Gear Talk > Lenses

28-300 L lens- thoughts?

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Act444:
Hey all,

Just wanted to ask what people's thoughts on this lens were. They don't have this lens at my local camera store (I think when I asked them why, they said something along the lines of "we don't like it" or "it doesn't sell"), and internet reviews seem to be rather sparse. I really want to try out this lens for size but can't really seem to do so.

I've heard mixed thoughts about the image quality- some say it can hold its own with the more specialized lenses, others complain about softness at various focal lengths, so I just wanted to see if there are any owners (or former owners) here and see what they think.

neuroanatomist:
Have it, like it for the convenience - great for travel and outings where I only want to bring one lens and/or not have to swap them (hard to do when juggling two young daughters as well).

IQ is pretty much on par with the 24-105 L - quite good, very useable images.  Size, weight, and handling are pretty much the same as the 100-400mm.

wickidwombat:
I had it, its an awesome lens. very heavy though
it's very expensive which is why alot of places dont carry it
its slow from an aperture perspective however there are no super zooms that even come close to the
image quality so if you need a super zoom then its the best

JoeDavid:
I own one and use it for travel photography some times.  There's always the issue of getting a good one versus an average one from Canon.  I've got a good one.  For the price, you expect pretty good image quality and it can deliver.  You do have to factor in that it is an 11x zoom a little.  I'd rate mine as good at 28mm and very good from 35mm through 300mm.  For me the positives are as follows:

  1  One zoom covers the entire 28-300mm range.
  2  It focuses down to 2.3 feet at all focal lengths making it a near macro lens at 300mm.
  3  Good image quality with easy to correct CA showing up mostly at the wider end of the range.
  4  Canon's IS is very good on this lens.

The negatives are:

  1  It is one of Canon's push/pull lens designs making it a "dust pump" on the front of your camera so you need to zoom it slowly if possible.
  2  It looks like a telephoto zoom even at 28mm making it hard to do any street photography with it when traveling without getting harrassed by people thinking you're zoomed in on them.
  3  Pretty heavy lens for all day use (not really a problem for me but some people would gripe about it...).

For me its's a good lens to have at times but not always.  The answer for number 2 above is to carry a second lens for street photography!

You do need to try it before you commit to purchasing one.  Renting a copy first would be best.  I wonder who rents lenses...

JM2C

Mt Spokane Photography:
I bought one locally on Craigslist for $1500.  It is a good lens, but with that long zoom range, there are compromises.
 
I sold it because it was too heavy, and I needed to fund my new 5D MK III.  Actually, I used it a bit on my MK III and then sold it before the credit card bill came due.  i'd recommend it with no qualms.
 
Here is a 100% cropped image taken with the 5DMK III at 300mm f/5.6.  Bokeh is not the greatest, but its ok.
 
 
 

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