I was impressed when I tested this lens a week or two ago.. but I'm even MORE impressed now that I'm using it in real shots. It quite simply produces results I would never have expected from a consumer grade zoom.
Here's a 100% crop from an informal portrait of one of my sons.. this was taken handheld on the 5D, ISO 320, 160mm, 1/125s wide open (f/4.5), straight out of the camera on default settings. --c
No doubt. This is one nice zoom. Give me an L version with a quieter and full time AF and I will be in heaven. For now, it is the best deal going. My poor 70-200f4 is really jealous now .
Here's a recent shot I took with my 70-300 I received a couple of days ago. Obviously I haven't had it for very long yet, and the weather in Minnesota has been terrible (as it usually is around this time of the year), so please forgive the somewhat uninteresting picture.
Canon EOS 20D ,Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
1/25s f/8.0 at 300.0mm iso200 with Flash
(It's a pillow in case you're wondering. Very little post-processing applied, it was very sharp to begin with.)
So far, I love it! I just wish it was bright and sunny outside so I could get some good nature shots. Not that you can't get nature shots during the winter months, but I'd like to get some nice bird and butterfly shots with flowers and such in bloom. Guess I'll have to wait a while for that.
FCWquest wrote:
Maybe I'm missing something, but that doesn't look all that sharp to me. Although, having used the lens, it is very nice for a consumer-grade lens.
some consumer-grade lenses can produce pro results, this is one of them!
FCWquest wrote:
Maybe I'm missing something, but that doesn't look all that sharp to me. Although, having used the lens, it is very nice for a consumer-grade lens.
Here's a 100% crop @ 300mm:
It's really not all that great of a picture for "testing" purposes. I'll try to get some better ones later when I have the time. charlesk's picture in the first post is pretty good though.
I wish people would stop trying to compare this lens to a 70-200 f2.8. 70-200 f4 is a good comparison (it's within the same price range as the 70-300), but NOT the 70-200 f2.8. For under $600 (the price will probably drop a little more after the New Year) this is a damn good lens.
I am thinking of buying the 100-400L lens. If some of you are selling your 100-400L to buy the 70-300 4-5.6 IS I wonder what the general consensus is on whether the 100-400L is a wise purchase? Is the lens nearing obsolesence? Obviously the 70-300 does not go as close and I would want to use a 1.4x extender. My main interest area is wildlife and birds and I ideally need to reach 900mm on my 350D.
Haven't had much Opportunity to get outside with it yet, but have been playing around testing the IS hanheld in extreme low light on still objects & I am just stunned at the preformance of this glass handheld under 1/10s, my keeper rate in this range is about 85%
This glass is a keeper, small/light and an outstanding preformer for the $525 invested
--c
