after positioning the lens tripod. Very serious prosumers are probably the target group who can justify the trade-off of price versus quality for a prime lens.
Remember that prime lenses will almost always carry a higher price tag for the perceived benefit of prime optics quality.
#5. Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II USM
- Mount type: EF
- Focal length: 70-200mm
- Aperture: f/2.8
- Autofocus motor: Ring-type utrasonic
- Image stabilization: Yes – 4-stop
- Weather sealing Yes
- Weight: 3.28 lbs.
What reviewers like:
Zooms traditionally are lower priced than prime lenses, and this first Canon zoom on our list is no exception. This second generation offers greater maximum magnification, meaning you’ll get better close-ups with more artsy background blur. This range of focal length is identified by many as the ideal across the board for various kinds of shooting situations.
The autofocusing system on this zoom lens is super fast, even in challenging low light conditions. Its excellent performance offers you versatility, and coupled with the weather seals, it is effective outdoors as well as inside. Since its length does not change during focusing, staying on your subject is easier.
Its IS system covers for any shake in most handheld shooting. Image quality remains impressive, even when this lens is pushed to its maximums. Contrast is sharp and clear.
Considerations:
Rival non-brand comparable options are more affordable, drawing boos from the experts for this Canon model. Its heavier weight is another criticism. It isn’t the best choice for landscape or architecture when you want to focus on more than one subject in your framing.
A minimum amount of vignetting at the corners is noticeable with a wide open aperture and 200mm. Stopping down reduces this issue. Susceptibility to flaring is also mentioned by the experts.
#6. Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM
- Mount type: EF
- Focal length: 70-200mm
- Aperture: f/4
- Autofocus motor: Ring-type utrasonic
- Image stabilization: Yes – 4-stop
- Weather sealing Yes
- Weight: 1.68 lbs.
What reviewers like:
This robust lens brings you excellent image quality at a much lighter weight, making it good for fast action shooting. It’s much lighter on your wallet too. Its premium optics earn it the L professional designation.
Autofocusing is fast and quiet on this lens with minimum distortion. Image stabilization compensates quickly with a half-press of the shutter release, faster than older Canon models. It handles low light situations without a tripod resulting in crisp, sharp images.
Image quality overall is crisp from corner to corner on full frame sensor cameras. Shooting results remain consistent across its full focal length. Controlled chronic aberration, minimal distortion and minimal flare are other features setting this lens apart.
Considerations:
Because this lens is slower than the f/2.8 version, it will not be as good at action-stopping your subject or creating those extra blurry backgrounds, limiting its effectiveness in high-action or portrait circumstances.
If you select this lens, make sure you’re buying the version with IS. The non-IS version is cheaper, but it misses that important feature as well as weather sealing, making it a poor consideration for outdoors work.
Reviewers report there is an audible click and growl or hum when they engage the IS. That is something to consider in settings where you want to be invisible. You might want to consider a tripod attached to your camera body for low light shooting to get the most effectiveness out of the various IS settings. A tripod mounting ring is not included on this lens.
#7. Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2
- Mount type: EF
- Focal length: 70-200mm
- Aperture: f/2.8
- Autofocus motor: Ring-type utrasonic
- Image stabilization: Yes – 5-stop
- Weather sealing Yes
- Weight: 3.31 lbs.
What reviewers like:
This second generation (G2) lens features many upgrades to superior image quality and VC image stabilization. Upgraded optics, a more accurate autofocusing system that operates faster, and 5-stop IS set it apart from its older sibling. As a medium range zoom telephoto, it performs above and beyond reviewers’ expectations.
Armed with a tripod collar, it captures tripod-based action with ease. It serves as a great platform for sports photography and other high movement situations. Weather sealing makes it a good choice for outdoor use in dusty or wet conditions.
This lens is bright and fast at the wide angle end. Panning to follow your subject results in clear image capture not available in all lenses in this category. Users report that its autofocus is fast and accurate. It also comes with full time manual focusing to adjust your framing.
Considerations:
While pricier than other non-Canon brands, Tamron has created a reputation for solid, reliable quality in their lenses. Make sure you’re buying this lens with the Canon EF mount as opposed to those appropriate for other body brands. Also, verify that you are getting a second generation lens, as it is substantially different from its predecessor.
This lens is slow at the tele end of its focal range. Weight remains a consideration. It also extends when focusing, making it a nuisance in some shooting positions.
#8. Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS II USM
- Mount type: EF
- Focal length: 70-300mm
- Aperture: Variable f/4-5.6
- Autofocus motor: Utrasonic nano
- Image stabilization: Yes – 4-stop
- Weather sealing Yes
- Weight: 2.31 lbs.
What reviewers like:
Reviewers consider this lens a trade-off between longer maximum focal length (zoom in closer) and slow f-stop rating (not letting as much light into the sensor for image capture). Because of its solid performance and lower weight, experts feel it is worth considering in an already crowded lens field. Fast autofocusing and effective image stabilization are two other traits mentioned as a reason to think about this lens.
This lens has proven itself to both full frame sensor users and for APS-C DSLRs. It excels in portraiture, wildlife shots of large to medium subjects, action in sports events, and daily life. Best of all, its price point is considerably lower than general purpose telephoto zooms with a shorter focal length.
Mentioned most often is the image stabilization system’s superior performance in this lens. Handholding this lens in low light conditions stops shaking with ease. Even in the slowest settings, it enables you to stay focused on your subject and frame your shot wisely.
Considerations:
Because this is a slower aperture lens, some rate this as inferior to a comparable Canon f/2.8 lens. It’s generally considered a slow lens, with reviewers reporting viewfinder darkening at the edges of its ranges requiring additional lighting to frame good images.
While corner to corner sharpness in images is good at the wide end of this lens, in middle and long focal lengths, reviewers call it mediocre. Full frame camera users have reported some vignetting. APS-C bodies find this issue to be negligible.
#9. Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD
- Mount type: EF
- Focal length: 70-300mm
- Aperture: Variable f/4-5.6
- Autofocus motor: Ring-type utrasonic
- Image stabilization: Yes – 4-stop
- Weather sealing No
- Weight: 1.69 lbs.
What reviewers like:
Performance and image quality are deemed to be excellent for this Tamron medium to super telephoto zoom lens. This lens is even better when you consider the bargain price and lighter weight than its competitors. The 4-stop VC (image stabilization) system is said to be on par with Canon’s optical IS.
Autofocusing (USD) on the ring-type motor is fast and quiet, with the benefit of full time manual final adjustments. Color fringing, sharpness and contrast are well-controlled throughout most of the zoom range. High end optics earn this lens its super performance (SP) designation.
While it weighs slightly more than other lenses in its class, in this case, weight and size add to its stability at long zoom settings. It combats camera shake well. The build is sturdy and rugged, making it a go-to lens for all but the most extreme tele shooting.
Considerations:
Reviewers report this lens lacks sharpness at the tele zoom setting with the widest aperture. Recommended aperture ranges for full 300mm telephoto fall within f/8-16. For Canon bodies with both APS-C and full frame sensors, this might not be as great an issue, since the effective range is 112-480mm.
Some users were disappointed that this newest 70-300mm version does not offer the macro capability of its predecessor. While the autofocusing system is effective in most cases, reviewers say it is relatively ineffective for panning and rapid shooting. That, coupled with the slower variable aperture, are negatives for this lens.
#10. Sigma APO 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG Macro
- Mount type: EF
- Focal length: 70-300mm
- Aperture: Variable f/4-5.6
- Autofocus motor: Micromotor
- Image stabilization: No
- Weather sealing No
- Weight: 1.21 lbs.
What reviewers like:
This budget telephoto zoom lens has several features going for it, the price tag being the one that jumps out first. It’s light, meaning it’s easy to leave on your camera and take full advantage of its range. It produces quality portraits, family photos, sports, vacations, wildlife, and anyplace where you don’t need to stop action.
The Canon macro lens capability is the reason it’s included in our recommendations. It can zoom into close-ups at twice the magnification (or more) of other lenses on our list, which means it makes things like garden flowers, birds or insects bigger than their actual size. Users report focusing is fast and images are sharp and crisp, even in low light conditions.
Considerations:
Users consider this lens to be slow at both the wide angle end and tele end of its range. Since it does not have image stabilization, extra care to avoid shaking is necessary when shooting in lower light. Reviewers have noted color aberration.
Some reviewers report the micromotor autofocusing is slow, noisy and/or inaccurate. It has no manual focusing option. This is a good lens for someone experimenting with telephoto or macro for the first time but will probably disappoint a more seasoned photographer.
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