What lens

[lol4989]

Hi all,first post on the site. I have read numerous reviews and have decided to buy the Canon EOS500d(probably because I have had a Canon AV1 since around 1980). What I can't decide on though is which lens to go for. I am interested in wildlife photography and would appreciate some advice. I have a budget of £300.

[Mike Lowe]

Hi all,first post on the site. I have read numerous reviews and have decided to buy the Canon EOS500d(probably because I have had a Canon AV1 since around 1980). What I can't decide on though is which lens to go for. I am interested in wildlife photography and would appreciate some advice. I have a budget of £300.

Wildlife photography is a tricky one to deal with, as you're likely to want a fast, long lens. Pro wildlife photographers could use anything from a 200mm f/2.8 to a 500mm f/2.8 to get in on that action from afar and have that crisp focus with blurred background. The latter is likely to cost about £10K however...!

For your budget you're going to have to sacrifice some of the speed and some of the possible zoom, but Canon does offer a 55-200mm f/3.5-5.6 lens, meaning you can shoot at 200mm at a max of f/5.6 - not bad going as, when you're that far removed from your subject, you'll get amplified shallow depth of field. Not as shallow as f/2.8 of course, and you may struggle in lower light by comparison to the better lenses available, but not at all a bad compromise for the cash. It's an Image Stabilised offering too.

Check out the Canon site to see what you can find, though don't take the RRPs there as given - you'll find that there're places online selling, sometimes, for hundreds less.