I sold my copy earlier this year - after I returned from vacation. I was impressed with the lens (especially the IS) and quite surprised at the image quality given the mixed reviews. However, I decided to sell it because of the drop off in sharpness at 300mm.
Since I'm planning on another long vacation in the next few months...I'm contemplating on getting another copy.
My question is simple...has anyone ever owned one that was sharp at 300mm?
My copy was somewhere between L quality and the old 75-300 IS quality.
I would think about the new 70-300 IS lens that just came out, there has been some real impressive photography and reviews on it. It is also 1/2 the cost.
Well, my copy of the DO did its job I think, but it was only after reading the forums, pixel peeping and getting rid of it, that I realized just how good it was.
Here are some shots at 300, as you requested, with minimal pp:
My DO is also soft at 300. Take a look at the MTF charts and you see that the new 70-300 IS outperforms it at 300mm. I highly recommend the new IS as opposed to DO. I say this as someone who owns both.
My first copy of the DO was very soft at 300mm, but quite decent at 70-200mm -- on a 20D if that matters. My second copy is actually quite sharp at 300mm -- as good/sharp as the 300mm "L" with IS I has in-between the two. But I've never tried my new DO on the 20D, since I upgraded to the 5D. But since it's so good on my 5D I'm sure it should be okay on the 20D.
