Civilian Aviation

Hello, I've just got myself a Canon EOS 300D as a basic camera for getting some nice 'photos. It has the standard Canon 18-55mm lens at the moment. I would like to get a larger lens and being on a strict budget was thinking of
Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM which are affordable to me
or
SIGMA 70-300mm F4-5.6 APO DG AF MACRO LENS
Are these a fair choice for some flying shots? Appreciate you only get what you pay for, should I be looking at anything else?
I have seen Canon 90-300mm lenses for £85 but are they not quite up to modern standards?
You'll have to bear with me as I'm just re-learning photo terminology having used auto compacts for the last 20 years.
Thanks.
(I may post this on the 'other' side)

If you go to camerapricebuster.co.uk you may find a cheaper price for the lens you're looking for. Or if you have a budget, you may find that you could afford something more for your pennies.

As regards the lens you have in mind. I couldn't comment about those particular ones, but for a number of years I use a cheap Tamron 28-200mm with some success. The only reason I changed is that it gave up after around 10000 images.

Edit - There's a discussion on Fighter Control about the Tamron 70-300mm lens which at Jessops is around £150. One poster has said that without the ultrasonic motor (USM), it's slow in focusing and has difficulty in focusing sometimes. You'll find that all the lenses around this price may have the same problem.

The Canon 70-300mm is a great lens to start with but get the USM version as its faster to focus. Might be worth looking at the IS version, as some say its as good as the Canon L series.

Hi,
I have the Canon 75-300 USM IS Lens and find it to be very good - its my preferred lens for travelling, and I can recommend it.
I have taken this lens all over Europe and USA on aviation trips and have managed some good shots - both on the ground and in the air.
I think the Image Stabilisation is great and worth the extra.

I also have a Canon 24-105 IS L series lens - Great for close work, walking about airshows etc,
A Canon 100-400 IS L series - a great lens, but a bit heavy and has a push/pull zoom which takes a bit of getting used to.
I also have a Canon 55 - 250 IS lens - Great range and just right for shooting at LHR Myrtle Ave & Stanmoor Moor Road - one
lens that gives a good zoom range for the smaller Biz and the Large A380 etc.

Hope this helps

Ken

Thanks for the info something to consider. I'll have to see if I can afford the extra £150 or so for the IS version.