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Canon EF 70-300/4-5.6IS USM

by Bob Atkins

Note: A hands on review of this lens can be found HERE

Canon have updated the 75-300/4-5.6IS USM, which was the first image stabilized lens available to consumers, way back in September 1995. I guess after 10 years it was ready for an update!

The new lens has 5mm more range on the wide end (70mm vs 75mm), 3rd generation IS, with panning mode and autmatic tripod detection, improved coatings to better match digital sensors, an improved AF (but it's still a micro USM, not a real ring USM with full time manual focus) and now uses one UD glass element to improve optical performance.

The downside is a price increase of over $200 to $650. Howver it's still cheaper than the 70-300/4.5-5.6DO (diffractive optics) lens which currently sells for around $1300. How the two compare optically remains to be seen. Another competitor would be the EF 70-200/4L, which lacks IS and only goes out to 200mm, but does have "L" series optics and can take the Canon TCs (the 70-300/4-5.6IS is incomaticble with the Canon TCs) - plus it's availabe for around $580. The new EF 70-300/4-5.6IS USM should be available in October, though a few units may appear in September according to rumors.

Here's a copy of the Canon press release:

August, 2005: Canon, a leader in photographic and imaging technology, today releases the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM zoom lens. Featuring the latest 3-stop Image Stabilizer for outstanding camera shake reduction, the lens also features super responsive auto focus. Replacing the popular EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 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 f/4-5.6 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 1/500s can obtain the equivalent result with a shutter speed of just 1/60s, 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 f/4-5.6 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 auto-focus

The micro USM motor found in the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 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 f/4-5.6 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 optimising 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 colour 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 f/4-5.6 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 f/4-5.6 IS USM include the lens hood ET-65B and the lens pouch LP1222. In keeping with Canon's Kyosei philosophy of living in harmony with the environment, the lens features only lead-free glass.

Canon EF 70-300/4-5.6IS USM Specifications


Focal length

 70 - 300 mm
Maximum aperture F4.0 - F5.6
Minimum aperture F32 - F45
Angle of view Horizontal: 29° - 6° 50'
Vertical: 19° 30' - 4° 35'
Diagonal: 34° - 8° 15'
Lens construction 15 elements in 10 groups
Diaphragm blades 8
Closest focusing distance 105 cm (41.3 in)
Maximum magnification 0.26x (at 300 mm)
Distance information Yes
Image stabilizer 3-stops
AF actuator Micro USM
Filter diameter 58 mm
Dimensions (dia x len) 76.5 x 142.8 mm
Weight 630 g (1.4 lb)
Magnification with extension tubes • EF 12 II: 0.32x - 0.4x
• EF 25 II: 0.39x - 0.9x
Lens hood EW-65B
Soft case LP1222
Extenders • EF 1.4x II: Not compatible
• EF 2.0x II: Not compatible

Where to buy

The following vendors support photo.net when purchases are made via these links:

Bob Atkins (www.bobatkins.com)

Readers' Comments


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Juha Kivekas , September 01, 2005; 11:26 A.M.

The original EF75-300/4-5.6 has had the biggest impact on my photography of all the gears passed thru my hands. Yes, it was soft at the long end, but my hit-ratio rocketed with that lense. When I got the EF70-200/2.8 L IS USM GTX BI-TURBO ETC I was already so spoilt by the EF75-300 IS that the new lense with all the quality was like .. nothing.

Thus, I am sure this is a very very good investment for a developing shooter and worth every cent. The original is still my best ever value for price lense.

Ryan Joseph , September 04, 2005; 04:49 A.M.

This lens looks like a truly worthwhile update from Canon... however I am seeing a disturbing trend forming with these lens prices. I find 650 dollars for a consumer 70-300 lens outrageous, even if it does have third generation IS. Maybe my understanding of economics is poor, but these prices seem excesively high. Why must the price of this lens increase 200 dollars since 1995? I mean I know inflation and all that junk would have had quite an effect by now, but better tech must have made lenses like this cheaper to produce as well. What do you guys think?

Bob Atkins , September 04, 2005; 10:10 A.M.

Actually the prices of the old and new lenses are pretty similar. 10 years ago the 75-300IS was introduced at close to $600. After 10 years a $50 price increase with new glass, new AF and new IS technology isn't bad. I'm sure that in a few years time the price will fall, just as it did with the old lens.

Differentiating between "consumer" and "pro" lenses is misleading. There are $70 "consumer" lenses and there are $700 "consumer" lenses. "Consumer" doesn't mean poor quality. Pretty much it means anything that isn't "L", "DO" or "T/S".

You also have to remember that the Dollar was about 10% stronger vs. th eYen back in 1995 than it is today and exchange rates affect prices.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see this lens at $399 or less, but I don't think it's realistic to expect it to be.

Andrew Robertson , September 04, 2005; 11:36 P.M.

Bear in mind, also that compared to other currencies our dollar is only worth 2/3rds what it was five years ago. So, they aren't really price increases, but compensation for the loss of value.

Mark R , September 27, 2005; 12:54 A.M.

Will this ever be released? Any new info on release dates?

Stefan Poli , October 18, 2005; 04:41 A.M.

I'm writing a review right now. Publishing it is another matter (I'm sorry, only small images for the moment).

See the link below:

http://snicolae.org/spoli/Canon/EF_70_300_IS_USM.htm

The review will be updated soon with larger photos and a gallery and possibly under another URL. I'll keep everybody posted.

Enjoy!

Anand Srinivasan , December 18, 2005; 12:51 P.M.

I am trying to decide between buying a Canon EF 70-300/4-5.6IS USM and a EF 70-200 F/4.0L USM. Both are comparable in terms of price but former has Image Stabilizer and the latter is lens from L series which is generally known for sharper picture. Any recommendations one way or the other?

edouard stéru , May 29, 2006; 06:37 P.M.

very good question, I also wonder if the difference with a L can be seen. I think I will choose the 70-300 because it is shorter, and because I like to hae a long focal.

Jason Kulas , March 26, 2007; 04:44 P.M.

>I am trying to decide between buying a Canon EF 70-300/4-5.6IS USM and a EF 70-200 F/4.0L USM.

You have to ask yourself how you expect to use the lens most often. If you're likely to be extra far away from a subject that isn't fast-moving (i.e.--not soccer players...unless they're well-lit), and you're not going to be using a tripod/monopod much, you're going to like the 70-300's IS and 300mm zoom. In lower light, as long as your subject isn't moving too fast, due to IS you'll be able to get a good shot still by using slower shutter speed.

If you're going to be dealing with faster-moving subjects in worse light, and have steady enough hands or a tripod, you're going to like the 70-200L's wider aperture, image quality, and dust/weather-proofing. With wider aperture you'll be able to use faster shutter speeds and freeze action better in lower light. The 70-200L is teleconverter-compatible, so you could pair it with a TC and get back the range of the 70-300 (though that will lose you the aperture/shutter speed advantage of the 70-200L).

I am buying one of these soon...probably the 70-300IS, since my subjects will generally be landscape, or people & animals that aren't fast-moving, generally in better daylight, and I'll rarely have my tripod with me, and since I'm using this on a small-sensor DSLR (XTi), the zoom is going to be quite magnified (1.6x). My action shots aren't usually high-speed, and when they are, they're not from really far away (like a stadium).

Borrow or rent any kind of 200mm lens (prime, zoom, whatever), and see if you can hold it steady enough to get the kind of shots you expect to be taking?

For more analysis (for someone like me, hand-held on a "small-sensor" DSLR), a 70-200L on an XTi is 320mm (1.6x) when fully zoomed. If you're hand-held, a rule of thumb here says you should be using 1/500th shutter speed (closest to 1/320) to "freeze" noticeable camera shake. Some light may be bad enough that even with the 70-200L's better aperture, 1/500th will be too short to gather enough light, it would need to be a stop slower at 1/250th. Result: Potentially blurry hand-held 1/250th shot at 320mm zoom.

Now take the 70-300IS also set to 200mm (320mm equivalent). At 200mm it's 2/3rd-stop slower than the 70-200L, it would need slower shutter speed to get a shot in the same light, say 1/125th. But with IS it should be fine to take a hand-held shot at 320mm as slow as 1/40th (=320/2/2/2)! Result: Non-blurry hand-held 1/125th shot at 320mm zoom. If the light is REALLY bad, go to 1/60th and you still get a non-blurry hand-held shot. If your subject wasn't moving too fast, you got a good shot. If they were...doesn't matter which lens you bought. Next time bring a tripod. Or a floodlight. I know I won't often have my tripod with me, and when I do, I'm probably in a decent lighting situation (daylight, good indoor lighting, etc), so the aperture on the 70-300IS should be good enough when I have a tripod, and when I don't, I want that IS. Ok, really I want it all, but the L IS zooms are too expensive for me now.

Note: I actually think it's wrong to use the 1.6 crop factor in that analysis, but Bob Atkins & others do so. Regardless, if you take out the 1.6 factor the math still all works, in fact, it makes the argument in favor of the 300IS even stronger vs. the 200L.

If your camera does 1/3 or 1/2 stop increments, the numbers change slightly, but the basic facts don't. If you're hand-held in bad light, you want that IS. If you're hand-held in good light, max aperture will matter less, and you still want that IS. And the difference between these 2 lenses in max aperture at 200mm is only 2/3rd stop. Maybe there's a few instances where the f/4 (at 200mm) could get an exposure the IS lens couldn't...but if you're hand-held, it probably won't be a great shot anyway.

As you can see, if your subject isn't moving too fast, the 70-300IS actually has more than a 2-stop advantage over the 70-200L. The 300IS has 2/3 f/stop slower aperture at 200mm...but IS gives it back 3 stops. Does the L have better real-world image quality? I guess it should...but it won't look good blurry.

John Webb , December 09, 2007; 05:23 A.M.


1/200th F7.1 @ 300mm The DOF is easily seen here, total distance in photo about 8kms

Overall this is a pretty good lens, apart from the shakey barrel when fully extended to 300mm, I don't believe the quality of optics is on par with a 70-200 L series lens having seen some beautiful photos on that lens that are simply put, a class above this lens. However this is a good lens for portraits and objects that aren't too far away, it seems to lack contrast as the subject distance increases. But for medium range use it's far better than the standard 75-300 included in the Canon kits, The use of the UD element makes this lense what they should have been and the "IS" is quite effective for most shots. Personally I'd rather a 300mm F2.8 or 400mm F4 IS L lense, but at around 6-8 times the price this one will have to do for now!

Roshan James , February 12, 2008; 10:35 P.M.

The lens that the 70-300IS gets compared with the most seems to be the 70-200L. Here is an informal writeup comparing the Canon 70-300/4-5.6 IS and the Canon 70-200/4L. This is based on my experience with both lenses.

Comparing the 70-300mm f/4-5.6IS and the Canon 70-200mm f/4.0 L

Warning: I am very much a hobbyist photographer, not a professional.

De Lenzer , June 03, 2008; 12:49 A.M.

UPDATE - 06-01-2008

Now listen to my story, 'bout a man named Jed... lol

I bought this lens about two months ago. I finally have one that works, as of a few days ago. The interim period was filled with sending the lens I bought to some fools in New Jersey (I knew better!) then getting it back, only to see it had not been touched!

I'm no dummy. When it comes to lenses, I just got a lot smarter. Anyone can see soft images. WHY those images are soft, well, that requires a little more...

Canon has fallen from grace in my books. Their quality control has gone to zero! The main reason I am writing this is to warn all of you that I tested about ten of these lenses, before I found one that worked. The old days are gone. You can stroll in to your camera dealer and expect to buy something that says Canon on it and works perfectly, no longer!

I will share my technical savvy with you so you can have a good lens, too. He77, at this price, you deserve one!

Put your camera on a tripod. Put another tripod in front of it. Put a yardstick on the second tripod, tilted down slightly and aligned with a line between the two tripods. Put a piece of white string on the yardstick... say at the 12 inch mark.

What are we doing? We are testing for front-back focusing, of course.

If you have a 40d you have finally found a use for the latest gizmo - "live view." Turn it on (in the custom functions menu) and use it in the first magnification stage to center the manual focus directly on the piece of string (at minimum focal distance and with the lens wide open) making sure that the 11 and 13 inch numbers on the yardstick look the same, in terms of focus.

If you have no live view, well, do the best you can...

Shoot the picture. Make two or three, perhaps using a shutter delay.

NOW... take the card out and put it into a computer. Display the image full-size, using windoze picture viewer (or whatever program). Does the picture look the same as the image in your viewfinder (or lcd screen, in the case of live view) did? If it does, BUY THAT LENS IMMEDIATELY! If not; if the ACTUAL focus differs from what the viewfinder saw, ask to test another one.

The people that complain about this lens have not tested it, in the manner above. If they had, and if they insisted on buying one that was spot-on, they most certainly would not be complaining! They would be singing the "hidden L lens" song, instead.

This lens is gnarly; cantankerous and unfriendly... even ugly. It has a funky manual focus that is like a micrometer, in its over-sensitivity to motion. The front of it spins and even extends, as it focuses. In short, it's a lens only a real photographer could love.

The images that come from a GOOD copy of this lens are knock-down gorgeous. Further, they remain exactly the same when a tamron 2x extender is mounted, behind the lens. It even has nice bokeh .)

Image Attachment: IMG_3376.JPG

Britt Larson , September 05, 2008; 09:22 P.M.

This lens is one of the best investments I have ever made. I bought it just before a 3-month trip to Africa, and it was worth every penny. Image quality is great, but the IS is literally a life saver. I shot the image below in the Serengeti at dawn at 1/30. It would have been impossible to get with a telephoto lens without IS, and this is one of my favorite shots of my whole trip.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/spartanlarson/SLNl684bg0I/AAAAAAAABl0/_Pl1Qx66r40/DPP_0015.JPG


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