voyagernavy2004

I was wondering, what does one look for when they want to buy a zoom lens? What's good, what's not...I am ready to get one, I just don't know what to look for, or where to buy one for a reasonable price...

Also, I should probably get an external flash as well. I'm the ship's photographer for my ship and I have to take pictures, sometimes, in poorly lit areas. I've also taken pictures at a retirement ceremony, and my little built in flash didn't fair quite so well.

jezterr

580ex ii for flash and you're good for whatever you may need.

as for lenses, you have to weigh what you think you'll need. will a 200 be enough? 300? maybe more? how often do you want to bother changing lenses? need a zoom or a prime?

for canon, stay away from sigma. in fact, i'd just stick with canon lenses to avoid any compatibility issues.

'course you can never go wrong with anything that has an L in the name.

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ciao998

get this
Amazon.com: Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM Lens for Canon EOS Cameras: Camera & Photo

Or whatever..............

And damn the price has gone up on that lens, dramatically

plummy

renting might be a good idea if you're unsure of what you want and don't want to get stuck with a $1500 piece of glass you never use

jezterr

you might be thinking of this one: Amazon.com: Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens for Canon EOS SLR Cameras: Camera & Photo

which is a nice lens. the only benefit to the first one is that it's compact.

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ciao998

yeah I have the second lens, been pretty happy with it.

The DO I beleive also has the benefit of the glass not turning when focusing or zooming............Could be wrong. Never heard a bad thing about it though, and at the time I was looking I had thought it was around 900, new.

I was strongly considering it. But now I would hands down go with what I have now, as the value is not there anymore.

Killermondodude

Ive heard good things about this lense
ATX1116PRODXC Tokina 11mm - 16mm F/2.8 ATX Pro DX Autofocus Zoom Lens for Canon EOS Digital SLR Cameras.

and real good things about this lense
1258B002 Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM Autofocus Telephoto Zoom Lens, USA

This is from a gentleman who had it on a mkIII has both the 4 and the 2.8 and likes the sharpness of the 4 better than the 2.8 (also had a 400mm prime that was in the shop getting calibrated

voyagernavy2004

Thanks all. I have already purchased the Canon 70-300mm IS USM lens. Not the compact one.

I price matched it at Best Buy. They won't price match with Amazon.com, but they did price match with Costco down the street for $549.99, and Best Buy wanted $649.99. So I still made out quite well.

And tonight I'm going to order the lens suggested above by Jezterr.

Thanks so much for the help everybody!!!

jezterr

you mean the flash?

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Killermondodude

umm thats gonna look mighty funny screwed into your lense mount

voyagernavy2004

Haha...ya, I definitely meant flash. Thanks guys. LOL