Today, Photopurity takes a look at the Canon 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Image Stabilized, USM lens. The 70-300mm is a popular telephoto zoom range among all the many manufacturers and almost every optics manufacturer has their own offering of this popular range. Nikon features the 70-300mm VR, Sigma their own 70-300 non OS and will soon be introducing the Sigma 70-300 Optically Stabilized lens. Canon actually has several lens in this range but the three most popular are:
1. Canon 75-300mm IS Lens – This was the first lens to incorporate Canon’s Image stabilization and was popular during its time although popular opinion seems to indicate that the 75-300 was quite soft especially in between the 200-300mm range. Photopurity will perform a complete review on this older lens when time is available.
2. Canon 70-300 IS USM Lens – This is the lens we are reviewing here. It is newer than the older 75-300mm and features a more advanced version of IS than the 75-300mm. Although there is a newer version now available from Canon the 70-300 IS USM is still an extremely popular lens among Canon users.
3. Canon 70-300 IS USM DO lens – Introduced in 2004, this lens is the most current Canon offering in the 70-300mm range. The Canon 70-300 IS USM DO is more compact (although just a tiny bit heavier than than the Canon 70-300 IS USM) but comes at a greatly increased price. Retailing for around $500 more than the 70-300mm IS USM the 70-300 DO is marketed more towards consumers that are more concerned with size.
So looking at the options that are available from Canon in this popular range, let’s go straight to the Canon 70-300mm IS USM lens.
Build and Fit
The lens isn’t particular large coming in at around 6 inches long and about 3 inches in diameter it will certain extend much further from your camera’s body than a prime or most small telephoto zooms. The lens is fairly lightweight especially when compared to the heavier but excellent Canon L series zooms. The lens is primarily constructed out of plastic which helps keep the weight down but does lend itself to that typical weak plasticky feel. While using this lens I’ve not had any problems with scrataches, wear or tear although I’m not particularly abusive with my lenses.
Ergonomics
The lens’ ergonomics are typical Canon functionality. There is a on/off switch on the side for the Image Stabilization system as well as another switch for which mode to operate in. The zoom action is a typical twist that is neither too stiff nor too lose. A conveniently placed manual ring allows you to at any time jump in and focus manually. I did notice that on the few occasions where I did choose to do this I had to search a bit to find it near the end of the lens. The manual focus ring is a bit small and can at times be difficult to find.
Image Stabilization
Canon was the first to introduce Image Stabilization and this lens features the latest (at the time of this writing) generation of IS. For a brief overview of Image Stabilization please Click Here.
The integrated IS on the Canon 70-300mm IS USM features two modes. Mode 1 is the standard IS type that was featured back in the Canon 75-300, in mode 2 the IS switches to vertical stabilization that allows you to pan with your camera and still gain the benefit of the image stabilization. Personally I don’t frequently need this type of stabilization and my limited experience was basically just to test to see if it works. It does.
The IS system of the Canon EF 70-300 is good for about 3 stops consistently of handholding. I did get some at 4 stops but in order to maintain a high rate of keeps I would say its about a solid 3 stops of handholding which really adds to the versatility of this lens.
Image Quality
The Canon EF 70-300mm IS USM is not designated as a professional or “L Series” lens by Canon. It’s considered to be an upscale consumer telephoto lens. With a price tag of around the $550-600 mark, its neither cheap nor expensive (as far lenses go). The results it gives however, are impressive. Understanding that you are utilizing a fairly large aperture in the 4.0-5.6 range the image quality is the best I’ve ever seen out of a consumer lens. The Canon EF 70-300mm IS USM does rival the performance I’ve received from my Canon L Series 70-200 f/2.8 IS lens which is about $1300-1400 more expensive than the Canon EF 70-300mm IS USM. That’s impressive. Granted the faster aperture of the Canon L 70-200 F/2.8 IS makes a big difference, if I didn’t need the extra speed the 70-200 offers I would have no qualms with using the Canon 70-300mm IS USM. I was very very happy with the results I received on my Canon 5d MKII with the Canon EF 70-300. Even indoors, with the excellent IS system I was getting sharp results.
Autofocus
I’ve said it before in just about every lens review but I’ll say it again. In my experience most autofocus problems are more related to the camera than the lens. Sometimes a lens will just hunt and hunt and then I try it on another camera and it works fine. I think that sometimes just a certain lens/body combination can cause problems. Nonetheless, I didn’t experience any difficulties with the CAnon 70-300. The lens features a USM motor which means that the focus action is quick and silent. When the motor is engaged you can barely hear it whirring even with the camera right next to your head so anyone more than a foot or two a way definitely won’t notice. The focus was crisp and responsive on a Canon 5d MKII and out of a sequence of 100 shots (action, stills etc) I got probably less than 5 that were out of focus. I feel like the photographer may have been more to blame than the camera or lens.
Conclusion
The Canon EF 70-300mm IS USM is an incredible lens for the price. Within its aperture range it will deliver professional level image quality. I was greatly impressed with the results from this telephoto zoom. I’m not the only one who’s been floored by its performance. Ken Rockwell (http://www.kenrockwell.com/) and Bob Atkins (http://www.bobatkins.com/) both have posted quite favorable reviews on this particular lens.
For the range, the price and the weight I will say that there is no other lens that can provide better performance than the Canon EF 70-300mm IS USM. Its a great lens to leave on your camera most of the time provided you don’t need the wider end. Combine this with a Canon EF 28-135mm IS USM lens and you may not need anything else.
