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Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens for Canon EOS SLR Cameras
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Purchase options and add-ons
| Brand | Canon |
| Lens Type | Telephoto |
| Compatible Mountings | Canon EF |
| Camera Lens Description | 300 millimetres |
| Maximum Focal Length | 300 Millimeters |
About this item
- 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens with f/4.5-5.6 maximum aperture for Canon EOS SLR cameras
- 3-stop Image Stabilizer for reducing camera shake; ring-type ultra-sonic monitor (USM), Macro Focus Range : 1.50 m
- Electro-magnetic diaphragm (EMD) helps create attractive background at large apertures
- Super Spectra lens coating and lens element shaping suppresses flare and ghosting,Filter Thread: 58 mm
- Suitable for Nature/concert/potrait and close up/product photography. Measures 3 inches in diameter and 5.6 inches long; weighs 22.2 ounces; 1-year warranty
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This item Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens for Canon EOS SLR Cameras | Canon Cameras US EF 70-300 is II USM 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Fixed Zoom Camera Lens, Black (0571C005) | Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras | Canon EF-S 55-250mm F4-5.6 is STM | Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras, 6473A003 (Renewed) | Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM Lens (Renewed) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer Rating | 4.5 out of 5 stars (1019) | 4.7 out of 5 stars (540) | 4.7 out of 5 stars (4084) | 4.8 out of 5 stars (2488) | 4.7 out of 5 stars (471) | 4.5 out of 5 stars (17) |
| Price | $499.00$499.00 | $599.00$599.00 | $199.00$199.00 | $299.00$299.00 | $177.99$177.99 | $477.99$477.99 |
| Sold By | PAGING ZONE | Photo Savings | Dodd Camera | Adorama | Global Camera USA | 6ave |
| Item Dimensions | 5.63 x 3.03 x 3.03 inches | 5.7 x 5.7 x 5.7 inches | 4.8 x 2.8 x 2.8 inches | 4.37 x 2.76 x 2.76 inches | 8.9 x 5.35 x 5.4 inches | 5.7 x 5.7 x 5.7 inches |
| Item Weight | 1.39 lbs | 1.57 lbs | 1.06 lbs | 0.83 lbs | 1.10 lbs | — |
| Lens Type | Telephoto | Telephoto | Telephoto | Telephoto | Telephoto | Telephoto |
| Maximum Aperture | 4 | f/4 | 5.5 | f/5.6 | f/4.0 | f/4.0 |
| Maximum Focal Length | 300 millimeters | 300 | 300 millimeters | 250 | 300.00 millimeters | 300 |
| Maximum Aperture Range | F4.0 - F5.6 | f/4-5.6 | F4.0 - F5.6 | F4.0 - F5.6 | — | — |
| Maximum Format Size | 35mm full frame | Full Frame | 35mm full frame | APS-C / DX | Full Frame | Full Frame |
| Minimum Aperture | 45 | 5.6 | f/0 | 32 | f/45.00 | — |
| Minimum Focal Length | 70 millimeters | 70 | 75 millimeters | 55 | 75.0 millimeters | 70 |
| Minimum Operating Distance | 1.5 meters | — | 1.5 meters | 0.85 meters | — | — |
| Photo Filter Thread Size | 58 millimeters | 67 millimeters | 58 millimeters | 58 millimeters | 58.0 millimeters | — |
What's in the box
Product Description
Product Description
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens for Canon EOS SLR Cameras
From the Manufacturer
Featuring the latest 3-stop Image Stabilizer for outstanding camera shake reduction, the EF 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM zoom lens also features super responsive autofocus. Replacing the popular EF 75-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM, the world's first interchangeable lens with Image Stabilizer (IS), the lens is expected to appeal to serious amateur nature and sports photographers looking to achieve outstanding results while shooting hand held.
Image Stabilizer
IS dramatically reduces image blur caused by camera shake. The EF 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM features Canon's latest 3-stop IS, a one-stop improvement over its predecessor. This allows shutter speeds up to three stops slower than would otherwise be possible, with no perceptible increase in image blur. Photographers normally shooting a 300mm frame handheld at 1/500 second can obtain the equivalent result with a shutter speed of just 1/60 second, vastly extending options in low-light conditions.
Gyro sensors detect unwanted vibrations, triggering the corresponding movement of a correcting lens group perpendicular to the optical axis. This alters the light path, returning the image to its correct position on the sensor or film plane.
The EF 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM provides 2-mode IS for shooting immobile subjects. Mode 1 stabilizes the image along both the horizontal and vertical axes. For shooting while panning to follow a moving subject, Mode 2 turns off correction in the panned direction and prevents the effect of dragging the subject back through the frame. IS switches off automatically when the camera is mounted on a tripod, thus preventing feedback loops between the IS sensor and stabilizer motor vibrations.
Superb autofocus
The micro USM motor found in the EF 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM employs ultra-sonic frequency vibrations to drive auto focus with unrivalled speed and near-silent operation. Good holding torque stops the lens with precision and accuracy, the instant it arrives at the correct focus point and without overshoot. A high-speed CPU and optimised AF algorithm result in a significant increase of AF speed compared to that of its predecessor.
A zoom ring locking mechanism is provided that locks the zoom at the wide-angle setting. This ensures that the lens is carried or stored in its most compact position, preventing possible damage caused by the lens extending and hitting obstacles when being carried mounted on a camera with a strap.
Pleasing defocused background
The EF 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM employs an electro-magnetic diaphragm (EMD) with a circular aperture. This helps create an attractive, even defocused background when isolating a subject at large apertures.
Image quality
By optimizing Super Spectra lens coatings and lens element shaping, Canon's engineers have been effective in suppressing flare and ghosting--more prone to occur with digital cameras due to reflection off the image sensor. By increasing light absorption, coatings reduce reflections off lens element surfaces to deliver crisp, undistorted images with natural color balance.
Focal length translates to 112-480mm equivalent in 35mm film format when fitted to EOS 20D and EOS 350D cameras.
The EOS system
The EF 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM includes distance metering information, providing compatibility with the E-TTL II flash system of late model cameras such as the EOS-1D Mark II N and EOS 5D. When used in conjunction with Canon's range of EX Speedlite flash units, the lens passes distance information to the flash algorithm for markedly improved flash exposure metering.
Accessories for the EF 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM include the lens hood ET-65B and the lens pouch LP1222* (*these accessories must be purchased separately). In keeping with Canon's Kyosei philosophy of living in harmony with the environment, the lens features only lead-free glass.
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Product information
| Product Dimensions | 5.63 x 3.03 x 3.03 inches |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 1.39 pounds |
| ASIN | B0007Y794O |
| Item model number | 0345B002 |
| Customer Reviews |
4.5 out of 5 stars |
| Best Sellers Rank | #210 in SLR Camera Lenses |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Date First Available | June 17, 2003 |
| Manufacturer | Canon Cameras US |
Warranty & Support
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Product guides and documents
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonReviewed in the United States on February 18, 2015
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I have been trying to justify buying the f/2.8 - 70-200 IS II L version but just cannot justify paying 5.5x the cost for that lens. That lens also weighs a ton and would really be too heavy to carry around attached to my camera body.
I compared my photos of ducks taken with the EF 70-300 IS lens with some professional shoots of ducks with the EF 70-200 IS - 2.8 L II and just cannot justify buying it. It is better in low light but these lenses are really used for outdoor daytime shooting. BTW, My lens also shoots great night-time photos of lighted buildings and streets and even the Moon. This is just a great all around lens.
On a cropped sensor frame body this lens has a wonderful review from Photozone. On a full frame body the testing is less amazing but still pretty darn good. But most lenses do worse on full frame camera bodies.
Will be keeping this lens as my main go to lens. I also have the Canon EF 1.8 II and for $115 bucks it is fantastic. Actually has a better write-up than the 1.4. But when I compare the 70-300 with it, no comparison in quality build and overall picture taking versatility. F/ I.8 prime is better in low light and therefore use it indoors for taking portrait pictures. It is fantastic.
If you need a very good 70-300 IS zoom for a DSLR Canon body, this is it!
3/16/2012 Initial Post Below:
Works great. Lens is everything you need in a 70-300mm Format. Great on 1.6 cropped sensor cameras just check Photozone review. This lens does everything well. Zoom, autofocus and IS work very well. Clarity is top notch. This lens would be a steal at twice the cost.
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens for Canon EOS SLR Cameras (Camera)
Just got it today. Researched this lens, and others, for many weeks. I read all the reviews by consumers and "experts" and determined that this lens had the least "negative" reviews in its class. This lens may not be a Canon L lens but at around 1 thousand dollars less it is a steal. I tested this lens on my Canon T3i at all zoom points both indoors and out. The "IS" works great and is pretty quiet. The "IS" function switch has two positions, "1" is for shooting still objects and "2" is for panning moving objects. The autofocus is spot on indoors under normal room lighting conditions. The autofocus is also pretty quiet. This lens far exceeded my expectations. This lens is relatively light for this type focal length yet it feels well built. It functions smoothly and is just a pleasure to use. The zoom lock switch is a nice feature. The 200mm & 300mm zoom points were sharp when shooting outdoors at buildings and trees. Some of the bad reviews I read about the 300mm zoom point being soft is not valid. The bricks and mortar lines on buildings were straight and detail was great. The tree branches were sharp as well as the pigeons on them and on the building ledges. I live in downtown Manhattan and face, Freedom Tower, it is still being built and I can see the cranes and steel frame of the building as well as the other buildings being built. The lens has no problem in taking spot on shots of the downtown area.
I also bought this lens because it can be used on both full frame and cropped frame Canon cameras. This EF lens is made in Japan and not China.
I will provide future updates as to whether its durability under normal use is up to par. Based on what I have already seen, this is "ounce for ounce" and "dollar for dollar" one of the best 70-300 IS USM Lenses around.
UPDATE: 3/17/2012 - Night time shooting off my terrace was great. Using a tripod I set my Canon T3i manually to ISO 200 @ 1 second shutter speed with "IS" off. Pictures of lit up buildings in downtown Manhattan came out sharp and no flaring noticed at all focal lengths. Then I took the T3i indoors under normal incandescent lighting and used ISO 400 or 800, depending on zoom lengths, @ 1/10th second shutter speed with "IS" off & no flash. Pictures again just came out great at all focal zoom points. This is just a wonderful lens. Very happy with it.
Will update about durability as time moves on.
UPDATE: 3/19/2012 - Today I extensively tested the "IS" feature. I was able to consistently hand hold this lens at 1/10th , 1/20th and 1/30th second shutter speed at all zoom focal lengths. You indeed need a steady hand and body to do this but the tripod will always give you a slightly sharper picture w/o using "IS". Hand held, with the onboard flash, the pictures of course come out sharp. I have no complaints at all about the "IS".
UPDATE: 3/20/2012 - Today I extensively tested "Autofocus". Under normal indoor lighting the auto focus works fine at all zoom points. The auto focus, under conditions where your eyes find it hard to identify the color of objects, starts to bug it out. This however is very normal with any auto focus system on any lens. The system just cannot detect properly the bounce back from an object that does not reflect enough light for the sensor to determine proper distance. If you switch to manual focus and focus on a point your eyes can resolve, you can then snap the shot. Based on 4 days of shooting under outdoor daylight conditions, both sunny & cloudy, the auto focus was accurate. At night, outdoors, I was able to focus on lit up buildings w/o problem. Get this, I was able to use auto focus to take a picture of a single star in a blackened sky. When I looked at it on my LCD I could not believe it. The star looked the same as when I saw it with my own two eyes. I did this by placing the red dot of the central autofocus square directly over the star. It is really fantastic!
I will update my post when I have further information to report.
UPDATE: 3/21/2012: I have been mostly operating my T3i manually with this long zoom lens as well as other shorter focal length lenses that I have. I find that you can achieve a more life like rendition of the subject that you are photographing in the manual mode. Once you know the lens you are using the easier it is to approximate what settings are best. I look to photograph the subject as the human eye sees it and not as the auto-program thinks you should see it. The T3i, and other DSLR cameras, tend to overexpose the subject by using a higher ISO than necessary. I rather lower shutter speed than raise ISO on none moving subjects. Indoors I look to maintain a 400 to 800 ISO tops. If you cannot maintain this level of ISO, use a flash. When indoors I want the picture to look indoors. If it is night, I want the picture to look as if it is night. I use flash indoors only if I cannot achieve a picture that falls under an ISO of 800. That is my philosophy on taking real life like looking pictures. This lens operates very well manually and it takes great pictures indoors and outdoors.
UPDATE: 3/22/2012: I have come to the conclusion that faster & more accurate autofocus can be achieved under poorer lighting conditions when you use only the central autofocus square sensor. Just internally shut down the other peripheral sensors and choose the central red sensor. Then put the red sensor dot on the main subject or object that you want to shoot and the lens will have an easier time focusing. It works for me with this lens, and others, when you shoot under poor lighting conditions. It especially works well when the camera is focusing when using long zoom at 200 & 300mm.
I am not a professional photographer; however I consider myself experienced amateur.
I have been into photography since film, starting with 35 mm mirrorless cameras, then moving onto SLR and then, when first digital cameras showed up, I bought my first, under 1MP point and shoot.
Currently I own Canon 20D, 40D, 70D and 5DMkII. I also had a brief encounter with Nikon SLR as well as own several point and shoot digital cameras, including underwater and 3D.
I also print quite a few of enlargements at home using Canon large format printers (13x19).
My photography subjects include landscapes, cityscapes (both daytime and nighttime), nature, aerial shows, people, astrophotography and various others.
I do not shoot weddings and usually do not do typical portraits and my animal photography experience is somewhat limited.
I am not a pixel peeper. I do not tend to overanalyze photos and do not usually do extensive technical tests. For me it is mostly about look and feel and the perception rather than technical data.
Now, to the actual review.
I have owned this lens since 2006 so I have had some time with this and took quite a few pictures with it until I bought the 70-200 f/4L IS. This is the lens to which I will be making most of my comparisons.
This was my first of the lenses I purchased together with 24-70 f/2.8L and with Canon 20D.
My initial impressions were very good. It felt pretty solid, the focus fell fast enough and, being my first IS lens, I was very happy with the handholding at the high end of the zoom.
The quality of pictures I was getting very surprising to me. They were sharp enough; colors were really nice and overall I could not complain. This was of course long time ago and with 20D.
Then I purchased 40D and was even more happy with the lens for quite a few years until someone talked me into 70-200 f/4L IS.
Recently, I got into shooting aerial shows and some bird photography and started missing the long range; therefore before jumping into buying something else, I decided to revisit this lens.
This is one of the very few times I did some extensive comparison tests and here is what I found out.
Pros:
Gets you that long reach wen needed yet short end not too bad on full frame.
Comfortable in handling. Not too heavy and has a zoom lock.
Very good color reproduction. Not the type of 70-200 f/4L IS but it cost less than half of that lens.
Very sharp in the middle of the frame. Quite close to 70-200 f/4L IS on 5DMkII. Not so much on the 70D. When comparing it to 70-200 f/4L IS, both on 70D, the difference is visible, but at 100% view, and smaller sizes get quite close. I did quite a few comparisons from tripod in pretty challenging indoor light conditions, at f/5.6 and 100 ISO and I am quite impressed after all these years. This is all in full 100% view. At smaller sizes differences are much less noticeable. I would say that for prints up to 8.5x11 most people will not notice the resolution difference. Sharper than the EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM, which I also own, at comparable focal lengths, especially at the long end.
Does not get too soft at the long end.
Autofocus fast enough if you learn how to use the lens and camera combination. I had so few out of focus photos and get less of them the more I used it. Not sure if I would risk it for aerial shows since I have 70-200 f/4L IS and it works great for that, besides of course missing the longer focal length (more crop).
IS works very good and helps quite a bit, especially at the long end.
Decently priced.
Cons:
Gets little soft when you move away from the center. Little softer at the long end but again not that much.
Not as sharp in the middle on crop sensor (70D) as it is on full frame. This kind of surprised me but at the same time it needs more light at f/5.6 so should have been expected I guess. Again, this is at 100% view.
Autofocus and IS noisy, especially compared to newer IS zoom lenses.
Lens hood not included. Yes, I will put this as con, because Canon hood is not cheap and when I bought it there was no aftermarket available.
Neutral:
I am not so concerned with vignetting as newer cameras can correct for this pretty well or you can do it in DPP if preferred. It has some but in general gets corrected very well and if you shoot crop sensor or crop full frame photos it should not be an issue.
No manual focus in AF mode. Some may consider it as con but I almost never do that especially on long zooms. If I use manual focus I switch to manual focus, therefore this is not a problem for me.
Conclusions:
Very good general purpose long zoom lens.
If you shoot full frame, want to save some money and especially if you crop a lot in the middle of the frame, I would not hesitate to recommend this lens to you.
On the 5DMKII on comparable focal lengths it was as sharp in the middle as 70-200 f/4L IS was on 70D.
If you shoot crop sensor, then the verdict depends on whether you are willing to spend twice as much on 70-200 f/4L IS or almost four times as much on 70-200 f/2.8L IS or try some other options out there.
The difference in quality of photos may not be as noticeable as you think, however the handling difference would be quite substantial in favor of 70-200 f/4L IS.
Will I keep it? Maybe, it depends on whether I really will want or need ;-) more reach than 300mm.
If I decide that I do not than I will most likely keep it and use it more often going forward.
Attached below are few sample photos. Unedited, just some with 50% Digital Lens Optimizer applied. All taken with 40D.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 18, 2015
I am not a professional photographer; however I consider myself experienced amateur.
I have been into photography since film, starting with 35 mm mirrorless cameras, then moving onto SLR and then, when first digital cameras showed up, I bought my first, under 1MP point and shoot.
Currently I own Canon 20D, 40D, 70D and 5DMkII. I also had a brief encounter with Nikon SLR as well as own several point and shoot digital cameras, including underwater and 3D.
I also print quite a few of enlargements at home using Canon large format printers (13x19).
My photography subjects include landscapes, cityscapes (both daytime and nighttime), nature, aerial shows, people, astrophotography and various others.
I do not shoot weddings and usually do not do typical portraits and my animal photography experience is somewhat limited.
I am not a pixel peeper. I do not tend to overanalyze photos and do not usually do extensive technical tests. For me it is mostly about look and feel and the perception rather than technical data.
Now, to the actual review.
I have owned this lens since 2006 so I have had some time with this and took quite a few pictures with it until I bought the 70-200 f/4L IS. This is the lens to which I will be making most of my comparisons.
This was my first of the lenses I purchased together with 24-70 f/2.8L and with Canon 20D.
My initial impressions were very good. It felt pretty solid, the focus fell fast enough and, being my first IS lens, I was very happy with the handholding at the high end of the zoom.
The quality of pictures I was getting very surprising to me. They were sharp enough; colors were really nice and overall I could not complain. This was of course long time ago and with 20D.
Then I purchased 40D and was even more happy with the lens for quite a few years until someone talked me into 70-200 f/4L IS.
Recently, I got into shooting aerial shows and some bird photography and started missing the long range; therefore before jumping into buying something else, I decided to revisit this lens.
This is one of the very few times I did some extensive comparison tests and here is what I found out.
Pros:
Gets you that long reach wen needed yet short end not too bad on full frame.
Comfortable in handling. Not too heavy and has a zoom lock.
Very good color reproduction. Not the type of 70-200 f/4L IS but it cost less than half of that lens.
Very sharp in the middle of the frame. Quite close to 70-200 f/4L IS on 5DMkII. Not so much on the 70D. When comparing it to 70-200 f/4L IS, both on 70D, the difference is visible, but at 100% view, and smaller sizes get quite close. I did quite a few comparisons from tripod in pretty challenging indoor light conditions, at f/5.6 and 100 ISO and I am quite impressed after all these years. This is all in full 100% view. At smaller sizes differences are much less noticeable. I would say that for prints up to 8.5x11 most people will not notice the resolution difference. Sharper than the EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM, which I also own, at comparable focal lengths, especially at the long end.
Does not get too soft at the long end.
Autofocus fast enough if you learn how to use the lens and camera combination. I had so few out of focus photos and get less of them the more I used it. Not sure if I would risk it for aerial shows since I have 70-200 f/4L IS and it works great for that, besides of course missing the longer focal length (more crop).
IS works very good and helps quite a bit, especially at the long end.
Decently priced.
Cons:
Gets little soft when you move away from the center. Little softer at the long end but again not that much.
Not as sharp in the middle on crop sensor (70D) as it is on full frame. This kind of surprised me but at the same time it needs more light at f/5.6 so should have been expected I guess. Again, this is at 100% view.
Autofocus and IS noisy, especially compared to newer IS zoom lenses.
Lens hood not included. Yes, I will put this as con, because Canon hood is not cheap and when I bought it there was no aftermarket available.
Neutral:
I am not so concerned with vignetting as newer cameras can correct for this pretty well or you can do it in DPP if preferred. It has some but in general gets corrected very well and if you shoot crop sensor or crop full frame photos it should not be an issue.
No manual focus in AF mode. Some may consider it as con but I almost never do that especially on long zooms. If I use manual focus I switch to manual focus, therefore this is not a problem for me.
Conclusions:
Very good general purpose long zoom lens.
If you shoot full frame, want to save some money and especially if you crop a lot in the middle of the frame, I would not hesitate to recommend this lens to you.
On the 5DMKII on comparable focal lengths it was as sharp in the middle as 70-200 f/4L IS was on 70D.
If you shoot crop sensor, then the verdict depends on whether you are willing to spend twice as much on 70-200 f/4L IS or almost four times as much on 70-200 f/2.8L IS or try some other options out there.
The difference in quality of photos may not be as noticeable as you think, however the handling difference would be quite substantial in favor of 70-200 f/4L IS.
Will I keep it? Maybe, it depends on whether I really will want or need ;-) more reach than 300mm.
If I decide that I do not than I will most likely keep it and use it more often going forward.
Attached below are few sample photos. Unedited, just some with 50% Digital Lens Optimizer applied. All taken with 40D.
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On trying out the lens, whilst it appears to be doing what it "says on the tin" I am less than satisfied with the ( ultrasonic motor within the lens) Instead of the focusing immediately zipping into action it appears to keep humming. I do not believe it is perfect but have reed to give it another go this week.
Sorry for the negative response, It is the first time I have had anything other than perfection from you






































