Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM Lens for Canon EOS Cameras

by Canon

• Ultra-compact 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens with f/4.5 to 5.6 maximum aperture
• Super-fast and silent autofocus with ring-type USM; 4.6-foot close focus distance
• Optimized to suppress ghosting and flaring; zoom lock button keeps lens secure
• Measures 3 inches in diameter and 5.6 inches long; 1-year warranty; accepts 58mm filters

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 3.9 x 3.2 x 3.2 inches ; 1.6 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0001G6U3Y
• Item model number: 9321A002
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (63 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 9, 2004

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Canon raises the stakes for professional photography with its EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM telephoto lens with image stabilization. Thanks to a new triple-layered diffractive optical element (DO), this 70-300mm lens is less than 4 inches (10 cm) long. It can focus down to 4.6 feet (without rotating the front element) and a new zoom lock button keeps the lens safe and secure when not in use or used at the wide angle. A virtually silent ultra-sonic motor (USM) gives the lens extremely fast autofocus. The lens also includes Canon's Image Stabilization technology to dramatically reduce camera shake, compensating for approximately three stops in shutter speed without any perceptible increase in image blur. It's a great choice for professional photojournalists and serious advanced amateurs who need to contain the size and weight of equipment carried.

DO Elements
Use of the new three-layer DO lens drastically reduces the overall length and weight of the lens system increasing the refractive power of each lens element and reducing the spaces between elements. It's approximately 26 percent shorter and 36 percent lighter than any lens of comparable specifications.

Zoom lock
The EF 70-300mm lens features a zoom ring locking mechanism, locking the lens at its shortest total length. This helps to protect the lens from potential damage by preventing the zoom elements extending under their own weight, which might otherwise occur when the lens is mounted to a camera that hangs from a neck or shoulder strap.

Image Stabilization
The lens incorporates Canon's Image Stabilization (IS) technology, compensating for approximately three stops without any perceptible increase in image blur when shooting static subjects or panning. This increases the range of circumstances in which hand-held photography is possible, limiting the need to carry a tripod.

Fast AF
A rear focusing ring type USM, high-speed CPU and new AF algorithms combine to give the lens extremely fast auto-focusing. The ring-type ultrasonic motor (USM) converts ultrasonic vibrational energy into rotational force to deliver high-speed, high-precision, super efficient and virtually noiseless auto focusing, with good holding torque for rapid response and accurate stopping. Full-time manual override is featured, removing the possibility of damage to the autofocus mechanism during manual focus. The lens has a minimum focusing distance of just 1.4m throughout the entire zoom range.

Ready for Digital Photography
The lens shape and coatings have been optimized to suppress ghosting and flaring, making this lens ideal for use with digital cameras that are more susceptible to reflections off the recording media than are film cameras.

Working with EOS
The drive pattern of the lens is tailored to specifically match that of the latest EOS range, extracting maximum benefit from the lens' speed advantage. The lens comes with a case LP1116 and an exclusive hood ET-65B for shading against unwanted direct light.

Product Description

The Canon EF 7-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens provides superior performance in an ultra-compact telephoto zoom lens with Canon's Image Stabilization. These Diffractive Optics elements are combined to reduce size and boost image quality. AF is super-fast and silent with a ring-type USM, and it focuses down to 4.6 feet without rotating the front element. A new zoom lock button keeps the lens safe and secure when not in use or used at a wide angle.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

195 of 197 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Lens January 29, 2006

By L C

Amazon Verified Purchase

I love this lens. I'd like to compare it to the canon 70-200 f/2.8 L, because I own that too. I originally bought the 70-200 because I really like the L series glass, having previously purchased other L lenses. I am a small woman and I found it to be very cumbersome and often left it at home (though it is an excellent lens on it's own) because of it's size. My husband suggested the 70-300 f/4-5.6 DO IS as an alternative. I am SO pleased with the lens. I recently shot over 250 photos at a zoo. All hand held, something I could NOT do with the 70-200, and many at the extreme 300mm. The IS is amazing, the weight of the lens very manageable. It was a cloudy, sometimes rainy day and yet the colors were true and the focus, even in low light situations, very accurate. I used no flash, even indoors. The photos through glass and mesh were so clear, you'd never know either were there. On a sunny day practice shoot, I had no trouble with lens flare, even without using a hood. (I was trying to get flare, just because it was mentioned in other reviews.) So, if you do not wish to haul a heavy lens around and you want all the benefits of an L series photo, I would recommend this lens.

149 of 150 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Lens! December 31, 2005

By George Mitsuoka

I originally purchased the other (non-DO) Canon 70-300mm zoom lens but found so many annoyances with it that I returned it. I find this DO lens to be much, much nicer and worth the extra cost. The issues I had with the non-DO lens were: it's big and noisy (focus and IS); slow to focus; if pointed down, the lens violently pops-out to full zoom, thus requiring use of the zoom lock whenever not in use; the filter ring rotates during zoom, making use of a polarizing filter difficult; you cannot manually focus if the lens is in AF mode; chromatic aberrations were noticable.

The DO lens has none of these issues: it is compact (about the same size as the Canon EFS 17-85), quiet, and fast focusing. The lens holds its focal length if pointed up or down. The filter ring does not rotate during zoom, and you can manually focus whether in AF or MF mode. I've seen no chromatic aberrations with this lens. Shots are clear and crisp throughout the entire range.

I didn't consider the highly-rated L series lenses because I knew that I wouldn't regularly carry such a large and obtrusive lens. I can literally carry this DO lens in my jacket pocket wherever I go, and not attract a lot of attention when it's mounted on my camera. Your needs may vary.

It's also a pleasure to own what I consider to be a technological marvel. With excellent image stabilization and autofocus, and being one of only two SLR lenses in the world to use diffractive optics (the other one costs over $5k), this lens defines state of the art.

203 of 209 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Criminally bum rapped. June 7, 2005

By jabdigital

Amazon Verified Purchase

I spent weeks in forums reading up on this lens, and always seemed to come across a mixed bag of comments about it. I've had it for about a month, and I have taken a good amount of pictures with it. It does take great pictures, all the way up to 300mm. There is a touch of softness at 300mm, but this can all be taken care of using an unsharp mask in Photoshop/Paint Shop Pro/etc..... As a matter of fact, this lens seems particularly receptive to sharpening. People swear by L lenses, but if it's between this lens and say the 70-200mm IS you're talking about a minimal difference in sharpness out of the camera, and the 70-200mm IS costs more with less of a range. The DO is also black, and the DO technology enables it to be much smaller than you'd expect. At full zoom it is smaller than the 70-200mm IS or non-IS!! I took this lens to a NY Mets baseball game, and did not stick out like a sore thumb. YOU CAN TAKE THIS LENS ANYWHERE!!! The image stabilization is great, and has 2 modes you can use.

I am very satisfied with this lens. Don't let the L snobs sway you away.

I bought this for 1169.95 and it's $30 drop to 1139.95 was refunded to me by Amazon. I wouldn't shop anywhere else.

great lens, great place to buy.