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Steve Langton
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Registered: Oct 29, 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Oct 29, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Very sharp
Light
Relatively cheap
Built-in lens hood
Works well with 1.4X converter
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Cons:
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None
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I've had this lens a few years and it's one of my favourites - VERY sharp, light, relatively small. Hardly any loss of quality with 1.4X and keeps AF. Fits easily in a smallish camera bag. Highly recommended.
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 Oct 29, 2007
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Phil UKNet
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Registered: Oct 20, 2007
Location: Thailand
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Oct 24, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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Capable of taking pleasing photos, weight and size for focal length, built-in lens hood
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Cons:
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IS noticeably less effective than current generation, unreliable focusing with 1.4x extender
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I would have rated this lens higher had I reviewed it before buying the 70-200mm F4 L IS.
The 70-200mm F4 L IS illustrates the improvements that have been made by Canon in recent years in the areas of image stabilisation and lens coatings. The 300mm F4 L IS is not a bad lens but the IS it uses does not freeze what you see in the viewfinder in the same way as the latest generation of IS used in the 70-200mm F4 L, nor do images taken with this lens have the same degree of 'pop' as that of the 70-200mm F4 L IS.
It's not a lens I use often. With an effective focal length of 480mm on a 1.6x crop body camera, it is quite specialised and not suited for general 'walkaround' photography but it is still a handy lens to have at times.
The IS works - and you can easily notice the difference if you switch it off - but, as stated above, it is noticeably less effective than the latest generation of IS.
Combined with the Canon 1.4x II extender, results have been variable. The extender doesn't appear to degrade the optics very much but focusing is a lot less reliable (although this could be due to focusing limitations with my 10D). I am hoping that a future 40D upgrade will improve this weakness.
I have taken some decent photos with this lens but the 'keeper' rate is a lot lower compared to the 70-200mm F4 L IS which is a lens I find difficult to fault at any level.
I like the convenience of the built-in lens hood and a tripod ring is also included.
There is a nice opportunity for Canon to upgrade this lens and work the same magic they did with the 70-200 F4 L IS. Were they to do that, I would definitely sell my existing lens and upgrade.
A few sample images at:
http://phil.uk.net/photography/canon_300F4LIS.html
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Oct 24, 2007
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john hutchison
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Registered: Aug 5, 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 40
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Review Date: Oct 23, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,308.00
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Pros:
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fast,sharp as a really sharp knife thats just been sharpened by a guy in a sharp suit,see sharp,uh light,
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Cons:
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3 day wait from hong kong,price £652($1308)but then the dollar aint been having a good time
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what i said^
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Oct 23, 2007
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Lennard Price
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Registered: Sep 18, 2006
Location: Canada
Posts: 97
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Review Date: Oct 11, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,000.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Brought my lowly Canon 350 XT to a new level
Focus is DEAD ON and FAST
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Cons:
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None
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After suffering with a Sigma 70-200mm 2.8 I jumped to this lens. Not sure if the Sigma or I was at fault but my keeper percentage went from 15% to 85% same day! Even as a newbie I was able to track baserunners during a MLB game with tack sharp focus. What really surprised me was that after I put a 1.4X TC on it the focus and speed still kept up!
Suggestions are always to upgrade lenses first and bodies second, and this sure held true with the 300mm. The 350XT feels like a totally different camera with the 300mm F4 IS! Yes, I'll upgrade my 350 in the future but until then I'll be very content with this combo... (Maybe a few shorter primes first!)
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Oct 11, 2007
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speedblade2
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Registered: Jan 11, 2006
Location: Singapore
Posts: 44
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Review Date: Jul 29, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,100.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Light, Sharp most of the time, build in hood is N.I.C.E.!, short minimum focusing distance.
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Cons:
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The IS seems to be not quite as effective as i had expected, coming from a 70-200 IS. The 300 f4 IS mechanism seems to be more jumpy and it's apparent when viewing through the view finder.
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Poured through the reviews and the consensus on this lens is stella! I agree, most of the time, except on the IS. It is really quite flaky.
Samples from this lens here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/weisphotos/tags/canonef300mmf4lisusm/
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Jul 29, 2007
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Ospi
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Registered: Aug 14, 2006
Location: Australia
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Jul 28, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,200.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Build Quality, Sharpness, Bokeh, Weight, AF
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Cons:
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Not much
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Bought this to replace my Sigma 70-300 and it was like taking off glasses that were not made for me, clear, sharp, awesome. Owned this for 5 months now and its been great, mainly used for motor sport photography but wildlife has been shot and the results have been great.
Selling this shortly for a Sigma 100-300 f/4 EX but only because i was finding the lack of versatility was an issue with my motor sport shooting, otherwise i would hold onto this for sure.
I really do recommend this lens.
Here is a sample motor racing shots and a shot of a Kookaburra.
http://ospi.smugmug.com/photos/175349663-O.jpg
http://ospi.smugmug.com/photos/175349813-O.jpg
http://ospi.smugmug.com/photos/133829413-O.jpg
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Jul 28, 2007
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factoryphoto
Online
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Registered: Jul 5, 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 296
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Review Date: Jul 20, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Best glass for the buck, bokeh is beautiful from this little guy. Build is CANON "L" period :)
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Cons:
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none this lens rocks
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Ive owned this lens for a few years and absolutley love it. I shoot motocross photography for a living and was very skeptical about purchasing the F4 instead of the F2.8 but the price was such a big difference I could not justify the extra $3000 dollars so I took a chance and went with the F4. One word___ WOW this is one lens that I will never get rid of even when my 300 F 2.8 comes in a few days I still will never get rid of this one. I have nothing but positive results with the lens.
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Jul 20, 2007
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HMZRHS
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Registered: Apr 10, 2007
Location: Brunei
Posts: 62
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Review Date: Jul 6, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Superb Outcome
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Cons:
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IS Noise
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Jul 6, 2007
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berksan
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Registered: Jun 13, 2006
Location: Turkey
Posts: 15
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Review Date: Jun 28, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Very sharp, IS, fast AF, very versatile ...
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Cons:
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IS + TC slows down AF
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WITH TC:
This is a very versatile lens. It's birding & close up lens at the same time. It's very sharp wide open and sharpen up, stopping down.
Birding: (wide open or one stop down)
For BIF(bird in flight) you can speed up AF by turning IS off. And AF is speedy enough to track even fast flying birds.
IS is very effective shooting still birds. It's possible to handhold it 1/60 and take tack sharp images.
Close-up: (stop down till f8-13 according to subject)
Perfect close up lens with IS from a distance(1,5 mt). Magnification is about 1/3 or more. Most used magnification of a macro lens. When you stop down to gain field depth, IS helps a lot.
WITHOUT TC:
Portrait and action lens. Not fast as f/2.8 but fast enough 
Good value for money !! It's my favorite and most used lens ...
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Jun 28, 2007
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breenj
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Registered: Sep 24, 2005
Location: Marshall Islands
Posts: 317
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Review Date: Jun 25, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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IS, fast AF, little quality loss w/1.4x extender, built in hood
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Cons:
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Not quite as sharp as my 400 f/5.6? (I'm just nitpicking here.)
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Not much to say that hasn't already been said. In a comparison, I found that my 400mm f/5.6 was a little sharper than my 300mm f/4 IS. But if the lighting isn't good, the 300mm will be better, with the IS.
Since I use it mostly for surfing (need longer focal lengths) I sold the 300 and kept the 400. I did feel the 300 was worth the price, but the 400 was better for me.
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Jun 25, 2007
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Wayneb
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Registered: Jul 2, 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Jun 15, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,125.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Very Sharp, I.S. works great even though it is an older version. Still sharp even with a 1.4x TC
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Cons:
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Lens hood does not move smoothly on my copy, my old non I.S. version did not have this problem
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I have wanted to get this lens for qutie awhile, I had the original 300 f4.0 L and I loved that lens. I can't say for sure but it seems to be as sharp as the non I.S. version I used to have and that was one of the sharpest lenses I have used.
I took a pic of some small text from 20 ft. away indoors at 1/25 of a sec @ f5.6 hand held with a tamron 1.4TC and it came out sharp and blur free. I can't wait to give this lens a good workout at a racetrack on fast moving vehicles.
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Jun 15, 2007
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ABSTRACT ART
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Registered: May 11, 2007
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: May 11, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,300.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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LIGHT WEIGHT (compared to my old 100-400 street sweeper). I like the retractable lens hood. FAST FOCUS. This lens will suit me well for portraits in the field, as well as street action scenes and the artsy things one can do with wide open aperture.
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Cons:
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Not an f2.8 - but then again I was not willing to fork over another $3,000.
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This lens, with its 2-stop IS and super fast focus, is hand-holdable. (The first thing I did was take off the ring mount.) The build is solid, and the glass is very nice. A keeper in my good-glass inventory.
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May 11, 2007
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zeytee
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Registered: Oct 24, 2006
Location: Malaysia
Posts: 116
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Review Date: Apr 26, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,100.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Lightweight, sharp, fast, built-in lens hood.
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Cons:
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2-stop IS
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It's my first L prime lens and as usual, it doesn't disappoint me. In terms of image quality, it's really good even at wide open. And the result improves even more as you stop down to F/8. Perhaps I'm lucky that I got a sharp copy. AF speed is reasonable on my EOS350D, and it's much faster on the EOS30D (applies to any other lens as well). The supplied tripod collar allows me to mount it on a monopod for a steady yet versatile shooting. It'll be better if the lens is equipped with the new 4-stop IS, or at least the 3-stop IS mechanism.
In future if I require a longer focal length, I might consider the 1.4X TC. I think it shouldn't be a main concern if it's used outdoor for motorsports or birding.
There are a few sample bird photos taken with this lens at Kuala Lumpur Bird Park. Mind you, it's my first time shooting birds, so it's considered an amateur shots.
http://www.pbase.com/zey/kl_bird_park
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Apr 26, 2007
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jcharity
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Registered: Aug 22, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 163
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Review Date: Apr 23, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Sharp, even with a TC it's still sharp! Fast focus, nice bokeh, beautiful color.
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Cons:
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Noisy IS system but I don't care.
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Apr 23, 2007
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Peter Wirtoft
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Registered: Sep 7, 2006
Location: Sweden
Posts: 2
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Review Date: Apr 20, 2007
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Recommend? no |
Price paid: $1,500.00
| Rating: 5
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Pros:
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Decently sharp, nice colors, Super fast AF.
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Cons:
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Not sharp enough for L lens, Price. Buy EF 70-300 IS instead.
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Yes, this lens disapointed me.
But so do most lenses.
I Compared this one with "EF 135 f2 L", "TSE 90 f2.8", "EX 150 APO f2.8".
This one is just slightly less sharp than the EX150. And EX150 is sharp.
And a bit more less sharp than TSE90 and EF135.
With extender x1.4 this lens gives you the same results as the cheapest lenses on the market. Nothing you like to pay $1500 and more for.
Do not misunderstand me. Without the extender this lens is super fast and gives you quite good results. But for the Price tag, buy the EF 70-300 IS instead for less than half the price.
Full size pictures at:
http://www.wirtoft.com/foto/EF300test/index.html
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Apr 20, 2007
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BillBrowning
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Registered: Oct 25, 2003
Location: United States
Posts: 51
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Review Date: Apr 16, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Sharp! Color! Contrast! Af speed! IS!
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Cons:
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Yes the IS makes a little noise, it may be a problem around birds, I don't know.
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I've had this lens over a year. I never knew how fast the AF was until I got my new XTi. I went to a Blue Angels airshow this week end and the lens camera combo were excellent! I have been a pro and now retired and this is the most impressive lens camera combos I have had. I've had Hasselblad, Mamya RZ, view cameras, etc. I still have my old professional negs and trans. When I scan them at the same pixal per mm as the Canon the Canon is as good as the best of my old work. And some of the old stuff is very soft, I was surprised as they made sharp looking prints. Often my pro work was printed 8X10 or smaller so a medium format neg is not magnified much.
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Apr 16, 2007
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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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170
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315129
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May 31, 2013
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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97% of reviewers
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$1,060.26
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Build Quality Rating
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Price Rating
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Overall Rating
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9.71
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9.12
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9.6
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