Camera Lenses

MODEL- 9321A002 VENDOR- CANON

FEATURES- EF 70300 f4.55.6 DO IS USM
A superior performance, ultra-compact telephoto zoom lens with
Canons Image Stabilization. There Diffractive Optics elements
are combined to redue size and boost image quality. AF is super-
fast and silent with a ring-type USM, and it focuses down to 4.6
feet - withoiut rotating the front element. A new zoom lock button
keeps the lens safe and secure when not in use or used at the wide
angle.

-- SPECIFICATIONs --------------------------------------
Focal Length & Maximum Aperture: 70300mm 1:4.55.6
Lens Construction : 18 elements in 12 groups
Diagonal Angle of View : 34 degrees 8 degrees 15 feet
Focus Adjustment : Rear focusing system with focusing cam
Closest Focusing Distance : 1.4m/4.6 ft.
Zoom System : Rotating type
Filter Size : 58mm
Max. Diameter x Length, Weight : 3.2" x 3.9", 25.4 oz.
canonlens.com

User Reviews about Canon EF 70-300mm f 4.5-5.6 DO IS USM Lens for Canon EOS Cameras

I really wanted to love this lens, but today sent it back for a refund. As others have noted, the lens is quite heavy, and the barrel creeps outward on its own. [Yes there is a locking switch to prevent this, but it only works when the lens is contracted. You can't zoom out to a certain focal length and lock it at that spot.] The image quality is mediocre and the lens is so "slow" that any picture I shot indoors had to be at a high ISO in order to get proper exposure. Also, I found that 70mm just isn't wide enough a lot of times (even on my full-frame 5D II), so I was constantly backing up. Finally, the minimum focusing distance is about 4 1/2 feet, so again I found myself backing away from the subject. This lens is just not the right creative tool for me, so I'll try something else, like the EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM. -- It just didn't work out, sorry

I was looking for something to extend the reach of my Canon 18-200mm lens. I tried the 100-400mm and loved it, but found it just too long and too heavy for normal use. I tried the Sigma 150-500mm, but it was even longer than the Canon 100-400mm. I also tried the 70-300mm USM IS (non-DO) lens, but did not like the length of that lens either, so I ended up buying this lens. There are a lot of things I like about this lens.

1. It is short. It is, in fact, shorter, when closed, than my 18-200mm lens and a little easier to carry.
2. Even with the lens extended to 300mm, it is still relatively short. Especially if the lens hood is either reversed or removed from the lens.
3. The lens has a locking mechanism to keep it from extending when just walking around.
4. The pictures, out to about 250mm, are clear and crisp.
5. The colors are vibrant and true.
6. The USM is quiet and quick.

But there are also what I see as some shortcomings.

1. Pictures taken at above 250mm or so are a little soft. I mounted the camera and lens on a tripod, set the mirror lock-up and attached a remote release. But even with all of that the photos at 300mm are a little soft when viewed above 50% magnification. And, of course, pictures that I took at 300mm hand held also had some camera movement as well as being a little soft. This makes it difficult to get good pictures by cropping something small out of the photos.
2. It is heavier than the non-DO version (25.4 vs. 22.2 oz).
3. I found that I had a more difficult time holding my camera steady with this lens than the 100-400mm that I tried earlier. I assume that is because the lens is short and cannot easily be held from both front and back to steady it.
4. As other reviewers have written, the lens lock switch is not accessible when the lens hood is mounted reversed. Since I keep the lens hood mounted all the time, this means that I cannot lock it when I put it into my camera bag.
5. It is an expensive lens.

But, even with all of the shortcomings I am happy with this lens. The pictures, even out to 300mm, are good and I saw the same softness in the non-DO version as in this one. Since this lens is so short, and the throw is not great, it is easy for me to forget that the lens is extended to 300mm. If I carry my monopod with me, or use a tripod, the softness is not visible unless the photo is viewed above 50-75%. And, perhaps most importantly, the lens is easy to carry and so I will be able to use it when walking in the National Parks. I would have rated this lens as 5 stars instead of 4 had the photos been sharper at 300mm. I think that this is an expensive lens and, for the price, expected sharpness throughout the range. It is not an L lens, but the price is close and I thought the picture quality should be as high everywhere in its range. -- I like this lens

I finally decided that with the price drop on the used DO lenses that I'd plump down $820 for a used DO lens figuring that folks who own high-end stuff like this probably baby them anyway.

Summary: it's a _great_ telephoto lens that's very practical. . . depending one what you do.

Who it's not for:
Studio photographers with strobes can do the same with less $. In fact, any strobist's image can do just as well with a standard (non-L) lens, or better with the L lenses. Since the flash is already "freezing" the image, there's little advantage in the studio to having DO or IS. As a portrait lens, it works, but it doesn't work any better than a standard EF. For the same price, you can get a higher contrast L lens.

Who will like it:
Travel and vacation photographers will appreciate the ability to zoom WAY longer than any other light-weight zoom lens while still being able to crop back to 70mm. The ability to go on excursions without depending on a tripod is a HUGE plus. As an example, I remember visiting a few places in Murano, Italy where tripods were strictly prohibited and lighting was abysmal for the hand-holders. Needless to say, all of my shots were either blurry or noisy (in a bad way) when using my standard lens.

Who will love it:
All of you supposed photojournalists who like to "f/8 and forget it" pretty much need this lens. Photojournalist coverage seems to be the latest trend in wedding photography, a style that emphasizes composition and candid personality over staged, technical quality (of a strobist). This lens empowers the photojournalist to slyly maneuver into various positions to get THE SHOT, especially in difficult real-time situations when you can not hit the rewind button and try again. . . like in weddings.

Technical testing:
I tested this lens and benchmarked against my tried and true EF 35-105 f3.5-4.5. I was in a controlled studio setting photographing a brown wicker chair with a shiny silk pillow and a copy of the Economist (they have lots of charts with small lines). I set the strobes and took a reading with my Sekonic L-358: ISO 100, f8.0; a great test for you photojournalists.

Using a Canon 10D and a pan-tilt tripod, I took two series of images, 70mm f8 and 100mm f8. I captured Large/fine jpgs and imported into Photoshop. I visually inspected the images for contrast and aberration. There was absolutely NO visible difference even at 200% magnification.

HOWEVER, there is one very noticeable difference between the lenses. Something in the DO glass is slowing down the lens. The histogram confirms that the DO images are somehow darker than the non-DO images by almost exactly 1/3 stop. Naturally, I go back and recapture the image on my DO lens at f7.1 and voila - perfect exposure. So, maybe the new rule for photojournalists with this lens is to "f7.1 and forget it."

Conclusion:
Before we're tempted to knock the lens for being too slow, losing a 1/3 stop, not having clarity of the L lenses for the same price, etc. Let's remember that this is a specialty lens with a purpose. It's a portable lens that has all the clarity of a standard lens while offering a MUCH wider focal range. Will you see sports photographers using this? They would be stupid to do so. Commercial photographers are the same. At the same time, you'll be hard pressed to find a wedding photographer lugging around a 70-200/2.8L. Who wants to be the idiot setting up a tripod in the middle of the aisle while bride and groom are taking vows?

To make this lens even more useful, I'm planning to pick up a used EOS 1ds. It's an older full-frame DSLR that's finally dropped to an affordable price. The 1.6x crop factor on the 10D and similar SLRs make it harder to "fit" some images into such a tight frame. -- Great if you like to f/8 and forget it, or f7.1 with this lens... (read below)

For several years, I've been using a Canon 70-200 f2.8 L IS lens. With the IS II version of that lens coming, I figured the time was right to sell my 70-200 and pick up the new version. In the meantime, I wanted to try out this 70-300 DO lens. It has several distinct advantages over the 70-200 2.8L IS, which is generally thought of as one of Canon's best lenses.

1) You can actually walk around with the 70-300 DO IS lens on your camera while the camera is hung around your neck. That's not possible for any length of time with the 70-200, which weighs substantially more and is significantly longer. This isn't an issue if you're doing weddings and bar mitzvahs, or if you always work with a tripod, but if you want to walk the streets or theme parks with a long focal length lens, this lens is preferable.

2) You get an extra 100mm of telephoto range while still getting image stabilization. While some have spoken of the 300mm point as being somewhat soft on this lens, that's definitely not the case with mine. I took a photo of a 747 flying high overhead...with the naked eye I was able to see a dot from which the contrails form. In the photo, you could tell what airline it was and you could clearly and crisply pick out each of the four jet engines. Architectural detail was equally sharp even without post-processing. I would not say that this lens is as perfectly sharp as the 70-200 2.8, but the differences will not be significant after you've worked in Photoshop.

3) Smaller lens hood...easier to carry around. Smaller filter size...less expensive.

4) A perfect lens to accompany your Canon 24-70 L lens.

So what's the downside? The big one, and the only significant one for me, is the limitation in speed with an f4.5-5.6 aperture. With today's digital camera and high ISO capabilities, the real issue isn't so much speed as it is your ability to adequately blur the background if desired. While I thought I would find the difference substantial, I don't actually think it's that big a deal in practice. With both lenses on the shelf, I think the vast majority of the time, I'd reach for this one.

Others have spoken of the zoom lock on the lens as useful in keeping the lens at 70mm while it hangs around your neck. That caused me concern that the zoom ring would be so loose in practice as to be difficult to firmly set at any given focal length. In reality, that's not the case, and I never find myself using the zoom lock. The focal length stays where I've set it.

Overall, this is a wonderful lens, and while I had planned to trade it up to the 70-200 IS II when that comes out in another month, I think I'm going to stick with the DO for a while. -- Crisp sharp photos every time