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I am considering buying a Sigma 28-300mm F3.5-6.3 DG for my Canon D30. Is it a suitable good lense? I already have an 18 - 55 and a 50 - 200 both Canon EF lenses. I want a lense I can use in most occasions without having to change lenses regularly, but of course I don't want to spend an arm and a leg. Any ideas?

Do you mean the new 30D (8MP, 5fps), or the quite old D30 (3MP, 3fps)?

The Sigma is a superzoom (10x+) so you'll be paying for that rather than for image quality for the most part. The reviews seem unhappy with sharpness - comments at Fred Miranda for instance (that's normally a good site for lens reviews). If you like the lenses you have and are *only* after a longer zoom range, that lens will be a step up. But if you're looking at contrast, sharpness or other aspects of image quality you will probably not be very happy.

Since you have the 18-55 and the 55-200 you might be better off trading the 55-200 for a 70-300 (ish) lens from Canon or Sigma (or Tamron, etc) as there are some good choices there. I used to have a sigma 70-300 APO Macro II (Canon and Sigma each have several lenses in that range so you have to watch all the extra letters carefully). I liked that lens a lot and took some nice photos with it. I bought the Canon 70-200IS to replace it... 3x the weight, 6x the cost but a much better lens (you'd certainly hope so, given the cost).

Thanks, I guess in the end you get what you pay for. I will have to save up and get a better lense. I remember reading in some web page also that Canon takes better pictures using its own lenses.

Canon lenses at the high end are definitely better. Sigma lenses tend to need re-chipping if used with a newer model than the lens (I had to get my 18-50/2.8 done when I bought the 30D - but that was free). For cheap lenses I prefer Sigma, to be honest, I think many of their lenses are better than the Canon equivalent if Canon even make an equivalent. That 18-50... sure, the Canon one has IS but it's more than $1000 more expensive! And the 12-24 Canon don't have anything even close... a 14mm fixed lens or the 16-35.

Other people will feel differently, so you should definitely read around.

Hi,

I have found you get what you pay for..but my experience has been that Sigma can be a cost effective way to put some good quality glass on a Canon (I also have the 30D). I have the Sigma 24-70 2.8 as a walk around and the Sigma 70-200 2.8 for telephoto. Both great lenses at a reasonable price. I have found the 70 -200 very sharp and is certainly my favourite lens (I like to take action sport and people candids). Although, the shots with the 2 times converta do soften it.

I have found that the lower f stop really makes a difference.

cheers

Phil

Well, Moz, your website you provided me with was a great help and is making me think twice. Thanks guys for your help.