Canon EF 70-300 f/4-5.6L IS USM

[Canon Rumors]

Woo! The new EF 70-300 f/4-5.6L IS is generating a decent amount of buzz, more than I thought it would.

A CR reader picked up his copy today and told me he’d be doing some shooting. All I asked was he didn’t post a shot of a brick wall, he agreed!

Gallery:http://www.pbase.com/mjlamoon/canon70300l

thanks Martin

The lens is shipping next week in Canada, so I would expect it at US retailers as well.

Another reader who has played around with the lens says the following (Thanks Bruce):

Compared witht the 70-200/2.8, it is a featherweight.Zooming was smooth and the focus was quick and accurate at all focal lengths. The image quality was good over the full frame and IS worked superbly.

On the down side, it drops away from f/4 quite quickly (if I recall correctly around 100mm) which will influence it’s autofunction capabilities on less expensive cameras (Bruce tested with a 1D3 and could be talking about teleconverters).

So – it’s probably a terrific lens for someone with a high end camera who is getting on a plane. The limited focal ratio will probably constrain it more than most realise.

Buy From: B&H / Adorama / Amazon

Post your own samples There is a thread on the forum for EF 70-300 f/4-5.6L IS lens samples. Please feel free to post your images there.

http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php/topic,285.0.html

cr

[scalesusa]

Actually, I'd like to see a brick wall.  The images are nice, but they do not tell you everything.  A combination of images so that we can see the different attributes of the lens would be nice.

I'm sure there will be lots of them coming soon.

I liked the comparison shot to the 24-105mm L, it gives me a feel for its size.  Perhaps one comparing it to the 70-200mm f/4 L would also be nice.

I won't be buying one soom, I have the 24-105mm L, the 70-200mm f/4L IS and the 100-400mm L IS, so I'm more than covered.

300mm is a bit short on my FF and APS-H sensor, but should be excellent on a APS-C sensor.


I suppose that the flame wars are now officially open

[docsmith]

No flame here.   I think this lens is a great compliment to the APS-C users that have either the 17-55 f2.8 or the 18-55 kit lens.  Pretty good 2 lens kit.

[CameraAddict]

It's nice, but I don't think it's FAR SUPERIOR to my 70-300mm IS NON-L.  Definitely not $1000 superior!

I'm glad to know that I'll be keeping the 70-300 "consumer-grade" lens.

[Einstein333]

I posted some real world samples at dpreview 3 days ago: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1029&thread=36843764

[tyrepeddler]

  :)Mine shipped today Friday the 19th from Canoga Camera   I dont know how they got them so quick but not sure about The big two on the east coast
Once here will let you know how it is

[njh63]

Got mine on Nov 17 from Digidirect
Surprised to get it so early in Australia
Solid lens - happy with early results

[dilbert]

I'm waiting to see how Tamron's 70-300/4-5.6 Di  VC USD XLD stacks up to the 70-300 IS USM and the 70-300L IS USM. Then and only then will I buy into this segment.

[tyrepeddler]

Mine arrived yesterday have taken a few shots with it seems to be better then my 70-200 F4 wil take more over the long weekend and post pics.  It came from Canoga Camera in Ca.they show a few left
Have a great Holiday

[dr croubie]

On the down side, it drops away from f/4 quite quickly (if I recall correctly around 100mm) which will influence it’s autofunction capabilities on less expensive cameras (Bruce tested with a 1D3 and could be talking about teleconverters).

So a) why are there no pics here yet, noone has this lens? (i suppose i'll have to post some after i buy it this weekend or the next)

and b) with regards to that quote, what's he comparing it to? By my nerdly-spreadsheeting & graph i made when i was bored yesterday, the L stays at f4 longer than any other comparable vari-F canon zoom lens. and only the 100-400 beats it by staying longer at f5 before it hits f5.6.
(data comes from here)

[dr croubie]

So i finally got to buying one on saturday, and i've spent 2 days since running around and have probably taken nearly 500 shots with it already.
i walked through a forest chasing an eagle for hours, and just when i was giving up and walking home, this guy came and sat on a pole about 2m away from me.

300mm, f5.6, ISO160, 1/500s, 7D. Gotta say, i'm impressed with the Bokeh. the bird was maybe 2-3m away, the street sign and hedge were another 5-6m on the other side of the street.

Bonus points if anyone can tell me wtf it is? i see them around occasionally (in The Netherlands) the crew-cut and colours keep making me think kingfisher, but the body shape is a lot more crow/raven/magpie (but it's not black/white). I know they're probably fairly common in europe, but i only know australian birds.

[languste]

it's an Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_Jay

Gaai/Vlaamse gaai (NL)
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaai

Eichelhäher (DE)
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eichelh%C3%A4her

[dr croubie]

woo, thanks for the bird tip. suppose one day i'll be back to get more shots of them, look out for more shots from me of aussie birds in a week or two...

anyway, another shot from that day, to show the bokeh. Taken in a forest with some hoverflies near a leaf in sunlight, the background was all darkness with a bit of sunlight poking through the leaves behind. (the good focussing on the fly was just luck, all the rest of the shots were oof or moving or both)
7D, ISO250, 1/320s, 300mm, f5.6 (wide open). camera jpeg, no processing, just shrunk to 1200*800, and a 100% crop...

and for the hell of it, a 100% crop of the next shot, from the far top left corner of the (APS-C) frame. not going to win any awards for composition, but just to give you an idea of how the bokeh goes ever so slightly non-circular near the corner, still, i like it...

[Ghostdive]

IMG_2576_20110624_0071 von ghostdive.picture auf Flickr

got the lens last week.
with an 400D @300 and i'm very impressed, i got it freehand ;-) Hope i can try it out more this weekend

[akiskev]

Happy shooting!
Guys can you post more shots of this very interesting lens?