Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM Lens - Sharpness

[TexPhoto]

Great lens, my first white lens and my first telephoto. An unlike so many people above, I still have mine! :

I own a 400mm f2.8 IS , and a 70-200 f2.8 IS II, and both vIII teleconverters. And I still won't sell my 300mm f4 IS. Because when I need to pack light it goes with me. When I can pack heavy, it goes with me. And I shoot a ton of sports with it. Football, basketball, horse racing, car racing, bike racing… I will use the 400 and 70-200 when I can, but the 300 is a lens I can stick in my camera bag when i don't think I'll need telephoto. It's 33% lighter than the 70-200 II, but I swear it feel like half. In Basketball games I will se it up high in the stands and shoot with a remote camera.

It's also a decent macro lens. For nature when you don't want to get bit, stung, or sprayed by the wee beast, it gives great stand off distance. No it's not 1:1, but it's a whole lot better than other 300mm lenses.

Untitled by RexPhoto91, on Flickr

Untitled by RexPhoto91, on Flickr

REX46287h by RexPhoto91, on Flickr

Untitled by RexPhoto91, on Flickr

This lens performs great with a 1.4X converter. I had vI, then bought vIII.

 

[AlanF]

The major websites such as TDP, Lenstip etc are all in agreement over the performance of the 300mm f/4. Lenstip has a lot of data. Here are the collated data for competitive lenses. Compare the data for the 300mm f/4 with 1.4xTC with the 100-400L and Tamron at 400. For a small lightweight very versatile lens at nearly 300mm, the 70-200mm f/4 L with 1.4xTC II at 280mm is pretty good, and is the one I throw into my camera bag. The 70-300mm L is an exceptional lens. If you want extreme sharpness and excellent image with stabilisers, then I am afraid the 300mm f/2.8 II is the real answer for those tiny crops. On my 100s of trips for bird photography, by far the most popular lens I see is the 100-400L, then the really keen birders use the 500L, there are a few 400 f/5.6, 1 or 2 300mm f/4, and I have yet to meet up with a fellow 300mm f/2.8.

I must emphasize that all these lenses produce superb images when used within their limits.

 

[JPAZ]

Rented one years ago and used it on an XTi on a trip to see polar bears. Worked pretty well on that body even at dawn and dusk. Focus was reasonable. Clearly (wow, a pun) the 2.8 variety is a stellar lens but the f/4 is pretty darn good for the price.

Ah. I misspoke. I found the files and this was at 6:53 am in November near Churchill, Manitoba. It was still pretty dark and this was handheld at f/4, iso 1000 and 1/500 sec then cropped. It was on my 50d, not the XTi. I know the color balance could be better and I have since learned a lot about better post-processing. But, the point is that in existing light in the dawn hours handheld using a camera that had a lot of noise, this lens did pretty well. I hope that gives you and idea of what the lens can do and in better light, this would be a nice shot. Maybe someday I'll repeat the trip with FF and the f/2.8!

 

[skybraun]

Wow guys thanks for all the useful info! I guess my biggest fear now is buying the lens and then seeing Canon update it within the next year

 

[wickidwombat]

Wow guys thanks for all the useful info! I guess my biggest fear now is buying the lens and then seeing Canon update it within the next year

I think the chances of a unicorn taking the presidency of the united states in the next year is more likely than an upgrade of this lens being announced let alone updated... I dont even recall seeing a patent for an update

 

[skybraun]

Wow guys thanks for all the useful info! I guess my biggest fear now is buying the lens and then seeing Canon update it within the next year

I think the chances of a unicorn taking the presidency of the united states in the next year is more likely than an upgrade of this lens being announced let alone updated... I dont even recall seeing a patent for an update

Haha! When do you think this lens will be updated?

 

[TexPhoto]

Wow guys thanks for all the useful info! I guess my biggest fear now is buying the lens and then seeing Canon update it within the next year

I think the chances of a unicorn taking the presidency of the united states in the next year is more likely than an upgrade of this lens being announced let alone updated... I dont even recall seeing a patent for an update

Haha! When do you think this lens will be updated?

If they update this lens, it will be $2500+. And there have been no rumors of it. The 70-300 f5.6 IS is probably as close to a replacement for the lens we will see. If you are worried, buy used.

 

[wickidwombat]

Wow guys thanks for all the useful info! I guess my biggest fear now is buying the lens and then seeing Canon update it within the next year

I think the chances of a unicorn taking the presidency of the united states in the next year is more likely than an upgrade of this lens being announced let alone updated... I dont even recall seeing a patent for an update

Haha! When do you think this lens will be updated?

Not within a few years at least,

if you need f4 for low light this lens is great, look around for a nice used copy and dont worry about the IS making clunking noises that is normal.

if you don't need the f4 have a serious look at the tamron 150-600 for the money this lens cannot be beaten

 

[Loswr]

I dont even recall seeing a patent for an update

There was one back in 2012.

http://www.canonrumors.com/2012/01/patents-24mm-f2-8-50mm-f1-2-300mm-f4/

 

[Pieces Of E]

The lens is light and superb. The noise the IS makes is neglible and won't scare off anything you're shooting either.