Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens

In a Nutshell:
* Suitable for all Canon EOS SLR cameras, both film and digital
* Zoom range: 70-300mm, good for portraits through to sport and wildlife
* Equivalent focal length for APS-C sensors: 112-480mm (1.6x crop factor)
* Image stabilizer (IS) provides up to three stops of "camera shake" correction
* Micro USM (ultrasonic motor) for fast autofocus
* Lens Construction: 15 elements in 10 groups
* Closest focusing distance: 4.9 ft/1.5m
* Filter size 58mm
* Lens Size: 3" in diameter, 5.6" long, weight 22.2 oz (630.5g)
* Price: $531 to $550

Although not an L-series lens, the 70-300mm produces images of excellent quality while the IS offers up to three stops of camera shake correction, allowing shooting at slower shutter speeds than would normally be the case. This, together with is light weight and compact size, make it suitable for hand-holding where one would normally expect to use a tripod.

The 70-300mm is a replacement for the earlier 75-300mm, which was the world's first interchangeable SLR lens to offer image stabilization, and is regarded as a significant improvement over its predecessor, offering improved IS, focusing speed and image quality.

Compatible with:
This lens can be used on all Canon EOS bodies, including 35mm film cameras and digital bodies with full-frame, APS-H and APS-C format sensors. On APS-C format bodies (Digital Rebels/300D-500D; 10D-50D, 7D) the 1.6x lens magnification or crop factor gives an equivalent focal length of 112-480mm.

User Review Roundup for Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

Pros:
* Value for money
* Image quality - sharp, good color and contrast
* Excellent IS
* Light weight
* Compact size

Cons:
* Flimsy build quality
* Auto focus clunky in poor light
* Rotating and extending front lens element
* Lens hood not included

User Ratings Roundup:

Star Rating (max 5): 4.5
Points Rating (max 10): 8.8

What Users Are Saying:

"This is an excellent lens ... lighter than I was expecting and so far seems to be very sharp and much better than its predecessor".

"Quality is superb and having the Image Stabilization really makes it a pleasure to take pictures in less than perfect lighting conditions".

"Major downsides of this lens are its slightly kludgy focus with a rotating front ring, and its slightly slow aperture compared to whats available".

"Sharpness, colours and contrast are top notch".

"AF not fantastically fast, but comparable to my Canon 50/1.4, works ok under normal light".

Manufacturer's Feature List for the Canon EF 70-300mm:

* Affordable and powerful
* 3-stop Image Stabilizer
* UD lens element improves image quality
* Super Spectra coatings suppress flare and ghosting
* Circular aperture provides pleasing background blur
* Fast, quiet auto-focus

Recommended Uses for the Canon EF 70-300mm:

* Portrait photographs at short-end (70mm or 112mm)
* Candid photography, street scenes, children, reportage - can hand-hold, remain inconspicuous
* Sport, specially in good light where f/5.6 aperture is not a hindrance to fast shutter speeds
* Wildlife - IS allows hand-holding in safari vehicle, extra reach (480mm) with APS-C cameras
* Travel - light weight, compact size, wide zoom range.

Now that you've read about the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Telephoto Zoom lens, see also Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM telephoto zoom for info on an affordable and compact "L-Series" telephoto lens.

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