Canon EF 70-300mm F/4-5.6L Is USM

Hey Guys, I am planning on buying a new lens soon and I wanted to ask if anyone who owns the Canon 70-300L can tell me if they are satisfied with their purchase of the 70-300, by comparing it to 100-400 and other lenses regarding their sharpness, and it would really help me if you could tell me the pros and cons of the lens,

Thanks a lot,

Liav Zimelman

Personally can't fault it. Sharp as a tack right through the focal range. Extremely solid build, fairly heavy but I quite like that, helps to balance when mounted on my gripped body.

http://www.airplane-pictures.net/photo/441555/g-xlec-british-airways-airbus-a380/

Wow! That's awesome, thanks for sharing your opinion.

I'm using it with 7D and 5DM3, and I'm satisfied with it.

It's relatively compact and the IS works very good.

Please be noticed that the Canon's extender (1.4/2.0) can not be used with it.

Hence I always bring the EF400 F5.6 as well.

Schiba, as far as I know, it can be used with the 1.4x extender, but only when fully zoomed, so it becomes a fixed 420mm f/8.

But, as its max aperture is f/8, only 1D4 and 1DX cameras will autofocus with center point, exclusively. I'm not sure about 1D3 and 5D3 being able to autofocus on this situation.

I use it with my 40D and is amazing, neat, sharp, not so heavy, and does the right job. Also tried it on a 1D Mark III and works neat. I've heard that the Kenko Pro 300 1.4x extender works good with this lens, ONLY that it works on manual focus. Also searching a little bit more I fould this link http://www.imagesfromnature.co.uk/article/kenko-dgx-1-4x-tc-on-5dmk2-2424

the user states that it works with autofocus.

Go ahead, I was between the 100-400 and this lens, and definitely this one is better that the dust vacum as the 100-400 is known.

If you want to wait, perhaps in the next six months Canon will show up the new 100-400 "v2" that will be no push-pull system, only if your patience is as good as the wait

Thanks, Lvcivs,

After I got your comment, I confirmed that my Canon Extender EF1.4x did not fit with the EF70-300 physically. The 3rd party's extender might be able to use.

FYI - I have been using the EF1.4x with the EF400 f5.6, which becomes to 560mm f8, and the autofocus of my 5DM3 works properly after I updated the firmware.

Schiba:

http://petapixel.com/2012/10/18/strange-canons-70-300mm-l-lens-can-be-shoehorned-into-the-1-4x-extender/

Not official, though, and not recommended... but looks like it works.

Hi, Lvcivs,

Thanks for the info. It is highly informative.

Best regards,

Schiba7119

I have the lens for two years now and use it on both my 7D and 5D MkIII. I am very impressed with the performance of the lens.

I use it with the Kenko 1.4x and 2.0x teleconverters at all focal lengths. This lens is the only "white" Canon lens which cannot accommodate the Canon teleconverters. Just keep in mind that you'll loose 1-3 f-stops when attaching the teleconverters.

(I bought the new Tamron 150-600 lens earlier this year....and am I impressed with this lens!)

This post has been edited by Elmarié Dreyer on 29th August 2014 - 11:40

Do you recommend me thinking about the 150-600 as an option?

Jip! I find that this lens is a serious competitor for Canon...it's sharp, focusses fast, etc.

I suggest that you read some reviews on this.

Ok, thanks alot!

I use the 70-300L. I'm quite happy with it. The IS and AF speed is better than the 100-400. I also own the Kenko 1.4x, but it's not much help on my 60D as the AF usually misses at 420mm -- it can be used to about 370mm though. On my 6D it works fine at 420mm, AF and all, even though the camera claims it won't work.

I have a 70-300L for quite a while. I use it with my Canon 5D Mk III and it is very sharp across the full zoom range. I would also look into the new Sigma 150-600mm lens, which has been announced at the Photokina in Cologne last week!

Hi Uwe,

You have the combination I am thinking to purchase. I already have the lens, but now I am thinking to move to Full frame camera. How has been your experience with this lens and the 5Dm3?

The 70-300L lens has excellent sharpness and the Canon 5D Mk III a very fast autofocus system. You have to set the autofocus right for the subject. The user manual contains 500 pages of which about 100 are just dedicated to setting up the autofocus according to your requirements. Sounds very difficult, but there are about six or seven standard settings you can choose from. Canon itself has a series of tutorials on the 5D Mk III on Youtube. I started off with these. They are easy to understand and give you a good entry.