Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 L USM - Any negative comments?

[expatinasia]

I am thinking of getting the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 L USM. What are your thoughts on this lens. It will be used primarily for sporting action, certain landscapes, long distant portraits etc.

I will use it with the Canon 50D until Canon comes out with something like the 5D Mark III with autofocus on its video functionality.

Thanks.

Ps. Was also looking at the 28-300 but that is over four times as expensive, so carrying two lenses would be cheaper.

 

[wickidwombat]

only negative is cant use a 1.4 TC on it and keep AF on anything other than a 1D (pre 1Dx that is)

and yeah you can get a 16-35 f2.8 II and the 70-300 L for what a 28-300 costs its much lighter and more compact than the 28-300 too

 

[AJ]

price

 

[rj79in]

I am thinking of getting the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 L USM. What are your thoughts on this lens. It will be used primarily for sporting action, certain landscapes, long distant portraits etc.

I will use it with the Canon 50D until Canon comes out with something like the 5D Mark III with autofocus on its video functionality.

Thanks.

Ps. Was also looking at the 28-300 but that is over four times as expensive, so carrying two lenses would be cheaper.

Depends on your shooting requirements. The 28-300 is an excellent choice because of its versatility in focal length. I chose to rent one when on a desert safari where it was impossible to change lenses due to sand & dust.

Biggest NO for me buying the lens was that it is pretty heavy, both in terms of weight as well as price

 

[kaneohebud]

I've owned the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 L IS USM for about 9 months now and currently have it for sale. The lens itself is great, within its reach. It's not too heavy and the pictures I've taken with it have been tack sharp. My negatives (from my own needs perspective):
1. It does not have the reach I need for surfing and wildlife pictures (even on a crop 7D)
2. You cannot use a 1.4 or 2.0 extender.
3. It does not come with a tripod collar ($185)

It is a great walk around lens, especially for street photography. No issues with IQ. Just does not have the reach for me.

 

[thejoyofsobe]

owned one for four months now have nothing bad to say about the lens itself. it's just great.

the price for lack of a tripod ring is a little steep but given what's happening with all new Canon lenses it's not out of step.
the zoom ring and manual focus ring are in different positions than a lot of lenses but after using it enough where zooming is instinctive i like the position better because the camera is more balanced in my hands.
no Canon extenders but is compatible with the Kenko. i guess results vary because i have the $130 Kenko 1.4x extender on it and even though it's reporting f/8.0 to my 60D it still autofocuses.

 

[wickidwombat]

owned one for four months now have nothing bad to say about the lens itself. it's just great.

the price for lack of a tripod ring is a little steep but given what's happening with all new Canon lenses it's not out of step.
the zoom ring and manual focus ring are in different positions than a lot of lenses but after using it enough where zooming is instinctive i like the position better because the camera is more balanced in my hands.
no Canon extenders but is compatible with the Kenko. i guess results vary because i have the $130 Kenko 1.4x extender on it and even though it's reporting f/8.0 to my 60D it still autofocuses.

which kenko? I have heard the older DG versions will AF its the newer DGX ones that are suposed to not AF
when i used my DGX one on my 1Dmk3 with the 28-300 L it would even AF using outer points at f8 not only the center point but they were noticably slower so i primarily used the center point. I dont own any 5.6 lenses anymore to test this out on tough

 

[Marsu42]

1. It does not have the reach I need for surfing and wildlife pictures (even on a crop 7D)
2. You cannot use a 1.4 or 2.0 extender.
3. It does not come with a tripod collar ($185)
It is a great walk around lens, especially for street photography. No issues with IQ. Just does not have the reach for me.

... see the last 70-200 and 70-300 during the last month, too, there's all information and many opinions in it. My 2 cents:

* global impression: I've got the 70-300L for about 3 weeks and it's my primary walk-around lens now because 70mm is good enough so that I can zoom with my feet and take in most *objects* I'm interested in. For me, the size-weight-iq-af-zoomfactor-buildquality-price combination and tradeoff is just right and I'd recommend it for everyone who wants to spend the cash (and not double or half) and wants this zoom range.

* correction: You can put on a Kenko 1.4tc, I'll get it myself since the iq is said to be still ok - but af is slow at f8 (you have to trick the camera into thinking it's actually f5.6)

* negative point: on ff it's said to have less iq than the 70-200s in the corners and might show vignetting (easily corrected by software of course). But the 70-200/2.8is2+tc is double the price... and since I'm often shooting @300mm I'd hate to put on and take off the tc all the time.

* negative point: no tripod collar (thanks, Canon!) but not really required since the lens is short and not that heavy so there is less torsion on the body in comparison e.g. to a 70-200/2.8

* negative point: extending zoom, I'd like a internal zooms better, but this is the tradeoff for the short form factor.

* negative point: no zoom range limiter like the 70-200, but af is very accurate and fast it does not matter that much except for low light when the af might start to hunt.

 

[K-amps]

I've owned the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 L IS USM for about 9 months now and currently have it for sale. The lens itself is great, within its reach. It's not too heavy and the pictures I've taken with it have been tack sharp. My negatives (from my own needs perspective):
1. It does not have the reach I need for surfing and wildlife pictures (even on a crop 7D)
2. You cannot use a 1.4 or 2.0 extender.
3. It does not come with a tripod collar ($185)

It is a great walk around lens, especially for street photography. No issues with IQ. Just does not have the reach for me.

My thoughts exactly. I am impressed by the sharpness of this lens... I just want more reach on FF (my 2x will not fit this) but for walk-around it's a great choice. It gets more use than my other lenses due to it's size. Has decent Bokeh, great build... and did I mention, very sharp!

 

[thejoyofsobe]

owned one for four months now have nothing bad to say about the lens itself. it's just great.

the price for lack of a tripod ring is a little steep but given what's happening with all new Canon lenses it's not out of step.
the zoom ring and manual focus ring are in different positions than a lot of lenses but after using it enough where zooming is instinctive i like the position better because the camera is more balanced in my hands.
no Canon extenders but is compatible with the Kenko. i guess results vary because i have the $130 Kenko 1.4x extender on it and even though it's reporting f/8.0 to my 60D it still autofocuses.

which kenko? I have heard the older DG versions will AF its the newer DGX ones that are suposed to not AF
when i used my DGX one on my 1Dmk3 with the 28-300 L it would even AF using outer points at f8 not only the center point but they were noticably slower so i primarily used the center point. I dont own any 5.6 lenses anymore to test this out on tough

C-AF 1.4X TELEPLUS MC4 DGX

No tape trick necessary. It reports f/8 but my 60D still autofocuses. It's not the quickest AF at f/8 but still accurate.