28-300 L or 70-300 L?

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hugues

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Looking for the elusive all purpose lens. Short list as above. Mostly outdoors use (people, landscapes, holidays, etc)
I've read the threads and image quality seems very comparable. I should not say this but budget important but not main decision factor.
Which ones would you recommend? Many thanks
 
Is this for full frame or crop ? if its a crop then the 70-300 will have some limitations for the uses you have, I have tried the 70-300 and it is a very good lens which produced some great pictures on a crop body. But if cost does come into it then you may want to rethink the list.
 
For the price and the weight of the 28-300 you can get the 70-300 (~1kg) AND the 24-104 (~670g) both L grade. You lose a bit of space and may have to change but it certainly widens the options and with the exception of about 28-40 you have the constant f4 aperture on the 24-105 and probably lower apertures for the lower end of the tele one. I don't have it, but would find the 28-300 too large and heavy for carrying on the camera all day.

As skiwhiz has said on a crop it's going to be limited, I personally find 24 limiting and normally carry a wider lens. If you were looking at two maybe something like a 17-55 f2.8 (EFS) or 17-40L would suit the lower end (or even the 15-85 EFS).
 
If it really has to be a single lens only solution then the 28-300L wins for having a moderately wide end.

However, if you are willing to carry two lenses you can obtain the following much higher quality pairs for a similar price.

Crop Body
70-300L + 17-55mm F/2.8 IS.

FF Body
70-300L + 24-105 F/4L

My preference leans heavily towards a two lens solution, but if you absolutely must have just one lens get the 28-300L. I think you may find for most scenarios you only need to carry one of the two lenses anyway. If I know that I will be shooting indoors I will always attach my wider faster lens (17-55mm on a 7D), whilst outdoors I tend to take the 70-300L. Both lenses are superb (just substitute 17-55 for 24-105 if FF).

One major benefit of DSLR's is that you swap lenses dependent upon shooting requirements. Why remove this benefit?
 
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The Canon 35-350mm 3.5-5.6 L is/was the better lens of the 2, the image quality on the 28-300mm L series lens isn't great for the money you're paying for it, you would be better off getting the 70-300mm L with the newer optics and IS system, by all accounts its a very good lens.
 
The 70-300L is definitely not an all purpose lens whereas the 28-300L is. However the 28-300 is twice the price and 60% heavier than the 70-300 so a two lens combination would seem a better idea as others have said. I have the 70-300L and love it but use it with a 15-85, which gets the most use.
 
Jackwow said:
The 70-300L is definitely not an all purpose lens whereas the 28-300L is. However the 28-300 is twice the price and 60% heavier than the 70-300 so a two lens combination would seem a better idea as others have said. I have the 70-300L and love it but use it with a 15-85, which gets the most use.
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What do you photograph with your 70-300, I've just bought the 15-85 which is the best lens I've ever owned! Would be looking for a 70-300 second lens!!
 
Many thanks for the replies. I have a 7D and also the 15-85 which I also think is great.
The point is well made. I was after the ideal one lens solution but that clearly does not exist, forgetting the point of DSLRs. I'm going for the 70-300L. Once familiar with this two lenses combo I'll look at the next purchase. Thanks again. Great forum!
 
hugues said:
Many thanks for the replies. I have a 7D and also the 15-85 which I also think is great.
The point is well made. I was after the ideal one lens solution but that clearly does not exist, forgetting the point of DSLRs. I'm going for the 70-300L. Once familiar with this two lenses combo I'll look at the next purchase. Thanks again. Great forum!
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If it's any help, I have owned both the 28-300L and the 70-300L, which I still have. Image quality is superb with the 70-300L, wide open and right through the zoom range. I was never happy with the 28-300L image quality and always found it a bit soft.
I'm using the 70-300 with a 5D Mk3 and I love it.
 
mjb123 said:
What do you photograph with your 70-300, I've just bought the 15-85 which is the best lens I've ever owned! Would be looking for a 70-300 second lens!!
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Mainly captive wildlife but also for street photography from a distance.
 
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