Lens Recommendation Please

Dave Buchholz said:

Boo I have bookmarked your site for later some nice stuff there, I
have found the Sigma lens under £200 on the web so that could be a
possibility

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Thank you. I don't know the Sigma 28-300mm myself, but have two Sigma lenses and can't imagine, with the good rep they have at the moment, that it will be a bad product - but it's a 200 pound lens at the end of the day with a huge range of focal lengths, so even if you compromise some quality (and I have no reason to think you do) - the versatility of it to keep one lens on the camera for the entire cricket match seems like a useful tool for your particular circumstance.

It isn't very fast - in that the maximum aperture isn't very wide - so as light drops, so will the usability of the lens, but for cricket largely, that won't be an issue. But the greater DOF of the tighter aperture will be better suited to cricket where players are spread out, than say tennis where you wouldn't want the crowd in sharp focus behind the player.

Many sports fans use the Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 as this gives nice shallow depth of field and higher possible shutter speeds in the same light - but it's a behemoth piece of gear (I want one, but it's simply too heavy) and costs three times as much. So it's a case of fitting the spec of a lens to your budget and needs - and you've had some good suggestions.

I would recommend you do some reading and research on the ones that interest you and then get yourself into a camera shop that has them in stock and try them - see which you like - no one can help you with that bit.

Good luck!

--
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Mark said:

Mark69517 said:

Boo, I really like your shots with the 18-200 lens, to bad I am on a begginners budget

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Me too, great shots Boo and thanks for posting!

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Thank you - I'm really loving this lens already.

Mark69517 said:

I'm considering the 18-200 and the the Sigma 18-125 to replace the
kit as a lightweight, general purpose walkaround. The important
balance for me is quality vs range vs weight - my wife wants
something as light as possible with 400grams as the upper limit

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I don't know the weight of the 18-125 (but I think it's similar) but the 18-200mm is 405g - it's less than both my 28-135mm and the Sigma 28-70 f2.8, so it feels nice on the camera, nicely balanced.

--
So many photos, so little time . . .
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http://imageevent.com/boophotos/ - most recent images

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This is what I bought with similar buget :

sigma 55-200 DC ( beats the Canon hands down )
50 mm f1.8 ( my copy is front focusing bad so test it at f/1.8 before you buy )

cheers

Have a look at this thread:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1031&message=12076673

It has some pics I took of an intersate cricket match (NSW v Qld) at Bankstown Oval in Sydney.

The lens was 70-200 f4 plus Canon 1/4 teleconverter (taking the reach to 280mm) and it just wasn't enough. Cricket grounds are big places and one person batting or bowling in the centre is a long way away.

The pics I posted were cropped almost to 100%.

The professional who was there that day shooting for Getty Images had a Canon 1D with 400 f2.8 and the 1.4 teleconverter - exactly double my reach - but I can assure you that you don't get one of those lenses in your budget (not even if you put another zero on it).

The 70-200 f4 is a great lens. Just hope your club plays on a slightly smaller ground !

--
MOF Sydney

'The important thing is not to stop questioning.' Al Einstein

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Mof,

nice photo's fortunately my club plays village cricket here in the UK so the grounds are not as big as 1st class grounds, from boundary rope to wicket would generally be about 40 - 60 yards on most grounds we play at and I am only going to be taking photo's when I am either not batting or not playing !

Boo,

thanks again for the advice

Dave Buchholz

Hi Boo and Mark

Thank you for the great advice.

I have decided to go for the Sigma 18-200. My gut feeling tells me, that I will be more satisfied with the wide angle opportunity and the better f-values.

Now I just have to find a solution regarding the funding

thanks again!!!!

In that case you'll be good with a Sigma 55-200 DC .