Canon EF 70 - 300 mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM Lens - Black

Fast and accurate autofocus with a superior optical quality. Okay so I am comparing this to the old Non-USM 70-300mm lens, mine of which has been held together with duct tape for the past 5 years (at least). The main winner for this lens is the autofocus. New micro USM motors are quiet and quick- important when shooting sports or wildlife. More than that though they are accurate. Almost all of my shots were sharp as tacks using this lens and I cant help but feel those that weren't were probably my fault. Optically the contrast and sharpness is good with very little distortion noticeable in real world shooting. Shooting towards the sun, there is a bit of lens flare which drops the contrast but find me a tele lens for under £500 that doesn't. IS is useful at the longest length. keeping the shots sharp and the ISO slightly lower than it may have been otherwise.Initially I had trouble deciding between this and the much more expensive 70-300 L series lens. Both are sharp, both are fast but it's the weather sealing and IS modes. Shooting at a race track, I had no panning mode on the IS. Not the biggest issue but it might have been useful. It was also quite dusty and with the expanding element on the front doing well to drag dust back into the lens, I am a little concerned how long my clear optics might last. A good buy though as I think you'll struggle to get anything better for the money at this point.

I'd used the original Canon 70-300mm f/4-5.6 USM IS lens for a decade and, whilst satisfied with the performance, it was far from sharp towards the limits of the zoom with significant chromatic aberration. Nevertheless it was a decent lens back then but this newer version is FAR FAR BETTER.First and foremost it is pin sharp throughout the range. The attached photos were taken at 300mm zoom of a church 760m away (nearly HALF A MILE shooting distance) on an APS-C sensor giving effective zoom of 480mm. The image stabiliser is excellent and improves over the previous model of this lens. The build quality feels better and the manual focus ring is easier to operate.Perhaps my only surprise at this lens, and I say surprise because it wasn't a disappointment, is that the manual focus ring is not mechanically coupled to the lens elements. That is, manual focus is coupled electronically. It works well and offers the benefit of being able to manually correct a focus lock in AF mode but it takes a bit of getting used to in manual focus mode.Doesn't come with a lens hood (COME ON, Canon!!!). Canon lens hood costs £70. (** COME ON, CANON, This is BONKERS **) - luckily the 3rd-party hood I bought for £14 on Amazon works a treat, fits snug and is well designed.

Very good lens a trifle heavy but it feels well made and is extremely quiet so good for wildlife photography

I use this lens pretty heavily at sporting events (mostly racing practise and test sessions) and it is an excellent lens for medium range shots - eg when you're behind a boundary fence or in the stands taking pictures of the track.It doesn't seem to have any significant distortion that I can see at the 70mm end or at the 300mm end.The image stabilisation works well and means you can consistently take good shots with the lens fully extended.It's not too heavy and doesn't unbalance the camera.Autofocus is pretty much instant, even on older camera bodies.All in all - a good solid 70-300mm lens for those of us who can't afford Canon L series lenses.

I bought this to upgrade my older non-IS version. So far, I am very pleased with it - excellent detail and results in all kinds of lighting conditions. The image stabilisation works very well - I had a problem holding the older model still for longer exposures.On the downside, it is 50% heavier than the older model, so it gets a bit of a weight if you're out all day with. Also, I find that the auto-focus is a bit too sensitive compared to the old one - especially if I'm taking a macro shot of flowers or plant life - it can jump around and not settle on the desired area of focus. Best to to use manual focus in these circumstances.Hence the 4-star review - otherwise it would have been the full five

Fantastic lens. Without going into too much technical detail, it helps creating some wonderful pictures on a full frame EOS 6D. At these focal lengths, a sturdy tripod would be recommended to avoid camera shake, but it does a decent job handheld as well (in the right amount of light) thanks to the image stabilisation.The price point was already good at the £499 RRP, but even better if you manage to get it discounted. Note, however, that you will lose a fair chunk of that saving if you go shopping for the original Canon ET-74B lens hood...

The lens had just been delivered and I had a photo course booked - great opportunity to try it out. Good technique to use it not just for long distance work, but to get really close in on plant flowers. Great results.I am using it on my M 5, via the Canon mount adapter.

This lens stands up surprisingly well to a much more expensive (and larger and heavier) L series zoom. 70mm is it's weakest focal length, it gets getter when stopped down, acceptable rather than good. It is good around 300mm, again it helps to stop down. 200mm is great, even wide open it's really sharp. I've used it on a full-frame SLR and, with an adaptor, on a mirrorless body. If you want a fairly small, fairly light, long zoom, with good overall image quality then consider this lens.