so ive had this canon 80d for a few months now that i bought off my cousin and honestly im still super confused by all of it. it just came with the kit lens which is fine i guess but i really need something that zooms in more cuz my sisters graduation is coming up next month in chicago and our seats are gonna be way back in the nosebleeds. i looked online at lenses and my head is totally spinning from all the numbers and letters like f-stops and stm and all that confusing stuff. my budget is pretty tight since im a broke college student and can really only spend like 200 maybe 250 bucks max right now. sorry if this is a totally dumb question and i should just know this, but what is actually the best budget zoom lens i can get that wont break the bank and will let me get decent close up shots of her walking across the stage from far away?
Congrats to your sister on graduating! Honestly 250 bucks is pretty tight for a long zoom lens, but you definitely still have options. Graduation venues are usually super dim tho so cheap long zooms can struggle hard.
- Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM
- This is your best bet honestly. Its super sharp for the price and the stm motor is quiet. You can find used ones easily under 150.
- Tamron 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DI LD Macro
- Gets you a bit closer, but honestly the autofocus is slow and it lacks image stabilization so youll get blurry shots if your hands shake. I used the canon 55-250 for sports and stuff and it punches way above its weight. Just try to grab one on MPB or KEH so you dont get scammed on ebay.
To add to the point above: checking out used gear might save you even more cash. I grabbed a used Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di LD Macro a while back and it works well for the price. Just make sure you buy from a trusted site with a return policy so you dont get stuck with something broken. No complaints with going second hand when funds are tight.
Had a moment to think about this more and honestly you dont need to stress about the lens alphabet soup. Since the previous reply grabbed the most obvious choice, lets look at a couple other ways to go if you want to stretch that budget or find something slightly different. Graduation lighting is notoriously garbage so aperture matters a ton.
- Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di LD Macro is super cheap used and gets you that extra reach, though autofocus is a bit noisy and slow compared to canon stuff.
- Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG Macro gives decent reach for the price, but seriously watch out for camera shake since there is no image stabilization. Bottom line is that stabilization is gonna save your life in a dark arena from the back row. If you cant hold your hands totally still, non-stabilized lenses at 300mm will turn your graduation photos into a blurry mess. Check local used camera shops or mpb so you dont get scammed on ebay.