Lens advice

[Josh396]

A few days ago I ordered this Canon lens. I currently have a XTi with the kit lens and the "nifty fifty" which I picked up a few weeks back. My goal was to get a decent lens that I could use to replace the kit lens while getting a little more zoom at the same time. However, I today I saw this lens for $20 less. The extra money isn't that important to me but I was wondering if the sigma is an overall better lens. I plan on using the lens for sports and some outdoors/wildlife. I know that both of those lenses may not be the best for either of those two things, but since I'm just getting started I didn't want to put a lot of money into a single lens until I was really comfortable. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Scarlet Fever]

The sigma will give you a noticeable increase in range, but the images which will come out of it are going to be much more blurry (softer).

I think if you want range, you should keep your nifty fifty and get the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM. You'll lose the wide angle side of things, but this lens is much better suited for sports and wildlife shots.

 

[Josh396]

I contemplated getting the 70-300 instead of the 28-135 but I thought the 28-135 would be a better lens to bring with me wherever I go. I planned on getting the 70-300mm down the road if I felt I needed the added range.

I'm guessing I should rephrase my question a little bit. If I plan on getting the 70-300 sometime in the future, is it a waste to get the Sigma lens over the 28-135 Canon?

Thanks for the response Scarlet Fever.

 

[Scarlet Fever]

I contemplated getting the 70-300 instead of the 28-135 but I thought the 28-135 would be a better lens to bring with me wherever I go. I planned on getting the 70-300mm down the road if I felt I needed the added range.

I'm guessing I should rephrase my question a little bit. If I plan on getting the 70-300 sometime in the future, is it a waste to get the Sigma lens over the 28-135 Canon?

Thanks for the response Scarlet Fever.

Out of those two lenses, the sigma will better show you what you can do with different focal lengths, but the canon will give you better image quality. I'm tempted to say the sigma will be better for your uses, but the image quality does seem fairly terrible (see slrgear for a review).

If you're looking for a long range lens, I think you might be better off getting the canon 18-200mm. It is more expensive, but it gives better image quality, and that extra stop at the 200mm range will be useful for sports shots.