I take it what you're saying is your Tokina has a slow auto-focus motor. It would probably be faster to focus manually.

If you like the focus speed of your 75-300 then you might consider getting some extension tubes for it. These are hollow tubes that fit between the lens and the camera body. By pushing the lens further away from the film/sensor they allow you to focus closer. They typically come in sets of 2 or 3. It's common to see a 12mm and a 25mm together. I think Kenko (maker of your Tokina lens) makes a set of 3 that includes one even longer than 25mm. Many extension tubes have electronic contacts so you can retain auto focus capability. You do lose light with them; however, so your exposure will change. Your camera's on board meter should take care of that. If I recall, I think it's about 1 stop for each 25mm of extension. Extension tubes can be stacked as well for increased effect. Much less expensive than a new lens.

Thank you very,very much.My "best work" I find are close-up shots and a lot of times the subject is right in my face
so to speak(my animals,children I shoot,etc),so I will look into the extensions.Thank you again. Nancy

If you want to consider affording it Canon's own 100mm f/2.8 macro lens is quite fast focusing and is one of the best quality Canon lenses I have. I live in a "flower growing" area and do a lot of close-up shooting with Canon EOS cameras myself and the Canon 100mm macro is about as ideal as it gets.

Hi Mr. Brooks,
I have the Cannon 100 2.8. My problem is,(I have a hard time putting into words what I'm trying to say lol),say for instance I'm in my living room,I usually have my camera handy,one of my animals will do something, I've only got moments/seconds to shoot. My zoom has a distance of 4.9 ft.I believe,if they're any closer it won't focus,my macro takes too long and I usually just have that second to get the shot.My wide angle doesn't suit the situation.My passion is
candid close-ups of animals and children.I can get good close ups out side in a larger area w/ my zoom but sometimes,a lot of times,I can't get the "perfect" shot of that moment because I'm in a smaller area and the subject
is too close for the zoom and not enough time for the macro(besides,w/ the macro I'd have to have them stop and get closer,so what's the point of candid?)I guess I'm looking for a zoom w/ the traits of a macro and a quick focus.I don't mind manual focus but there is not always enough time.
Thank you so much, Nancy

Here's something to try, no guarantee that it will work. Set the focus to manual and zone focus at the approxomate distance that you are usually from the subject. Setting an aperture value of F8 should give you the neccessary depth of field. Then crop on the easel rather than in camera.
This may improve your percentage of keepers.

After reading your response to David Brooks, I feel that your creating too demanding a shooting environment to get consistent results in. You might want to set up winning pictures instead of just haphazardly coming across them.

What you can do to increase your percentages is to use fill flash on the camera. I'm referring to an accessory flash, not the built in flash (if your camera has one) although that's a less expensive alternative. But using fill flash will enable you to shoot with more depth of field. Also, it sounds like you can benefit from a faster shutter speed by shooting wider with the zoom and then cropping afterwards. Because of variable aperture, the wider you set the zoom the faster the corresponding shutter speed will give you proper exposure.

Quote:
I'm looking for a lens for my Cannon eos,I have a wide angle,a zoom 75-300mm w/a 4.9 ft.range and I have a macro, a Tokina macro.I would like to get up-close and personal,
w/ out having to wait for a prolonged focus.Make sense?

Larry,

In general I would have to agree, but although the rationale technically is justified to use fill-flash, aesthetically it destroys more of a picture than what is gained.

I think the problem is really misguided expectations to the affect if you have the right brand X gizmo you'll get the pictures you want without knowledge, thinking or effort. It began with George Eastman and "point, click and we'll do the rest". Canon's TV ads give a really false expectation of how easy it is to get great pictures like those produced by some high-priced professional just by using a Canon camera. Those that market camera products using professionally made images to illustrate their ads never tell the prospective buyer the photographer who made the image is being paid several thousand dollars a day not because he uses X-brand but because he has talent, knowledge, experience and skill using the tools of photography to solve illustration problems.

If photography really were so easy I would have quit 40 years ago out of shear boredom. If it weren't difficult and challenging there would be no basis of satisfaction in making a good photograph.

Thank you all so very much for taking the time to really try and answer my question.I've gotten something from all of you and also different ways to try and allieviate(spelling ?)my problem. I agree w/ you Mr.Brooks,if it were easy and took no effort or talent,then photography
would be nothing more than "taking pictures"...To me,the world is now one big subject.