Canon 18-200 IS or Canon 70-300 IS ???

[atanu_de]

<p>I have Canon EOS 500D with kit lens. I want to upgrade my lenses further, but I am really confused. Help me to decide which one should I buy.<br>

1.Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens<br>

or<br>

2.Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens</p>

[William Michael]

<p>1. What is it that you want to photograph, with this new lens?<br>

2. What tasks can't you do, with the kit lens you have?</p>

<p>WW </p>

[colin carron]

<p>As William says you have not given a lot to go on but I am assuming the kit lens is th Canon 18-55. If that is the case I suggest the cheapest option ands best value is the <strong>Canon 55-250 f4-5.6 IS. </strong>This is a lightweight APS-C lens with good performance. You could also get the <strong>Canon 70-300 f4-5.6 IS</strong> which is a good performer too and covers full frame should you ever need that. However the flavour of the month here is the<strong> Tamron 70-300 VC</strong> lens. This is an independent manufacturer so you would need to get the version with the Canon mount often sold as Tamron 70-300 VC for Canon. VC is Tamron-speak for IS. This lens gets excellent write-ups as good as the Canon 70-300 above or maybe even a little better.</p>

<p>A general rule with zoom lenses is that the longer the zoom range the more difficult it is for the manufacturer to get it all to work well so DSLR zooms often have short zoom ranges. I have the Canon 70-300 f4-5.6 IS and find it to be a very good lens but others will be able to provide first hand experience of the alternatives.</p>

[James G. Dainis]

If you get the 18-200mm lens then you won't need the 18-55mm lens. With the 70-300mm lens you will be changing lenses back and forth when you need wide angle and then telephoto. One lens to carry and no chance of getting dust on the sensor when changing lenses is a good thing.

[hernan_enriquez]

<p>James is right! My vacation lens is a Sigma 18-200 and I see people changing lenses while I keep shooting. With my Sony's 1.5 crop factor the 18-200 is even long enough for bird photos!</p>

[jaydesi]

<p>The 70-300 will give you a good range to complement your 18-55 (assuming that's what you have). The Tamron or Canon models are both fine. The two lenses will give you a better range than the Sigma, as well.</p>

<p>Personally, I don't mind changing lenses...I'd rather take my time and get better shots, using the right lens for the job, than stick with a single lens. Superzooms are the tool for the job if you need to travel light or are in an environment where changing lenses is impractical and a wide range of focal lengths are needed.</p>

[craveprints]

<p>I have a 70/300mm cannon zoom and I absolutely love it. I have the focal length I want in a compact and light weight lens. I was also lucky enough to score a referb online for $60 (history student and on a budget so I love steals like this) and I have had it and used it for the past two years with no complaints. All of this said my favorite lens is my 50mm cannon prime, great portrait lens for the price. Also another thing to consider is what focal length is the kit lens you have, if you're on a budget like me you won't want any or at least very minimal overlapping focal lengths with different lenses, so if your kit lens is a 28/135mm (like mine with my EOS 40d) a a big bulk of the 15/200mm lens is covered already on the 28/135mm and unless you have a major purpose for the wider angle focal lengths than you may not want to choose this lens (which is why I chose the 70/300mm in the first place) Hope this helps.</p><div></div>