Review 1 of 23
Price Paid:
$878.00
from www.jackthehat.co.uk Summary:
I bought this lens as I needed more pulling power than my 70-200 f2.8L IS could give me.
Initially I was surprised how compact and lightweight it was. It is no bigger than the 70-200 f2.8 and it is noticeably lighter too. This lens is easy to carry all day and is perfect for handholding so no tripod is necessary unless you're shooting in low light.
I was also surprised at how quick the autofocus is. Given that it's a 300mm lens the AF is extremely quick, far quicker than consumer zoom lenses. The lens has a switch that allows you to limit the autofocus to 3m-infinity which greatly speeds up the AF if you're shooting subjects over 3m away. Focus is fast with no hunting around, not quite as fast as the 70-200 f2.8 but almost as quick.
The lens' workings are entirely enclosed which means nothing moves on the outside of the lens during focusing. It also means there is little chance of any dust or debris getting inside the lens. Manual focus is available 100% of the time without having to flick a switch. The manual focus ring is large and perfectly weighted and a joy to use.
In line with most other L lenses, the filter thread size is 77mm which is great because you can swap filters with your other lenses without having to spend more money on expensive filters.
One of the best features of this lens is its built in lens hood. It slides out and then twists into a locked position where it stays rock solid. This is great, no more faffing around with flimsy plastic hoods that take up valuable space in your camera bag. It's also good if you use filters... just slip the hood back, change filters and slip out the hood again.
The IS is the older type which is suppsed to give you around 2 extra stops of shutter speed. It's good and does exactly what it says. Obviously with it being a 300mm lens the IS is less effective than it is on a 200mm lens but it's still a benefit you would be sorry to lose. People complain about it being noisy. Sure, it makes a low whirring noise but it's certainly not what I would call noisy. Put it this way - it's a lot quieter than the AF motor on non USM lenses. I use it for wildlife and the noise will never disturb your subject so it's nothing to be concerned about.
The lens really needs to be updated by Canon because it has no weatherproofing like it's newer L lenses which is a little disappointing.
Image quality: That's the easiest part. It's exactly what you would expect - crisp contrasty images with lovely bokeh thanks to its 8 aperture blades. Bitingly sharp images all round. Some people have said it is soft at f4. Certainly not on my lens. I do not hesitate to use it wide open.
With the 1.4x extender you'll get 420mm (or a whopping 672mm on a DSLR with a 1.6x crop factor). You still retain autofocus and IS which gives a very potent wildlife lens indeed - the main reason I chose this lens! The lens is far lighter and more portable than the 300mm f2.8 version and at almost a quarter of the price. If, like me, you shoot wildlife on a 1.6x crop SLR and love portability you must have this lens. The only real-world advantage of the f2.8 lens over the f4 is the extra stop of light it'll gather. Image quality is equally good on them both. Just up the ISO by 1 stop and you've saved US$3500 at the press of a button.
The lens comes with a great quality carry case and the tripod collar.
Strengths:
Lightweight
Portable
Built in lens hood
Great image quality
Fast AF
2 mode IS
Pro build quality
Good manual focus ring
77mm filter thread
Reasonable price
Good with 1.4x extender
Comes with good quality case and tripod collar
Weaknesses:
1st generation IS
No weatherproofing
Only available in white (not good for wildlife - or muggers!)
Similar Products Used:
Canon 70-200 f2.8L IS
Sigma 400mm f5.6 Customer Service:
Not needed (fingers crossed)
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