70-300mm F4-5.6 L Series IS Lens... WOW!!!

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captures.in.time

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Hi all

I have to say after my first trip out with my new 70-300mm L it is quite without doubt the best lens I own. I did not think anything could top my 24-105mm but this has!

The clarity it produces and sharpness of image is just unbelievable!

I'll post some images from my first venture out on Sat later as i'm at work just now... but just wanted to tell everyone on here how happy I am with my purchase... well worth the cash.

Yeh its quite heavy... but you soon get used to it... The focus ring and the zoom ring are kinda round the wrong way from most lenses... but again I very quickly got used to it... and in the hour and a half I had it out I probably had more "keeper" hits than ever... out of 40 or so images I have 20 complete individual keepers!

Yeh it only has certain uses and i'll never use it more than my 24-105mm due to its focal range... but JUST WOW!!!!
 
Hi Mark,

Seems you like it as Much as me, the Short Length is another Bonus. Have just acquired the Tripod mount ring, Pricey but a one off which helps when hand holding the Lens.

Hope to see some shots when you have the Time.

Regards.
 
One of the common complaints about this lens is that because the zoom ring is in front of the focus ring then you can accidently move the focus ring and change the focus. Presumably this can only happen if you are in manual focus as I'm assuming in auto focus moving the focus ring won't change the focus (don't have camera handy to test for myself)?
 
Jackwow said:
One of the common complaints about this lens is that because the zoom ring is in front of the focus ring then you can accidently move the focus ring and change the focus. Presumably this can only happen if you are in manual focus as I'm assuming in auto focus moving the focus ring won't change the focus (don't have camera handy to test for myself)?
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No. If the lens is set to autofocus and you move the focus ring, the focussing will change.
 
Sam, I've just tested this with my 70-300 IS and when in auto focus the focus ring won't move, therefore it's not posssible (on this lens anyway) to accidently change the focus while in auto focus mode (which is what I logically assumed). Presumably the same applies to the 70-300 L?!
 
Neil,

This lens, like most L series has full time auto focus, which means you can adjust the focus after the camera has focussed.

Personally I much prefer this mode of operation, I was out all day Sunday on Mull shooting wildlife with this lens and did not find I was catching the focus ring at all. It was my first outing with the lens and it stayed on the camera all day, it was ideal to take on what was predominately a walking day.
 
seltechpc said:
Neil,

This lens, like most L series has full time auto focus, which means you can adjust the focus after the camera has focussed.

Personally I much prefer this mode of operation, I was out all day Sunday on Mull shooting wildlife with this lens and did not find I was catching the focus ring at all. It was my first outing with the lens and it stayed on the camera all day, it was ideal to take on what was predominately a walking day.
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Sorry, but what do you mean by full time autofocus. All the lenses have an AF/MF switch so surely they are either auto focus or manual focus?

Anyway how was the lens. Happy with the results?
 
It means you can grab the focus ring and alter the focus manually at any time.
 
No, not just on L lenses.

Canon's USM and Sigma's HSM and whatever other makers call theirs allows you to adjust focus even in auto focus mode.

The Canon 70-300mm IS USM is an older crappier design and doesn't have the later USM that allows "full time" manual focus. If you try to manually focus in auto mode with this lens you'll b****r it, just like you would with an ordinary (non USM) lens.
 
Jackwow said:
Anyway how was the lens. Happy with the results?
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I am very pleased with the lens Neil. The picture quality was very good, the IS incredible and I had a versatile piece of kit that I could easily handle on a walk in rough country without carrying a sack full of gear. I think I shall be using this lens a lot, it did what I wanted it to do.
 
seltechpc said:
I am very pleased with the lens Neil. The picture quality was very good, the IS incredible and I had a versatile piece of kit that I could easily handle on a walk in rough country without carrying a sack full of gear. I think I shall be using this lens a lot, it did what I wanted it to do.
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I popped into the Canon dealer this morning with my 7D and 70-300 IS and tried it out. It's certainly noticeably heavier than the 70-300 IS but balances well and is superbly made. Autofocus is silent and very quick. I tried a couple of shots of the same object at 300mm with both lenses and the 70-300L is noticeably sharper and that's just checking on the camera screen.

Think I'll be buying one but not from the local dealer who wants the equivalent of £1250 whereas I can order it from DigitalRev for about £970.
 
Couldn't help myself so have just ordered it from DigitalRev. :D
 
Jackwow said:
Couldn't help myself so have just ordered it from DigitalRev. :D
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Well done Neil.

I think you will be very pleased with it. I can attest to its weather proofing as I had the large tailgate open on my car Sunday for a while as it was raining. I had the camera on a sling on my ID4 and when I pulled the tailgate down about 3 litres of water came off it over the camera and lens. I shook it off and went off shooting no problem.

As I said in my previous post this new generation of Canon lenses with the new IS are remarkable, you will notice a difference in the viefinder let alone the images.

Just the problem of waiting for it to arrive now eh?

Cheers,

Paul
 
I've had one for a few weeks although I've only just had a chance to take it to Chester Zoo. It's sharp enough to shave a wooly mammoth - a huge improvement over my old 55-250mm lens!

I've not found the focus ring / zoom ring issue a problem in practice.

My one complaint echoes the comments of many others: the tripod mounting ring is not only an optional extra but ludicrously over-priced as well. This piece of equipment is a vital necessity for me but perhaps not for those with younger and stronger arms.
 
its just a shame for my usual subjects that it isnt F2.8 ;) imagine the weight!!
 
At what point does it change to f/5.6? After 200mm I'd hope.

Any idea how that IQ compares to the 70-200 f4 IS?

/just answered my own question


Model f/4.0 f/4.5 f/5.0 f/5.6
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS L USM Lens 70-103mm 104-154mm 155-228mm 229-300mm
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens 70-84mm 85-134mm 135-224mm 225-300mm
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM Lens 70-94mm 95-184mm 185-300mm
Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM Lens 75-94mm 95-139mm 140-239mm 240-300mm
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM Lens 100-129mm 130-259mm 260-400mm
 
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Trixster said:
At what point does it change to f/5.6? After 200mm I'd hope.

Any idea how that IQ compares to the 70-200 f4 IS?
Click to expand...

I did a test on both lenses and the weather was overcast so not the best conditions, the intial shots from the 70-200 look better on the screen however when you crop down the detail and sharpness on the 70-300 pics was noticable better which suprised me as 70-300 pics on screen looked darker. used a 50d and there was nothing scientific about it just similar shots at varying F settings.

did know when it changed to F5.6 but cannot find it but I know it was not at 200mm it more around 110 or 120
 
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Jackwow said:
Couldn't help myself so have just ordered it from DigitalRev. :D
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Hi Neil,

If you ordered via DigitalRev's website, please let me know the order #, and I can follow up on the order for you and make sure that we throw in the Free Camera USB as advertised. :)
 
Hi Julia,

Yes, I ordered it via your website. PM sent. Thanks.

Neil
 
seltechpc said:
Just the problem of waiting for it to arrive now eh?

Cheers,

Paul
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Well Paul, it looks like I'll be waiting a long time, as according to DigitalRev I'm too much of a risk to accept my order?! :bang:

What a joke! :thumbsdown:
 
markelliot said:
Hi all

I have to say after my first trip out with my new 70-300mm L it is quite without doubt the best lens I own. I did not think anything could top my 24-105mm but this has!

The clarity it produces and sharpness of image is just unbelievable!

I'll post some images from my first venture out on Sat later as i'm at work just now... but just wanted to tell everyone on here how happy I am with my purchase... well worth the cash.

Yeh its quite heavy... but you soon get used to it... The focus ring and the zoom ring are kinda round the wrong way from most lenses... but again I very quickly got used to it... and in the hour and a half I had it out I probably had more "keeper" hits than ever... out of 40 or so images I have 20 complete individual keepers!

Yeh it only has certain uses and i'll never use it more than my 24-105mm due to its focal range... but JUST WOW!!!!
Click to expand...

So where are these samples, I'm curious to see how it performs compared to the 70-200 and 100-400.
 
Any luck with the photo's taken with the Lens.
 
Would be interesting to see the results. I have a 55-250 IS f4.5-5.6 and get good results
 
interesting.. im looking at a few zooms & its interesting to hear comparisons between the 70-200
 
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