T4i lenses

[soccermomjill]

I have a Cannon T4i with a Cannon EF-S 55-250 IS lens. I would like to upgrade my telephoto lens and want to know what is the best option for the best price?

[hsbn]

What is your problem with the current lens? And what's your budget?

[Skirball]

Assuming that 200mm is long enough for your needs, and price and weight are not a factor, the 70-200 f/2.8 Mark II is the best.   But if you start factoring in price, size and weight, maximum aperture, zoom/prime, etc, it gets a lot more complicated.  It’s probably the most complicated decision in any lens choice.

Canon has several very good telephotos, the 70-200 alone gives you four options, each with their pros and cons.  All of them, and the 100-400, the 70-300 L, 200 prime are significant upgrades to the kit lens.  There are also 3rd party options from Sigma and Tamron that are very good.  Sorry, but like I said, this isn’t a simple decision unless you want the absolute best and price and size are not a factor.

[TCampbell]

There is no such thing as a single best lens choice.  The whole point of having a camera with removable lenses is that it allows you use a lens which is more optimally suited for each situation.

That means the best lens option for you, depends on what you're typically shooting with your lens.

If you're doing sports photography, indoors, with poor lighting, and fast moving action, then a low-focal ratio zoom with very responsive focusing motors is the best option.  An EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II is usually ideal... but not cheap.

If you're shooting wildlife at a distance and don't want to scare it away, but it's not in poor lighting, then a 100-400mm zoom might be ideal even if it has a variable focal ratio such as an f/3.5-5.6.

We don't know what types of subjects you usually shoot so it's not possible to give you a "best option".

Your budget might constrain your choices.

[hcbph]

If you can provide more details it would help.  I have a T4I with the kit lenses, I've also bought an additional zoom lens but I'm not recommending that one because we don't know what you're doing.  Without knowing your purpose, any recommendation is a waste of time because we don't know what you're doing.

[ScottyP]

Hi-

Hope you didn't feel "pounced-upon" but at least you were not ignored! 

It would help folks to answer the question if you will say what is lacking in your current lens.   Is it not a powerful enough telephoto (does it not make small objects appear large enough) or is it a matter of the image quality not being good enough when you look at the pictures, especially when you crop them/blow them up?

Getting significantly beyond 250mm with good image quality is going to cost more than you paid for your camera and all the lenses.  Beware lower-quality lenses like the 75-300, as the extra 50mm is not significant, and the image quality would not likely be satisfactory to you. 

If you are just looking for better image quality, then there is hope within a respectable, yet still significant budget.  As mentioned, there are 4 "white L lenses" that are 70-200 and if you can live without Image Stabilization, and/or if you are OK with an f/4 aperture instead of f/2.8 you can get a GREAT value in a seriously high-quality lens.