jd7 said:
TWI by Dustin Abbott said:
jd7 said:
TWI by Dustin Abbott said:
Here's a link to my video segment on whether or not the new 70-300 IS II is sharp or not - http://bit.ly/70300Sharp
Very interesting! (Although I admit I haven't watched the whole thing - just watched bits and pieces.)
Am looking forward to hearing your final conclusions in due course Dustin, but sounds to me like the lens might turn out to be pretty good after all, especially once you factor in price and weight.
I actually think it is pretty good.
Great to know! The next question is - do I want a 70-300 IS II or a 135L as a travel telephoto?!? I've often wanted to justify (to myself) buying a 135L (and a 135L would also serve as a great portrait lens and no doubt it's optically better), but I'm thinking a 70-300 IS II would probably be the more useful for my use really. Oh well, that's all getting even further OT.
Thanks again for the review Dustin.
As someone who owns the 135L I can tell you that I have never once traveled with it. The 70-300 would be way more useful IMO. Unless you're going to be shooting wide open, thin dof type headshots on your travels I'd say the zoom is a better bet.
The IS alone is useful enough. I find the 135L limited when the light levels go down. Razor thin dof is not my thing mind so I guess some would argue the f/2 case. But even then you gotta really watch the shutter speed with this thing as I've found anything under 1/200s can cause blurring. Even the steadiest would be at 1/100 maybe.
With the IS lenses you can easily shoot at 1/30 or 1/15 and get reasonable results. Plus you might just get something in focus!
The 70-300 with the LCD even gives feedback about lens shake. Further improving your chances of a half decent shot.
135L comes into it's own for indoor sports or outdoor where the action is close like 3 on 3 basketball. At f/2.8 it's razor sharp. Wide open is OK but personally I avoid it and start at f/2.8, so for me having a 70-200 f/4 IS I find few opportunities to use my 135L. But when I do the results are impressive!