Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Lens USA

Comments about Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Lens:

I use this for wildlife and children's sports and it's fantastic - tack sharp, clear, and FAST focusing. Honestly I don't know why it's not getting more attention. Other than 2 stops of light, I can't tell much difference in this and the 70-200L.

Comments about Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Lens:

wow. coming from a long lineage of after market lenses, i am pleasantly surprise with the superb characteristics of this lens. from image quality to build quality, there really is very little to gripe about. indeed, the image stabilization is not to be undersold... it steadies shots that would leave most lenses rife with vibration-apparent bluriness. indeed, handheld shots at 300 mm and 1/60 of a second are talk sharp. (just give the lens something to focus on!) this lens is a breath of fresh air for me, as so many times i have been left underwhelmed by inferior results. for me, it allows the opportunity to manifest a fleeting moment of inspiration while making some of the more laborious aspects of the technical side of shooting secondary. this is the greatest gift of digital equipment... creating a more cerebral experience for the photographer by creating reliable equipment that seems to adapt to the vision of the shooter, rather than the shooter adapting to the equipment.

so why not 5 stars? i am an outdoor sports/adventure photographer... and this lens is heavy. but this is a result of a superb build... weather seals... pristine glass... a very small price to pay.

Comments about Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Lens:

a compact, L series 70-300, the IS works great. I do a lot of hiking and biking, usually without a tripod, and am very happy with the stability, picture quality, focus and detail.

Comments about Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Lens:

Used for wildlife, landscape and scenery, portraits, sports and action. Fast auto focus,clarity of pictures from 70 mm to 300 mm. Heavier than I expected, as said in the reviews no tripod mount, shame on Canon.I own too other L lenses from Canon and they came with the tripod mount. Only reason I gave it a four star rating no tripod mount.And yes I would buy this lens again.

Comments about Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Lens:

I was a little nervous about spending big $$ on the L glass but after a test run
I believe it's well worth it.(you only go around once)
This lens provides real fast Auto Focus and I was geting Tack sharp results
hand holding zoomed to 300mm at 1/80th sec. showing the IS works.
If you don't need F/2.8 this is THE lens.

Comments about Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Lens:

Wanted a long telephoto that was light and compact enough to carry in my travel bag. With the hood reversed, this lens fits nicely into my ThinkTank Retrospective 10 bag attached to a 7D! The EF 100-400 or EF 70-200 f/2.8 II don't stand a chance, and weigh a lot more. Weather sealing is the icing on the cake for travel, i've already been caught out in the rain with it.

This lens is definitely worthy of it's red ring. The build quality and sharpness are top notch and the balance is nice on a 7D or 5d2.

I wouldn't use this lens indoors. The f/4-5.6 can be a challenge after the sun has set, but a f/2.8 version of this thing would have to be MUCH more bulky and heavier. I'll be using it primarily outdoors in good light so the slowness doesn't bother me. Autofocus does a good job, but it's not as fast as some of my other lenses. If you plan to shoot indoor sports, i'd probably choose the 70-200 f/2.8 instead.

At this price, I wish it came with the tripod collar. $180 for a metal ring is too much. Even though I will probably use this lens hand-held 95% of the time, i still think it should have come in the box.

Comments about Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Lens:

Excellent hand held telephoto.

Comments about Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Lens:

I'm a hobbyist.

What got me to buy this thing:

Zoom range, compact size, cool design, weather sealing,and of course L glass power.

What amazed me:

The build quality is awesome (First thoughts ,"This is a Tank!"), The focus ring is smooooooth, Auto focus is crazy fast, and IS helps a lot.

What chose me to pick 4 out of 5:

Well I have to be honest and it is the price. After playing with it I understand why and I feel much better.

Comments about Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Lens:

I have used a very nice variety of video and photo equipment the last few years, and nothing has surprised me more than the image stabilization of this lens.At 300 mm (480 mm with my canon 7d) handheld the image "dances" until the shutter release is pressed 1/2 way. At that point the dancing stops, the autofocus flashes and a beautiful picture is the result. I have an excellent tripod, it is almost never required.
The quality is very evident. Canon has a real winner.

Comments about Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Lens:

I was torn between the 70-300 and 100-400 lenses. Reading previous reviews of both lenses assisted me in choosing the 70-300. I have not had much of a chance to get out and really utilize this lens but so far I love it. I was also torn with getting a macro lens but that will be next go around. Ordering and delivery of the easy and prompt. I placed the order one day and got the lens the very next day. I have never had an issue yet when ordering direct from B & H. You might find it cheaper elsewhere but I depend on the reliability and accuracy of what I am ordering from here. I just wish this lens worked with the doubler as the 100-400 does Good luck and happy shooting.

Comments about Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Lens:

This lens is built well. Has very sharp images. I use it maily for wildlife and scenery. Slightly heavy. It is not a good travel lens.

Comments about Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Lens:

I bought the non-L version of this lens a year ago,was never quite happy with the image quality. I'm happy now.

Comments about Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Lens:

This lens replaced a tameron 70-300m lens with no IS. Comparison shots at similar settings show the canon lens is superior in all aspects: image sharpness, contrast, brightness. Image stabilization helps to get usable pictures in dim conditions. Primary uses are wildlife and some sports shooting.

Primary negatives:
no tripod mount included (one that is available is $$$)
Focus and Zoom Ring functions reversed = Awkward.

Comments about Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Lens:

The lens works very well, is quick to focus and operate, once you have gotten used to the locations of the zoom and focus rings. Images appear to have excellent sharpness and contrast. The size and weight of the lens are what appeal to me most, since it takes up less space in my bag than my prior lenses.

On the negative side, this lens really should come standard with a tripod collar, since it's challenging to get a stable photo at 300mm with a Canon 7D at slow shutter speeds, even with a solid tripod using live view mode to lock up the mirror. A remote release is probably required, but haven't tested it yet. Also note that Canon tele-converters won't work with this lens, since the rear element sits so far back.

Comments about Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Lens:

Went through the whole ISO spectrum with my 7D and did not see any noise on the slides.

Clarity was excellant!

Comments about Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Lens:

I bought the lens to couple with the 20D I gave my Son as he expressed an interest in digital photography. Soon he will be upgrading to the 5D so we went with a lens that would work well down the road.

Comments about Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Lens:

Use for shooting wildlife, sports, portraits, other candid

Comments about Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Lens:

i am currently using this lens to fulfill all my telephoto needs- wildlife, landscape, and some portrait. if i find that i am spending most of my time at 300, i will probably end up replacing it with a prime. until, i will enjoy the advantages of the 70-300 range and the excellent IQ. the trade off for this light weight marvel is, of course its speed. but again, to compensate requires a lot more $ and a lot more weight.

Comments about Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Lens:

I shoot in a variety of situations where I need zoom ranges from 200 to 400mm. I was seriously looking at the EF70-200mm f2.8L but found I needed something with more reach. The 70-300mm was recommended and I found the Image quality and speed very good as this is an recently upgraded version. I was able to get a quality zoom that covers 200mm to 480mm with my cropped camera at a lower price than the 70-200mm f2.8 with comparable results.

Comments about Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Lens:

I used to own and love a Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS mark I until I decided that it was too heavy to lug around the world with me. Not to mention that my wrist was really beginning to ache from long days of shooting with that lens on my 5DMII with grip attached. The 70-200 is an awesome lens that takes great photos, but when the 70-300mm f/4-5.6L came out, it immediately caught my attention not only for the extra 100mm coverage up to 300mm in total, but most importantly for its small/compact size (relative to the 70-200). Having owned this lens for nearly a month now and tested it in the field, I can confirm that it takes awesome photos as well! Although it can only go as wide as f/4 (vs f/2.8 on the 70-200), I don't really find that to be an issue as I am shooting mostly outdoors during the day. I haven't tried shooting with it at night yet nor with a flash, but expect that it should perform well at 70mm when the lens is wide open ...and with the IS, that should also help for night/ low light shots.

I've tested the lens and it's perfect considering I got it as a refurbished by Canon lens through B&H - got lucky and saved some cash!

My primary selection criteria were:

1) Photo Quality: this is an "L" lens and it performs like one! No need for product reviews here - just Google it! There are plenty of raving reviews for it's capabilities and shortcomings, but mostly positive. These are provided by the Pros. I'm just an enthusiast!

2) Weight/Size: As I said, I wanted something smaller to carry while shooting as well as in my bag as I have lots of other "L" lenses and flash accessories (not to mention laptop, etc.) to carry while traveling. The 70-300 complemented my 24-105L, 50L, and soon to have Tokina 16-28 very well in my bag of photo/work gear!

3) Price: this lens is reasonably priced for an "L" series lens. I got lucky getting it even less as a refurbished lens that works perfectly fine (or as far as I know/ "see" anyway).

I highly recommend this lens for outdoor / nature photography. Could also be great for portraits in well-lit conditions. Haven't tried in low light conditions, but should be ok with f/4 at 70mm and IS.