Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Review
06/11/2006
Now that I have the super wide angle covered with the EF-S 10-22mm
f/3.5-4.5 USM and the wide to moderate telephoto with the EF-S
17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM, the next logical progression for me is
to go for a telephoto zoom lens. There are quite a few out
there by Canon, and there are other manufacturers to consider,
such as Sigma, Tamron and Tokina.
I opted for Canon's EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM because it seemed
comparable in build and quality to the lens I already have and
the 4X+ zoom factor appealed to me. It has 15 elements in
10 groups of which 1 element is UD (to minimize chromatic aberrations).
Also, it is a newer lens with a more advanced IS (image stabilization)
and it was something I could afford at the time.
On my Digital Rebel XT, with APS-C size sensor, Canon's EF 70-300mm
f/4-5.6 IS USM lens would be equivalent to 112mm to 480mm on a
full frame sensor. That is quite a range for a telephoto lens and
my concerns were, at 300mm (480mm equivalent), will I be able to
take pictures when hand holding the camera or, will it necessitate
the use of a monopod/tripod (or some support). |
| What's in the box |
|
1 - Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
1 - E-58U Front lens cap
1 - Rear lens cap
1 - Instruction pamphlet (in different languages)
1 - 1 year Warranty/Registration |
| Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Specifications |
| Image size |
 |
Full frame |
| Focal length |
|
70-300mm |
| 35 mm FOV (Digital Rebel XT) |
|
112-480mm equivalent |
| Construction |
|
15 elements in 10 groups |
| Diaphragm |
|
8 blades |
| Maximum aperture |
|
f/4.0 - f/5.6 |
| Minimum aperture |
|
f/32 - f/45 |
| Closest focus |
|
59" (1.5m) |
| Max magnification |
|
0.26x (at 300mm) |
| Distance information |
|
No |
| Image stabilizer |
|
3-stops |
| AF actuator |
|
Micromotor USM with switch to manual focus |
| Filter diameter |
|
58mm |
| Dimensions (diameter x length) |
|
3.0" (76.5mm) x 5.6" (142.8mm) |
| Weight |
|
22.2 oz (630g) |
| |
|
|
| Other Information |
Angle of view - Full frame
(horiz, vert, diag) |
|
28.8º, 19.5º, 34.3º (70mm)
6.9º, 4.6º, 8.2º (300mm) |
Angle of view - Digital Rebel XT
(horiz, vert, diag) |
|
66.3º, 47º, 76.2º (17mm)
14.9º, 10º, 17.8º (85mm) |
| Front element extends (focusing) |
|
Yes, +0.65" (16.5mm) at closest focus |
| Front element rotates (focusing) |
|
Yes, 100º |
| Front element extends (zooming) |
|
Yes, +2.1" (53.3mm) at 300mm |
| |
|
|
| Optional (Canon) Accessories |
| Lens hood |
|
ET-65B |
| Soft lens case |
|
LP1222 |
| A close up view of Canon's EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM |
 |
 |
 |
| Front |
Lens Lock |
Switches |
 |
 |
 |
FD 70-210mm (lt)
EF 70-300mm (rt) |
FD 70-210mm (lt)
EF 70-300mm (rt) |
Left to right:
EF 50mm 1.4,
EF 20mm 2.8
EF-S 10-22mm
EF-S 17-85mm
EF 70-300mm
|
I would have to admit that I was somewhat surprised and dismayed
when handling Canon's EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens for the first
time. The zoom ring, and focus ring, would not turn. Hmmm... maybe
I should read the instructions.
In order to
rotate the focus ring, you need to switch AF (auto focus)
to MF (manual focus). Now I understand what it means when this
lens is NOT full time manual focus. Okay, I can live with that.
I would have to constantly remind myself that when I need to manual
focus, switch AF to MF. When rotating the focusing ring from infinity
to near, the front elements extend. Not only that, the front elements
rotate. That could be a problem when using certain effects filter
or a polarized filter.
In order to rotate the zoom ring, you'll need to unlock
the "LOCK" switch. At first I was a bit puzzled as to
why a
"LOCK" switch was required for this lens and no sooner
than I tilted the front of the lens down... "BANG", it
was fully extended. Now I'm looking at the lens and it appeared
to have doubled in size. Carefully raising the front end of the
lens and... "BANG", now
it's fully collapsed (how convenient). Canon's older FD 70-210mm
f/4, with a slide zoom/focuser, was fairly well damped and didn't
exhibit this trait. I should also mention that the
lens "LOCK" switch only works in the collapsed (70mm)
position. It would have been nice if you could lock the lens at
other focal lengths (but that's just me).
The quality of the build is less than what I expected. The zoom
ring doesn't rotate all that smoothly, but, on the plus side, there
is no slop in it. The focus ring, on the other hand, is very smooth,
but, has a bit of slop in it. The other thing I've noticed is,
this lens does not have a distance scale. Probably not important
in my case but still...
|
| Using Canon's EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
At 70mm
Focus: Infinity
|
At 70mm
Focus: Closest |
At 300mm
Focus: Infinity |
At 300mm
Focus: Closest |
When zooming to 300mm, you can almost feel the weight transfer
to the front on Canon's
EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM. It's not a heavy lens so most people
may not notice it.
The focus motor is fairly quite. In a quiet setting, you will
definitely hear it working. Autofocusing on the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6
IS USM seems slower compared to shorter lenses. Probably because
that is the nature of long lenses, or maybe it's just my lens.
When using AF (autofocus) at shorter focal lengths (70 to 200mm),
the focus is generally accurate. However, at 300mm when lower light
conditions drops the shutter speed down to 1/60 sec, it misses
the focus frequently even when there is enough detail in the scene
or on the subject. Also, it's lack of "full
time manual focus"
requires you to search for the AF/MF switch when you need to manual
focus.
There are two switches for the IS (image stabilizer). One switch
turns the IS on or off and the other switch if for different image
stabilizer modes. When activating the IS , you can hear a buzzing
noise from the lens. This is startling because on my EF-S 17-85mm
f/4-5.6 IS USM the IS is silent. The EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
has two stabilizer modes. Mode 1 corrects for horizontal and vertical
shaking for handheld shots of stationary subjects. Mode
2 corrects for vertical shaking for handheld shots of a moving
subject.
A statement I would like to make here is, the image stabilizer
DOES work and it works great! Some time ago when I was using an
ancient FD 70-210mm
f/4, handheld at 210mm, I would frequently end up with blurred
images when shutter speeds drop to 1/125 sec. Even at 1/250 sec,
I would occasionally come across a bad image. With Canon's
EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM, handheld at 300mm, I've managed to
capture some surprisingly clear pictures at 1/30
sec but at that speed and focal length, for me, it's a hit-or-miss.
At 1/60 sec I may lose 0 to 2 shots out of a dozen due to camera
shake. At 70mm I've had a lot of success at shutter speeds down
to 1/15 sec, and that is after having coffee in the morning. The
only word I can think of to describe the image stabilizer in a
lens of this length is... amazing.
Use of the image stabilizer
does have it's consequences,
and that is, it uses up quite a bit of the camera's battery. For
example, using the EF-S 17-85mm
f/4-5.6 IS USM (IS on), I can almost get 500 shots on a full charge.
With the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM, the number of shots is reduced
to 320 to 360. |
 |
Object: |
|
Waxing Half Moon |
| Condition: |
|
Light haze, cloudy, city lights |
| Telescope: |
|
None |
| Camera: |
|
Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT |
| Date Time: |
|
2006-06-03T20:57:50-07:00 |
| Shutter Speed: |
|
1/500 sec |
| Exposure Program: |
|
Manual |
| F-Stop: |
|
F/5.6 |
| ISO Speed Ratings: |
|
400 |
| Focal Length: |
|
300.0 mm |
| Lens: |
|
70.0-300.0 mm |
| Notes: |
|
Handheld, IS (image stabilizer), cropped,
100%, no filters or adjustments |
|
 |
Object: |
|
Full Moon |
| Condition: |
|
Light haze, city lights |
| Telescope: |
|
None |
| Camera: |
|
Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT |
| Date Time: |
|
2006-05-12T22:32:22-07:00 |
| Shutter Speed: |
|
1/1250 sec |
| Exposure Program: |
|
Manual |
| F-Stop: |
|
F/5.6 |
| ISO Speed Ratings: |
|
400 |
| Focal Length: |
|
300.0 mm |
| Lens: |
|
70.0-300.0 mm |
| Notes: |
|
Handheld, IS (image stabilizer), cropped,
100%, no filters or adjustments |
|
The photographs of the moon above are 100% cropped to 640x480 pixels
(no color corrections, levels or sharpening). It should give you
an idea of the resolution of the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM. |
| Photographs using Canon's EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM |
 |
| Subject: |
|
Moreno Valley |
| Model: |
|
Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT |
| Shutter Speed: |
|
1/320 sec |
| F-Stop: |
|
f/11.0 |
| ISO Speed: |
|
400 |
| Focal Length: |
|
75.0 mm |
| Notes: |
|
I had the lens set at 70mm but during the course
of taking this picture, I may have dipped the lens down, slightly
extending the focal length to 75mm. |
|
 |
| Subject: |
|
Waxing Half Moon |
| Model: |
|
Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT |
| Shutter Speed: |
|
1/250 sec |
| F-Stop: |
|
f/5.6 |
| ISO Speed: |
|
400 |
| Focal Length: |
|
300.0 mm |
| Notes: |
|
This is the full frame picture of the moon. The problem
with this shot is making sure you have your hands on the zoom ring
at all times. Otherwise the lens will collapse to 70mm. |
|
 |
| Subject: |
|
Cactus Avenue (hot day) |
| Model: |
|
Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT |
| Shutter Speed: |
|
1/640 sec |
| F-Stop: |
|
f/9.0 |
| ISO Speed: |
|
200 |
| Focal Length: |
|
300.0 mm |
| Notes: |
|
I had a lot of trouble with shot. It was 102°F
and the lens refused to focus. The heat rising from the asphalt distorted
the view. |
|
 |
| Subject: |
|
Stone Wall |
| Model: |
|
Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT |
| Shutter Speed: |
|
1/320 sec |
| F-Stop: |
|
f/6.3 |
| ISO Speed: |
|
200 |
| Focal Length: |
|
300.0 mm |
| Notes: |
|
Just a filler shot. I simply liked the geometry of
the stone wall. |
|
 |
| Subject: |
|
Palm Trees |
| Model: |
|
Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT |
| Shutter Speed: |
|
1/500 sec |
| F-Stop: |
|
f/9.0 |
| ISO Speed: |
|
200 |
| Focal Length: |
|
130.0 mm |
| Notes: |
|
Welcome to southern California. Palm trees, well...
they're just all over the place. |
|
 |
| Subject: |
|
Jacaranda Tree |
| Model: |
|
Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT |
| Shutter Speed: |
|
1/500 sec |
| F-Stop: |
|
f/8.0 |
| ISO Speed: |
|
200 |
| Focal Length: |
|
300.0 mm |
| Notes: |
|
A beautiful tree that blooms in mid spring in
southern California. Unfortunately, it leaves quite a mess in the
late spring to early summer. |
|
| All the photographs above have been taken
in jpeg mode, and reduced 50% in Photoshop with moderate jpeg compression
to conserve disk space and bandwidth. Camera was handheld using autofocus
(unless otherwise noted). No color corrections, level adjustments, sharpening
or croppings were made. |
| Conclusion |
Canon's EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM doesn't have any flaws
other than the zoom ring creeping whenever you tip the lens
straight up or down, but it does have major inconveniences
such as the lens lock and lack of full time manual focus.
For all I know, it may be an inherent quality
that is typical with lens of this type.
The EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM takes very clear pictures with
minimal barrel distortion at the shortest
end (70mm) and, maybe, a very slight , sometimes unnoticeable, pincushion
at the long end (all of which can be corrected in Photoshop CS2).
In the past, longer exposures with a telephoto
lens of this range required the use of a monopod/tripod but, with
Canon's EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM image stabilizer, you can almost
get away without using any supports. I'll have to confess that I
was a bit skeptical about the effectiveness of IS on this lens, especially
at 300mm. But, after a few test shots, all doubts went away and I
was left with this feeling of relief that this lens turned out to
be a decent investment after all.
:-)
Gary Kawamura
|
|
