I'm a big fan of 300/2.8 lenses. Short enough to be useful when shooting
landscapes, long enough to shoot larger mammal species, they're also fast and
sharp enough to use with 2x teleconverters. The resulting 600/5.6 is an excellent
choice for photographing birds and smaller mammals. Though somewhat heavy and
chunky, they are surprisingly compact and will fit in many camera bags. Extremely
easy to use on a monopod, it is the largest lens I can handle on a shoulder
stock.
This is my favorite lens for photographing birds in flight. I do so using my
$2, homemade shoulder stock. The f2.8 aperture enables both the vertical and
horizontal elements of my EOS 1n's center autofocus sensor, assuring quick and
accurate focus on birds which aren't strongly patterned. This fast lens allows me
to shoot fine-grained slide film at reasonably high shutter speeds, yielding
sharp results even when tracking quick-moving birds.
In theory, a 400/2.8 lens would be even better for shooting birds in flight,
but that extra 100mm doubles the weight and I, at least, can't manage a twelve
pound lens on a shoulder stock!
Where to Buy
Photo.net's partners have the version II of the Canon EF 300/2.8L
lens available. Their prices are fair and you help to support
photo.net. Alternatively, you may be able to find the original version
of the lens via Photo.net's Classified Ads
Section.
Like the other fast telephotos in Canon's L series of lenses, the EF 300/2.8 L
is ruggedly constructed, with its metal lens barrel finished in white. The
non-removable, rotating tripod mount has detents at the vertical and horizontal
positions, and is threaded for 1/4" screws. I wish this lens had a second bushing
for 3/8" screws. This minor shortcoming is my only complaint about the lens.
The plastic lenshood is removable, and can be reversed on the lens for
storage. It comes with a soft cover that slips over the reversed lenshood and
serves as a lens cap while protecting the lenshood from being scratched.
The lenses in this series take 48mm gelatin filters, which are placed in a
filter holder which is inserted into a slot between the lens mount and the
autofocus motor control module. Since they all take the same drop-in filters,
only one of each need be purchased.
I've accidently tested the ruggedness of this lens by dropping it twice, once
about seven feet onto a gravel highway shoulder, the other time knocking over my
tripod with the lens attached. Other than slightly scratching the lenshood and
the paint on the barrel, there was no damage in either case.
Focus Module
One of the nice
features of this series of telephoto lenses (which includes the 200/1.8, 300/2.8,
400/2.8, 500/4.5, 600/4, and 1200/5.6) is that they share a common autofocus
motor control module. The ring USM motor focuses the lens very quickly, and the
30,000 Hz sound it makes while rotating is silent to our ears, though some
animals hear and react to it. The module provides manual or autofocus selection,
autofocus range limiting, a choice of three manual focus speeds, a pre-focus
capability, and like all of Canon's ring USM lenses, the ability to freely switch
between manual and autofocus without switching the lens from AF to MF.
The autofocus range limiting feature allows the user to optionally limit the
range to 3m-6m or 6m-infinity. The pre-focus capability allows the user to lock
in the current focus position by moving a spring-loaded, sliding switch. If set,
the lens will return to that spot whenever the metal, notched ring near the focus
ring is slightly turned in either direction. This feature can be used to return
quickly to a fixed location after following a subject elsewhere.
Being able to chose focus speeds is less useful with this lens than with its
600/4 cousin. This is primarily because the faster aperture of
the 300/2.8 makes it easier to focus manually. This feature certainly doesn't
detract from the lens, though, and it's convenient to have a single user
interface and feature set for the entire family of fast telephotos.
Since there is no physical connection between the focus ring and the USM
motor, the designers were free to damp the manual focus action without regard to
drag on the motor. The focus rings of the telephotos which incorporate this
module have the best feel of any autofocus lens I've had the opportunity to
use.
Optical Quality
Some reviewers have
called this lens the sharpest 300/2.8 made. While I have not directly compared
this lens with those offered by competitors, it is as sharp as one could hope
for. It is capable of producing professional-quality images when used with the EF
2x teleconverter. This autofocusing 600/5.6 combination was my standard lens for
bird photography until I bought my
600/4 in August, 1994. When
combined with the EF 1.4x teleconverter, the resulting 420/4 combination is fast
and very sharp.
Though you can't judge sharpness by viewing compressed jpeg images, they do
give you a hint of the capabilities of this lens. The snowy egrets in flight were
taken with the lens mounted on my homemade shoulder stock, on Velvia. The
American avocet was taken with the EF 2x teleconverter, with the combination
mounted on a tripod, on Velvia. The sage grouse was taken with the lens resting
on a bean bag, on Lumiere 100x.
Summary
If you can only afford one fast, high quality telephoto and expect to shoot a
variety of subjects, give serious consideration to buying this lens and the EF
1.4x and 2.0x teleconverters. If you are looking for a lens specifically for bird
or small mammal photography, the EF 500/4.5 is perhaps more suitable, and weighs
about half as much as either the 600/4 or 400/2.8. Compared to the current
(mid-1996) prices of these lenses, the 300/2.8 is almost cheap at $4600.
Technical Data
Construction:
10 elements, 8 groups
Angle of view:
8 degrees, 15 minutes
Focus motor:
Ring USM
Closest focusing:
3 m (9.8 ft)
Filter size:
48 mm drop-in type
Length and diameter:
253 x 125 mm (9-15/16 x 4-15/16 in)
Weight:
2.9 kg (6.3 lb)
Where to Buy
Photo.net's partners have the version II of the Canon EF 300/2.8L
lens available. Their prices are fair and you help to support
photo.net. Alternatively, you may be able to find the original version
of the lens via Photo.net's Classified Ads
Section.
I have owned every version of Nikon 300 2.8 made
(except the S). Now that I've switched to Canon,
I've owened the 400 and 300 2.8's. I can tell you
that the 300 2.8 is the sharpest of all previously
mentioned, and has the best color reproduction.
Great color saturation. This lens is truly
deserving of the praise it receives and worth
every penny of it's high price. If you can only
have 1 big lens, this is it! The nice thing about
it is optically, it is identical to it's FD
cousin, so if money is tight, you can pick up an
FD 300 2.8 and an AE-1 for $1200-$1600, and have
the same tremendous optical results. The major
drawback to this approach is that the FD
converters aren't nearly as good as the EOS ones.
This is by far the best 300 2.8 that I've ever
used (and I've used many).
I've bought the EF 300 2.8 telephoto for almost 10 years now, the Canon 300 2.8's optical quality is amazing and really is sharper than my friend's Nikon counterparts (even the new AFS). I have tried and owned many other L lenses not too many of them impressed me as much as this 300 2.8. Canon's own 200 1.8 is the only lens that I think surpasses the 300 2.8 in terms of sharpness, not contrast. I'm more than happy with it and thinking about getting the same lens as a replacement for my old one. Put on the EF300 2.8L and I think you will also be flattered.
This lens is a great all-around lens for sports. For outdoor sports such as American football, soccer, and field hockey, I usually use it with a 1.4x TC and it performs splendidly. It's also great for indoor sports. Many use it to shoot the other end of the court at basketball games (I don't have a second body for that just yet) and I've taken some great volleyball photos from courtside with it.
The image quality is out of this world and puts all my other lenses to shame. The jump in image quality from the 70-200/2.8 to the 300/2.8 is just as big as from a consumer lens to the 70-200/2.8. The images taken with this lens are simply gorgeous. AF is warpspeed.
Finally I am ready to buy the long desired 300 f2.8 lens that will make my derams come true! But now the dilemma starts ... what shoud I buy ... The Canon 300 2.8 it is beautiful, it has proven its reputation among the most demanding pros, but even used it will really make your wallet dizzy!Well here I am, and that Sigma 300 f2.8 HSM EX looks like a really good buy and the only one that could be close to the Canon USM. I own a 70-200 Sigma HSM 2.8 and I have got incredible results in image quality that equals the Canon counterpart (even magazines rave about it), but what about the 300 f2.8?
Is any of you readers able to give me some good hint? Anyone that has experience and comments to share will be appreciated!
Having switched to Canon EOS last fall after shooting Nikons for more than 20 years, I can attest to the comments that the EF 300/2.8 is sharper than any of the Nikons. The Nikon 300/2.8 ED AFn used to be my favorite lens - very sharp, lots of contrast, easy to focus. But I was amazed at the improvement when I started using the EOS gear. The EF 300/2.8 is exceptionally sharp. It doesn't vignette as bad as the Nikon (which is only very slightly) wide open either. The AF speed is stellar, and unlike Philip, I find the 3 manual focusing speeds to be very useful, as I do a lot of manual focus shots. The focus preset capability is also very useful. Now that the IS version is out, you can find used non-IS 300/2.8s at very reasonable prices. I highly recommend this lens. You won't regret buying one of these.
Finally someone else wit the idea of a shoulder stock for telephoto shooting! I have always found tripods to be cumbersome and a bit noisy in the woods. I always figure a gunstock wit ha camera mounted securely with a bipod to rewt it on a log, would not only be quieter but easier to pack through brambles.
I bougth a -88 300/2.8L a couple of days ago.
The unit went through a maintenance cycle prior this
- the electrical contact module was changed, and the lense
was cleaned inside out. I was amazed how something having
to do with electronics and being 18yrs old works so well.
Today I tried the lense for the first time in somewhat
unusual settings - the yearly motorcycle fair in Helsinki
Exhibition hall. The performance of the lense was superb
- very fast action and solid focus in very low-light
situations. Be careful when carrying something that large
and fragile in cramped spaces full of people, esp. if
the monopod is hooked to the lense.
