Canon Telephoto EF 300mm f/4.0L IS Image Stabilizer USM Autofocus Lens USA

Comments about Canon Telephoto EF 300mm f/4.0L IS Image Stabilizer USM Autofocus Lens:

I photograph mainly birds, and this Canon "L" lens is not only sharp as a tack with image stabilization, but has the flexibility to use the 1.4x and 2x teleconverters. At f/4, auto focus in all lighting conditions is fast and accurate, and the f/4 defocuses the background to highlight the subject. The only drawback would be that the autofocus does not work with the 2x teleconverter due to the reduced f stop to 6.3. Otherwise a beautiful, versatile lens. Also the Canon lens cap is inconvenient to use on this lens - purchase and use the Nikon lens cap instead.

Comments about Canon Telephoto EF 300mm f/4.0L IS Image Stabilizer USM Autofocus Lens:

Except usm ,it is perfect.
I can take good birds photo.

Comments about Canon Telephoto EF 300mm f/4.0L IS Image Stabilizer USM Autofocus Lens:

I use the lens to photograph birds. It is light weight and perfectly suitable for my everyday needs. It's easily maneuverable and captures great shots. I'm still new at it but I am learning very quickly and and enjoy the new gear very much.

Comments about Canon Telephoto EF 300mm f/4.0L IS Image Stabilizer USM Autofocus Lens:

This lens is perfect for surfing, wildlife photos and hopefully it will do equally well for candid/environmental portraits when we travel overseas soon.
It's weight is actually quite easy to manage hand held when shooting intermittently and it's image stabiliser is a great help. As people have mentioned it makes a tiny amount of noise, but honestly, it's so minor that you don't really notice it in most environments. Images are also reasonably sharp, not quite as sharp as my ef 135mm f2L, but certainly better than a zoom which is good enough for me.

Comments about Canon Telephoto EF 300mm f/4.0L IS Image Stabilizer USM Autofocus Lens:

I replaced my 100-400 mm lens with this lens. It is so much easier to walk around with. Don't need a tripod like I did with the telephoto. Much lighter in weight. pic are much sharper.

Comments about Canon Telephoto EF 300mm f/4.0L IS Image Stabilizer USM Autofocus Lens:

I have used on my 5D, 20D and Rebel XT with nice results. Never felt the the need to use a monopod. The Tripod Collar notch is perfect to balance between camera body and lense when hand holding. Used this lens with my rebel XT from the Upper Deck At UT/Neyland stadium & could crop down to see eye expressions during coin toss /8 by 10 photos. Have used shooting at amphitheatre at night. 1/20 second f4 sharp photos possible with image stablizer and firm brace. The focusing/electronics could be better (This lens was realeased in in 1997 I think) Still i give it five stars. Am looking forward to a new version with refined electronics/focusing technology.

Comments about Canon Telephoto EF 300mm f/4.0L IS Image Stabilizer USM Autofocus Lens:

This lens lives up to every good thing that has been said about it. Pictures are sharp. Focus is very fast. The IS works very well. I have gotten handheld shots down to 1/60. It takes both a 1.4 and 2X teleconverter very well and I can get quite acceptable pictures with both (under the right conditions). Love this lens!

Comments about Canon Telephoto EF 300mm f/4.0L IS Image Stabilizer USM Autofocus Lens:

I purchased this lens after renting from an online rental site. I use the lens for Wildlife photos on a 7D body as well as photographing High School Swim meets. The built in lens hood is great for when you need it. The lens is sharper than my zooms (24-70 2.8L, 17-40 4L, 70-200 2.8L) but not as sharp as my 100 2.8L Prime. As long as light is available the focusing is fast..Without; it searches. The IS works great. The foreground really pops out for portraiture photos. The lens balances better than my 70-200 2.8L lens and just seems more comfortable to carry while trekking.

Comments about Canon Telephoto EF 300mm f/4.0L IS Image Stabilizer USM Autofocus Lens:

A pretty good all around medium telephoto. Fast AF. Well built. Very compact and lightweight and focuses very close. Close up performance is spectacular. Use with extension tubes and Canon 500D close up diopter filter and it becomes a macro lens with wonderful long working distance and amazing image sharpness.

Performance takes a hit with a teleconverter, the 1.4X is not too bad and is hardly noticeable for close focus. but at longer distances, the image degradation is more noticeable. And the CA becomes quite noticeable.

The only polarizers that work well on this lens are the very best you can buy, like B+W and the Hoya Digital Pro 1. The Canon Circular Polarizer II degrades the image quality too much.

It's difficult to get really sharp images with the 2X teleconverter, but it's better for close focus.

Not the sharpest lens in Canon's lineup, but usable. It's definitely time for the lens to be upgraded to newer standards of resolution, CA control, and newer IS performance. But, of course, the newer version, when it is released will cost about twice as much.

I've only used it on a 5D MKII. Don't know how it performs on crop-factor bodies.

Comments about Canon Telephoto EF 300mm f/4.0L IS Image Stabilizer USM Autofocus Lens:

This one is not too heavy to hold. You can take sharp pictures of birds, some great macro shots, portraits and landscape with this gem. Great price and service at BH!

Comments about Canon Telephoto EF 300mm f/4.0L IS Image Stabilizer USM Autofocus Lens:

This lens is for wildlife photography. I chose this lens for the apeture and weight, and the ability to extend the range with an extender. I am thrilled with the reach and clarity! I have yet to find anything I dislike about this lens.

Comments about Canon Telephoto EF 300mm f/4.0L IS Image Stabilizer USM Autofocus Lens:

Great sharpness, easy to use, not heavy.

Comments about Canon Telephoto EF 300mm f/4.0L IS Image Stabilizer USM Autofocus Lens:

I am using this lens to photograph action sports including racing cars, motorcycles and airplanes. This lens offers great clarity and IS for this type of photography.

Comments about Canon Telephoto EF 300mm f/4.0L IS Image Stabilizer USM Autofocus Lens:

I have rented this lens on three occasions while testing different lenses. This lens is fast, sharp, clear and crisp. I would recommend this to any photographer needing a quality lens.

Comments about Canon Telephoto EF 300mm f/4.0L IS Image Stabilizer USM Autofocus Lens:

Beautifuly sharp.
My only complaint is that it is SO heavy, and doesn't autofocus with the 2X converter.Hard to photograph with it from my kayak. :) But other than that it gets an A in my book.

Comments about Canon Telephoto EF 300mm f/4.0L IS Image Stabilizer USM Autofocus Lens:

For someone who is just getting in to sports photography on the little league field, this lens is perfect. the f.4 is good enough to blur out backgrounds and let your photos look much better than the family shooting from the sidelines. Usable without a mono-pod and much less expensive than the 300 2.8. I first brought the Sigma 120-400 but returned it the next day as the Canon focuses much quicker and is easier to handle and use. You will be happy with the lens and the price. it has a built in lens shade.

Comments about Canon Telephoto EF 300mm f/4.0L IS Image Stabilizer USM Autofocus Lens:

I purchased this lens to use at amateur outdoor sporting events as well as wildlife and so far the results have been very good. Sharpness is this lens' most appealing quality as I've been getting great results at every aperture.

I recently used it to shoot at a local professional racing event and despite being behind a chainlink fence for many of the shots (no press pass, sadly), I was able to get a great deal of keepers due to the sharpness of the shots and reliable operation of the lens.

I feel this lens is relatively fast (for the focal length) but when there is less light, IS helps steady the shot enough to get mostly satisfactory results in situations were my 70-200 f/4 non-IS would have failed miserably without a tripod.

This lens is fairly long and large when compared to most wide-to-normal lenses as well as slow telephoto lenses but this isn't especially bothersome unless you intend to travel light and/or not stand out too much.

I use this lens on a full-frame body.

Comments about Canon Telephoto EF 300mm f/4.0L IS Image Stabilizer USM Autofocus Lens:

I bought this lens 10 days ago, after many months of research for a telephoto lens, in order to bring birds closer to my camera. Even if this is an older lens design the quality of the image is amazing. The images come out very sharp and with great colors. I use it on a Canon D7, which helps tranform 300mm into 480mm. Adding the new 1.4 extender III can get you even closer to your subject 480 x 1.4 = 672mm. There is a slight loss of sharpness, but surprisingly little. If you want to get close to your subject without breaking the bank this is the lens to have. This is a great lens in combination with a 1.4EXIII. It took me more than 6 months to decide buying this lens and meanwhile the price went up $100, and even at this new price you get yourself a gem at a bargain price.

Comments about Canon Telephoto EF 300mm f/4.0L IS Image Stabilizer USM Autofocus Lens:

I recently bought this lens after I was left looking for a little more reach than a 200mm.

I was very impressed with the build quality of this lens. I own several L primes (24, 50, 85, 100, 200), and this one feels the most sturdy out of the lot. In addition, the lens provides noticeably great contrast. The IS is of an older generation, so it's a little noisy, but it still works great. This lens can easily be handheld in daylight or at high ISOs.

There are two things I don't like about this lens, although neither is significant enough to prevent me from recommending it to others. First, I appreciate the fact that Canon provided a nice padded case, but I also would have liked a 'pouch-style' lens bag for use when traveling. Also, the hood is permanently attached, and it rubs against the focusing ring when it (the hood) is _not_ extended. Therefore, you basically are forced to extend the hood when using this lens. Personally, I prefer the bayonet-style hoods found on other Canon lenses that allow the user to determine when to use them.

Besides that, the tripod ring is very well made, and it works great. It also makes the lens easy to transition from portrait to landscape while using a tripod. The focusing ring is quite smooth and is well damped.

Overall, I am happy I bought this lens, and I would recommend it to others.

Comments about Canon Telephoto EF 300mm f/4.0L IS Image Stabilizer USM Autofocus Lens:

I use this lens primarily for wild life and anything that I would like to shoot and just can't get close enough physically. Originally purchased this lens for a whale watching trip and I am really happy with the IS feature. It is a little heavy but its doable. Overall, I am really pleased with this lens with the IQ, IS and even if the auto-focus is noisy, it doesn't come to play with my shots.