Customer Reviews

Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM Telephoto Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I got this lens for shooting architecture from a distance--an unsual application. I've also found myself using it to shoot kids soccer games. It's super sharp and very fast focusing. I haven't done formal tests at all apertures, but images appear vivid and contrasty at a range of settings. Online reviews rank this lens very highly and my own experience supports those findings.

The Image Stabilization seems to work very well, although be sure to turn it off if you're using a tripod--I've found that it can reduce image quality if you forget to turn it off in that application.

For shots where you'll be standing around a lot with the lens to your eye, ready for a shot, it gets kind of heavy to carry. If you're shooting sports, you might want to consider a monopod. For other applications, its weight is low enough not to be too big of a problem.

It comes with a canvas-like case that includes a loop you can use to attach it to your belt. I've found this works pretty well out in the field, particularly when combined with a photo-vest. The case also can be carried with a neck strap, but this gets in the way of your camera strap and is also thin, so it kind of cuts into your shoulder.

As I write this, the Amazon site has a link for 58mm filters for this lens. It takes 77mm filters.

On a 30D and Digital Rebel XT, I tested this lens against my Canon EF70-200mm F/2.8L USM IS with 1.4x extender, and against the EF70-300mm F/4.5-5.6 USM IS lens. I can honestly say, there is a noticeable sharpness and contrast improvement of the 300mm F/4 USM IS lens over the other two configurations. Bokeh is very good with the 300mm lens. I cannot complain. Would the extra $3K be worth it for the F2.8 300mm lens? Only if you make enough money from this field to pay for it AND make some profit. Otherwise, I'd get this lens to fill the position. Then only if it sees an abundance of work would I consider looking at the bigger brother. Selling this one as used and upgrading later would be more like renting it for a cheap price because it holds it's value.

Back to my comparison: The 70-300mm lens was sharper than the 70-200mm w/1.4x wide open, but the results were reversed when stopping these two combinations down. the 70-200 and the 300mm here have better color than the 70-300 zoom I tested. The issue with the 70-200mm w/1.4 extender is, I was unhappy with the bokeh (background blur) using the extender. I'd hate to see how bad this is with the 2x extender. In my opinion, and I admittedly pixel-peep, but if you are wanting to shoot at 300mm, and find yourself zooming as far as you can, this lens will deliver the goods. Everyone else basically says this lens beats the 100-400mm L zoom, and although I've yet to test one of those, I hear that the 100-400mm L zoom is not "L" sharp at anything above 300mm unless you stop it down. However, I understand that the 100-400mm L zoom is sharper at 400mm wide open, than the 300mm L w/1.4 extender. For this point, I'd consider whether you're shooting a cropped sensor or full-frame (I prefer the former, actually--long story)

Would I choose the 400mm non-IS lens? No. I don't know anyone who can shoot at 400mm without a tripod unless the sun is out and light is bright. Even then, I'd still prefer at least a monopod. At 400mm even IS would be limited. Even the 300mm tested here is difficult to hand-hold with IS and nearly impossible without IS. IS makes a tremendous difference, but not having it would require a tripod. I don't always want to carry one.

I took a star off on my review only because I found the AF pretty lousy. It does a great job of what it does (focus), but hunts an awful lot if the background is busy enough. About 20% of the time, I've had to simply disable it. Don't let this scare you away. No, it is sweet when the composition is sparse, or your subject is quite obvious. But if you're shooting birds in a tree, it may hunt.

Noisy IS? My copy seems rather quiet, but it does exhibit little clunks when starting and stopping IS. Honestly, this happens in my more expensive 70-200 L USM IS, and it happens all the time on nearly every car's A/C compressor when it starts and stops every 30 seconds during the summer. It's a normal thing. Maybe Canon will put a clutch in the IS later on, right?

Bottom line, if resolution, contrast, color, and sharpness is what you're after and you don't mind the fact that you don't have zoom, you'll like this lens. the price for what you get is not bad, especially when compared to the faster 300mm L lens Canon offers.

This is my favorite lens. I could not carry the heavier long range teles, and it was a hard decision for me. In the end, I chose this because it was lighter than the zooms.

Having previouly used the 75-300 IS zoom, I was leary of getting another 300mm prime, because I may miss the 70-300 range of shooting. But the clarity and colors are so true for this 300 prime, I don't look back.

Easy to handle, not so bulky. Fast, impressive photos. Even when I add a 1.4 teleconverter shooting in the 500mm range on my 20D. I use the f4 alot, no problem, great clarity. Awesome lens for the price.

I recently purchased this lens and have been extremely impressed with the results it produces. The "IS" works extremely well.

I was a little concerned at first because the "IS" makes a little humming noise when in operation. I thought it was an issue at first due to the fact that my other "IS" lenses don't make the same noise, but found out it is completely normal for it to make the little humming noise that it does. I tested it out by turning off the "IS" and focusing in on a subject while hand holding my Canon 30D and I was moving around all over the place. Then I turned on the "IS" and it immediately made the image through the viewfinder much more steady and controled. It's nothing short of amazing.

The focus is quiet and quick, what more could you ask for? It provides crystal clear shots as long as your shutter speed is over 1/30th (hand held with IS on). If you combine a tripod and this lens in "IS" mode, you will lose image quality, so ensure you turn off the "IS" if you are using a tripod.

With the 1.4x teleconverter, it works great. Taking the 300mm and converting it to 420mm gives you a serious amount of "reach" for under $300 for the 1.4x teleconverter. The IS and the Autofocus work great with the 1.4x teleconverter, but I did notice the focus seemed to take just a touch longer, but it's so minor that most individuals probably wouldn't even notice. Combined with the 1.4x teleconverter, your F4 lens will convert to a F5.6 lens.

With the 2.0x teleconverter, you get range that you wouldn't be able to get unless you paid huge $$$ for a 600mm prime. The IS works well with the 2.0x but you lose the option for Autofocus. So if you stack this 300mm lens with a 2.0x teleconverter you will be manually focusing all your shots. Combined with the 2.0x teleconverter, your F4 lens will convert to F8.

Overall, this is a great lens at a great price, especially when you compare it to it's big brother the 300mm F2.8 that sells for nearly double the price of this lens. If you purchase this lens, you won't be disappointed.

I am very satisfied with this lens. I have not tried it with the 1.4 extender yet,but if it is as good with the extender as the reviews, I will be more satisfied than I am now.
The quality of sharpness is better than any lens I have purchased before. For the price it is probably the best in class. I have to have IS because of my age I have a slite shake when taking photos handheld. The lens takes very sharp photos even with my shaking hands.
I have taken some test shots on a tripod with the 2x extender with quite a bit of quality. It does take a solid built tripod to hold it. There is no allowance for any movement with the 2x extender,and it takes me awhile to ajust and focus in. So I would not recommend using it for action photography. Also you lose auto focus.
The 1.4x is suppose to work a lot better . Will update when I receive my 1.4x
So far I am satisfied completely,with the sharpness and build quality.
4/25/2007 I purchased a 1.4 extender and have tried it with the 300 prime,even in very cloudy weather I have taken very sharp photos. It does work as I had hoped it would,even dropping to F 5.6.

Over seven years I've found the 300 f/4 IS to be a solid performer. I still recall how amazed I was at the brightness of the image in the viewfinder when I first purchased this lens. Autofocus is quick and sure; if you have trouble with autofocus check the camera settings to see if you are in single shot mode, as the AI focus modes yield different behavior. The contrast and sharpness are excellent, and fall off a bit toward the corners of the frame. Resolution improves somewhat when the lens is stopped down to f/8. If you shoot wildlife and want to take the edge off of the white finish, some camoflage tape on the built in lens hood will help.

I own the EF 2x II teleconverter, which provides better performance than one might expect for a 300mm lens in this price range. With my 300 f/4, I get noticeably better resolution stopped down to f/16 than I do wide open, though the falloff toward the image corners is still sometimes unacceptable. Knowing this has not caused me to remove the teleconverter to photograph a bull elk in rut, so obviously I can live with this.

I tried mating the 300mm f/4 with various Kenko extension tubes to increase close focusing performance, but here the lens fell flat: both contrast and resolution were awful. I am unable to explain why. My solution was to buy the incredible Canon EF 180mm Macro lens for chasing insects, and I am happy I did.

While I appreciate the availability of the image stabilizer system in this camera, I still use (and recommend) a tripod whenever possible. If you plan to use Arca-Swiss style plates with your tripod, it is worth considering the Really Right Stuff double-dovetailed plates that accomodate a quick-release flash bracket. Kirk Enterprises has a less efficient system for lens-based flash brackets. While most of my plates are from Kirk, for this lens I grabbed the Really Right Stuff.

This is a wonderful lens. I'm using it on a Canon 30D alone or with a Tamron 1.4x extender taking pictures of moving birds in dark conditions or close-ups of insects when I don't have time to change lenses. I can zoom in on the computer 3-4 times and still see a crisp picture. The auto-focus is crisp and it's very pleasurable to hear it snap onto a subject. With a tiny subject surrounded by large objects, it gets very close, and it's easy to switch to manual focus and finish focusing even with my not so great eyesight. It's relatively light weight is a help and I'm amazed at what I can take hand-held in difficult conditions no doubt thanks to the image stabilization. Now I wish I'd gotten the Canon 1.4x.

I prefer using my telephoto lenses while on the hoof (rather than plant myself somewhere with it fixed on a tripod) so I was in the market for a reasonably priced ($1000-$2000) Canon telephoto with image stabilization. This one, the 300mm, was the longest range I could get for my target price with IS. I worried it wouldn't be long enough and I'd miss the extra 100mm (I sold my 400mm without IS in order to fund the purchase of the 300mm) but what I gained is so much more valuable to me - I can now, with the lens on an APS-size sensor camera, have a handhold-able, walkaround 480mm-equivalent lens (it was impossible for me to handhold the 400mm) - and as a result, I take it out to play much more often than I did the 400mm.

Add a 1.4x teleconverter to that and you have well over 600mm - and this lens is of such a good build quality that it easily handles a teleconverter with no noticeable loss of image quality (although I hear that with the 2x teleconverter the loss in quality is noticeable).

This is quite simply an excellent lens, good contrast and sharp, sharp, sharp. I've been very pleased with this purchase.

I took some great bird photos with this lens hand held with my EOS 30D.
It has very fast focus in AF mode and you can also use the manual focus in AF mode by holding the shutter button half way down. This results in very sharp images. This lens is light wieght and easy to carry around on those long trail walks..Its ease and versatilaty are excellent !!! Would highly recommend this lens !!!

This lens fantastic! I was able to use the canon 1.4 extender which, with the dslr magnification factor gave me a 672mm lens with full, quick auto focus and sharp as a tack resolution and clarity. I saw bird feathers I never saw before.

Stick with prime for nature photos. The zooms I own never captured the detail this lens has.