Sigma Telephoto Zoom Lenses

Sigma Telephoto Zoom Lenses

Xsi Rebel - A Great Camera Overall

This camera is really great!

UPDATE: I've had mine for 3 months and I've taken more than 3000 pictures. I still like it a lot. Amazing.

It's easy to use, the LCD screen is big and clear, it's quite light, and the packaged kit lens (18-55 IS) is good. It's not a top lens, but it delivers sharp photos across the zoom range. Default settings will give you great shots out of the box.

The 9-point auto focus is good most of times, but I found myself using the central point most often, even more so when using larger apertures (when right focusing matters most).

For under $700, this is the best DSLR you can find.

* Pros and Cons *

Pros:
- An easy to use, quick camera.
- Intuitive menus.
- 12 mega pixels.
- Great pictures, sharp, good tones.
- Small and light weight for a DSLR.
- Live view mode to almost mimic point and shoot feel-it's slow though.
- 3.5 shots per second-could be more.
- Sharp kit lens for the price.

Cons:
- Somewhat expensive compared to the Canon 40D (much lighter though).
- ISO limited to 1600.
- Relatively low fps.
- Exposure compensation range limited.
- Does not have video.

* The competition *
The closest competitor is certainly the Canon 40D, which is a bigger, more professional camera. It has more options, higher ISO, remote flash, higher shots per second rate, fewer pixels but a definitely tougher feel.

I went for the XSi Rebel because I found the 40D too hefty.
Still, if you really want a professional camera you should look at the Canon 40D.
If you have a bigger budget, you should also look at Nikon, I really recommend the Nikon D300, it's a really impressive camera.

* Lenses *
Canon has LOTS of lenses.
If you're tight on budget, you should get the 50mm 1.8, a great lens for portrait. It's a very sharp lens. You'll enjoy the 1.8 wide aperture that allows blurred backgrounds and sharp , all of this for under $100.

It's also a good start to get used to shoot with primes (lenses with a fixed focal length).
The 18-55mm kit lens is often paired with the Canon 55-250mm IS lens to give you an almost 14x zoom (13.9), this Canon 55-250 is a very good telephoto lens if your budget is under $300.

If you don't want to change lenses, Canon just released the 18-200 IS and it comes highly recommended so far.

The Sigma 18-200 OS is good too. It's cheaper and it's been in the field for longer.

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Which lens should I get with my first Canon SLR?

Hi, my friend purchased a 50D body. He's looking to get lenses but kind of stuck. Should I just tell him to get the 18-55 mm lens from canon? What about sigma lenses? I know nothing about canon as I shoot nikon.

He needs a good range. definitely wide angle out to standard, but preferably to somewhat of a telephoto. I told him to get a 50 mm 1.8 for portraits. But he needs a zoom lens as well, any ideas or advice? Budget of around 300ish.

For that budget the 18-55mm is the best choice. The 28-135mm lens that normally comes with the 50D is not very wide on that camera. It does give more reach though.

Imaging Resource at PMA 2008 - The Sigma 200-500mm f/2.8