One telephoto lens- what would it be?

Kozlok · 07-11-2013, 08:43 AM

In the same boat, I picked the Tamron 70-200. Nearly as-good-as ALL the lenses you listed, cheaper, and more versatile. It is huge though. It has amazing sharpness, nice bokeh, great for portraits, focuses pretty close. I'm adding a 1.4 TC to increase my FL and magnification.

wysz · 07-14-2013, 05:40 AM

Thanks all for the replies!

I guess what I'm really after is added range. I need a lens I can use at events where there's more distance between myself and my subject than can be overcome by my 50mm and foot zoom

I had a Tamron 28-75 for a while and felt that 75mm didn't give me that much more than my 50mm. So the DA70 and FA77 are now logically out of the running.

I also had a Vivitar 105mm macro. Loved it and would have kept it but for the lack of AF. I didn't use it much for macro though, and on hindsight that was probably due to my lack of experience- often used it handheld and wide open so I could get fast enough shutter speeds, consequently getting razor-thin depth of field.

The Sigma 100-300 was an interesting suggestion, but it's just out of my price range, even used. As is the 60-250.

A question about Sigma HSM lenses, specifically the 50-150 or 70-200- should the HSM fail, is there a way to use them with screwdrive autofocus? I intend to keep this next lens for life.

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07-11-2013, 08:43 AM	#16
Kozlok Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Albuquerque Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,148	In the same boat, I picked the Tamron 70-200. Nearly as-good-as ALL the lenses you listed, cheaper, and more versatile. It is huge though. It has amazing sharpness, nice bokeh, great for portraits, focuses pretty close. I'm adding a 1.4 TC to increase my FL and magnification.

07-14-2013, 05:40 AM	#17
wysz New Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 10 Original Poster	Thanks all for the replies! I guess what I'm really after is added range. I need a lens I can use at events where there's more distance between myself and my subject than can be overcome by my 50mm and foot zoom I had a Tamron 28-75 for a while and felt that 75mm didn't give me that much more than my 50mm. So the DA70 and FA77 are now logically out of the running. I also had a Vivitar 105mm macro. Loved it and would have kept it but for the lack of AF. I didn't use it much for macro though, and on hindsight that was probably due to my lack of experience- often used it handheld and wide open so I could get fast enough shutter speeds, consequently getting razor-thin depth of field. The Sigma 100-300 was an interesting suggestion, but it's just out of my price range, even used. As is the 60-250. A question about Sigma HSM lenses, specifically the 50-150 or 70-200- should the HSM fail, is there a way to use them with screwdrive autofocus? I intend to keep this next lens for life.