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Thanks Aroy for your experienced inputs,

My problem is that I will not be able to spare that kind of money (500$ and up) for a lens for atleast an year now,or may be more, I already used up my savings (and beyond) on a D90 and a 50mm prime, so wanted a telephoto so that I have "something" for the time being,

I know the budget zoom lens are very bad for low lights, which anyways will not be a scenario in my case.

So I wanted a decent zoom lens (70-300) that I can use for some birding,

Can you suggest something considering the following,

• Decent day light performance
• Easy to sell when I plan to upgrade

Any thoughts on Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG APO Macro, this retails at $209 (Approx. 9000 INR) in US, while the same unit in India costs 15000 INR +
or
Nikon 70-300mm f/4-5.6G ($136) - This is an older lens meant for the 35mm Nikon film SLRs

Hi Rajat, the term 'birding' is a complicated word ! When you mention 'decent' zoom, it becomes all the more complicated :D

Nikon 70-300 is enough for pelicans or similar sized birds, anything smaller than that, you have to entice the birds to stay still and pose for you. Sigma is a budget option but dont expect the same quality and focus speed. A decent birding lens according to people in the field starts from 400mm that goes upto 800mm with or without teleconverter.

Whatever you chose, its a compromise for birding, because our mind will always crave for higher zoom and better reach. Sigma 150-500 is a budget lens which many beginner birders start with. I have seen it with too many friends. So if your plan is exclusive birding, dont even think about 70-300, it wont serve anything. Start with a 150-500, it has decent resale value too.:thumbs up If budget is a real constraint, look for used 150-500 in the market, its not difficult.

Link/shop? Its less than 10k @ US !

I checked it at smartshopper.

Sigma APO DG Macro is now for 10.5K in India. Check SmartShoppers: Online Shopping India | Cameras, Digital Camera, SLR Camera, Camera Lenses, Mobiles, Laptops & Accessories

Let me be more precise, being an amateur I used some terms that should have been used with care..he.he
My intended use for a 70-300 lens :
Birding - Pelicans, birds of pray,large to medium sized birds in national parks & bird santuaries. I am not that kind of enthusiast who head every now and then with a pair of binoculors to track and see birds, will venture here little later when I can afford telephoto primes

Large Mammals - I also intended to use this for shooting large mammals in the wild.

Candid Shots - Shooting candids of people, natural poses

Scenery - Example would be zooming and capturing certain section of a hill/mountain which otherwise would have to be cropped from my current setup

How much a used 150-500 cost in the second hand market ? (you can PM me)


This is a non-APO model (7195\-)

I think you are right, because what I know is the grey price then and now :) I bought mine from B&H US, hoping I would save some bucks as it was $200 then, but with the shipping, custom, duty, vat, pat, cat and chat it came to 14k, my bad ! Jayesh offered me for 13k that time, but I tried to be over-smart and got a painful experience, Summary: Paid B&W Indian price but got a US-warranty lens.

In that case 70-300 should meet your needs. I saw 2 lenses (150-500) sold recently within 30k to 40k range. New one should be below 50k. Again, remember its a poor man's birding lens. 150-500 is useless in low light, also it gives a softer image above 400 (what I heard from users).

I bought a USED Sigma 70-300 DG Macro, I would say I'm thoroughly enjoying it. It is not as fast as a 55-250, But does take some good shots in bright light

You can see some snaps here: Flickr: teananth's stuff tagged with sigma

P.S: I'm no pro, But for a beginner this lens is awesome for the money. As they say, You pay for what you get. Also, I did not find any big difference with the APO and Non APO lenses, Unless you want pics at 100% crop all the time. I would recommend Canon 55-250 for the Image Stabilizer, If low on budget : Sigma 70-300 is the way to go.

*Tamron 70-300 is considerably slower than the Sigma

Hi guys, What is the street price of Canon ef-s 18-55 mm IS lens in Chennai? I see the online price of 11K in smart shoppers. I am currently in US and I can get it for $120 in ebay. If the lens is around 8K, I am planning to purchase in Chennai itself.

US deal should be cheap unless you want to get grey stuff from India.

at jjmehta online shop you get this at 6500 rs(jjmehta.com eShop). It comes with Bil and Canan warranty. I think the same price would be there in Chennai if you look out for deals.

Grey ones stock for about 4,000 INR. Bill & Warranty any where around 5500 to 6500 INR.

When in Chennai, Call Fototrade / Millenium Das Studio and they would offer you better deals than Smartshoppers.

Was wanting to join this thread however was just not able to. I have a Nikon D3000 with Nikkor 18-55mm and 55-200mm lenses. I have been contemplating of buying the 18-200mm from sometime as it is convenient and avoids changing lenses from time to time. Can anyone please suggest on lenses apart from this?

Will Sigma or Tamron give the same results as a NikKor?

Thanks a lot MadBiker. Looks like I can get a better deal in India, I will get in touch with them.

Probably you are assuming here. I had called all of them when I wanted my 70-200 f/2.8, none could match the price what smartshoppers sathya and senthil quoted me. Dont bother about their online pricing, its lower if you can bargain well and pick up from their outlets, more effectively through a good reference.

Few years back the answer was a clear NO NO, but things have changed now. I am not sure about Tamron nor heard anything good about it from friends, but Sigma tries to match closest to Nikkor. Always bang for the buck !

Not sure about 2.8, But i cross checked for a 70-200 F4 Non-IS, I got sweeter deals from Millenium than others. How ever, Smartshoppers did give me better deals on Lowepro camera bag / recent Tamrac backpack offer and a Sigma 10-20.

Anyway, I'm on the look out for Tamron 17-50 F2.8 Non VC, and i got an offer of 17k grey from Millenium and others said 19k / out of stock. So when i want a lens, I would ideally call all of them, check their price and buy where it is the cheapest.