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Hello Everyone!
I am going to upgrade my 18-55 mm lens, and am looking for a low aperture telephoto lens for my Canon Rebel T7. Are there any good ones under $200?
I expect it to be very hard to find a good low-aperture telephoto zoom lens under 200$. The only telephoto zoom lens under 200$ that I am aware of is the Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6, at 199$.
Ideally when looking for a telephoto lens, you want to look for one with image stabilisation. As a side note, this changes names based on which company makes the lens… Canon – Image Stabilization, (IS) Nikon – Vibration Reduction (VR), Sigma – Optical Stabilization (OS), Tamron – Vibration Compensation (VC), Leica – MegaOIS, Pentax – Shake Reduction (SR). Ideally you want f/4 or f/2.8, depending on the kind of work you do. But, if you want an f/2.8 telephoto zoom lens with IS you are looking north of 1000$ at best.
If you don’t mind having a prime lens, then you might actually get what you are wanting by getting a cheap third-party lens, such as the Meike MK-85mm f/1.8. This is a cheap lens, and has its issues, but you can’t really do better in terms of fast lenses (large-aperature) for the price.
If you want to save a bit you could also look at used lenses, ideally from a reputable company. At the time of writing, B&H has a used Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II for 90$ and a 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 USM II for 110$. The IS version has Image Stabilisation and the USM version has the built-in focus motor. Even used, you have to go up to 560$ before getting to a Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM (a great lens, though without IS) or the Tamron 70-210mm f/4 Di VC USD, which has VC.
Sorry for the rambling… I hope this was more helpful than discouraging!
Oh my goodness! There are way more factors to consider in buying a lens than a camera!!! I would like to take close-up pictures of birds and planes, so could you perhaps narrow down your recommendations based on that?
I really appreciate you helping me with this, and while you’re at it, may I ask you what you think is the best affordable wide angle lens- also under $200? I have also heard that you don’t strictly need to buy your camera brand, as there are Canon adapters for some non-Canon lenses.
Do you think this would be a good bundle to buy? I really like low light photography, so would want an f/1.8 along with a wide angle. 10-18mm is really good, considering it has IS and my current (and only) lens’ aperture starts at 18mm and zooms to 55mm. Then I would need a telephoto lens on top of that.
@dfrazer, @lenspirationlydia, and @jamesstaddon, what thoughts do you all have?
Hi @warrior-princess, could you share the link to the bundle that you were referring to?
@warrior-princess, I like to take pictures of birds too! I have found that bird photography isn’t necessarily one of those genre’s of photography that needs to be done at the edge of light. In fact, bird photos generally benefit from direct sunlight on the bird because it provides catch lights in the eyes and causes iridescent colors in feathers to pop. It’s still advantageous to photograph birds in the morning and late afternoon when the light is more colorful than midday, but I wouldn’t be too concerned about the aperture needing to be ultra wide. The fact that you are zoom in 200mm or more will also make the background very blurry. You don’t have to rely as much on aperture to make the background blurry like you do with wide to mid-range lenses. Like @dfrazer said, if you’re on a tight budget, you’ll probably have to rely on image stabilizer instead of wide apertures to deal with those slower shutter speeds.
Having said that, for bird photography, you really need more than 200mm. I use a 2x extender on my 200mm lens (which limits the aperture from f2.8 to f/4), so that brings it up to 400mm. If I put that lens on a cropped sensor camera, then it’s the equivalent of a whopping 640mm. Though I still wish I could get closer sometimes, and though my bird photos aren’t incredibly sharp, it works well for me.
So, you really need 200mm at the minimum. And I don’t think you are going to find a telephoto lens of that focal length for $200 or less, especially with image stabilizer (let alone, an f/2.8, or even an f/4 aperture). You will really need to save up more. Find your ideal lens/setup, and then start saving toward that goal. It took me many years to get to the setup I have right now.
But, that doesn’t mean you can’t do close-up bird photos with 200mm or less! Until you can get a better system, bring the birds closer to you with a bird feeder and shoot from a “blind” like your living room window!
You could consider buying used or open-box. Then you could get a better quility lens for cheeper. I bought both my D7200 and my Tamron 24-70 used and I haven’t had any trouble with them.
I bought the camera at Adorama.
-HannahNow, about wide angle lenses, @warrior-princess! I can see where a wide aperture would be important here. You mentioned enjoying low-light photography. Getting an ultra wide lens that has an ultra wide aperture will help you a lot. However, again, I doubt you’ll find anything ultra wide aperture (f/2.8 or wider) in your budget unless it’s a prime lens.
@jamesstaddon I can’t believe I didn’t link the bundle to my message! Here it is…
The first one https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07L2FNRBP/?coliid=IPHBE3ZLA5VL6&colid=2UAPDR3UVKOZ3&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it
And the second one I found https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FDQMNJQ/?coliid=I2JVNNDIFJ3JGW&colid=2UAPDR3UVKOZ3&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it
I am willing to pay up to $400 if I have to to get a good lens. (with one or two included)
Oh, and the wide angle wouldn’t be for birds, but for landscapes. I find my 18mm is much too zoomed in to allow for the kind of landscapes I want to take. And about the low aperture telephoto, I was thinking of low light photography as in taking low light portraits at night, moon photos, and city light wide angle shots. I’m sorry I didn’t make that clear. I was so excited I forgot to elaborate. 😀
After reading your last comment, James, I edit mine because I see you understood all along!
@jamesstaddon I don’t mind a wide angle prime lens! Do you know of a good one in particular?
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