Canon EF 70300mm f/45.6 IS USM Lens for

70-300 IS USM – Great Lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Great lens for the price. Range is good, and focus is quick – although sometimes the 300 is a bit short for wildlife…but at less than half the price of the 100-400 this is certainly a good option….very sharp and fast – not quite an L but can’t be beaten for the price. 70-200L would also be an option, but 200 would be a little short for wildlife.

This Lens is MOSTLY Awesome
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Having used both the Canon 70-300 without IS, and the Canon 70-300 WITH IS (this lens), it is ABSOLUTELY worth the extra $400-$450 for this lens. The image stabilization is truly amazing. It allows you get the shot you want from across the room without having to worry about shakiness.

Having said that, there are a couple of small negatives to this lens.

One, it’s a little bit heavy. Not nearly as heavy as the 70-200 f/2.8L IS, but certainly heavier than the 70-300 non IS.

Two, there is no manual focus override in auto-focus mode. i.e., you need to flip a switch in order to manual focus. This is probably the most annoying complaint I have. You simply cannot turn the focus ring by hand with auto-focus on.

Three, the auto-focus can be pretty slow sometimes. For example, if you are focused on something 5 feet away, and then try to focus on something 60 feet away, it can take as long as 1-2 seconds.

Four, this is NOT a macro lens. It says on the lens “macro,” but that’s phooey. It’s a blatant misuse of the word. Granted, you can get some pretty nice close-ups, but you’re not going to be getting useable pictures of insects.

I know I focused more on the negatives than the positives, but that’s what you want to hear isn’t it? The issues I have with the lens? Overall, it’s an absolutely phenomenal lens. It’s tremendously fun, and the quality of pictures you can take with it FAR outweighs its inconveniences.

A budget telephoto
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I’m brand spanking new to DSL’s and took a big plunge with a 400D XTi. I wanted a telephoto; probably more for braggen rights and when I went looking for a telephoto having the ‘IS’ for Image Stabilizer, something with reach and most importantly looks cool (about 7″ long by itself)…well, I had to be realistic about a budget and got this one. As far as quality-hey it’s Canon which means pretty good stuff. I rated it at 4 cuz I’ve not used it yet but for the price? Well, it’s either one like this or about a 1000 buck’s more. I don’t think it’s going to see that tick on an elk at 5 miles but it brings those duck’s up closer than my point a shoot which seems to always look farther away. Still a bit pricey for us DSL newbies but it’s got the all the right stuff for a starter telephoto, in my opinion.

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens for Canon EOS SLR Cameras
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I am extremely happy with the performance of this lens. I am not a professional by any means, but I am amazed at the quality of the pictures that I have been able to take with this lens.

DSLR Newbie… First lens, but LOVE IT!!!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this lens to add on to my Canon 40D package that I purchased. I absolutely LOVE this lens!!! However, I am new to the DSLR world so take my opinion for what its worth.

My new favorite
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I got the 28-300mm sigma lens a while ago and was unhappy with it. I decided to go the extra $250 and upgrade to this 70-300mm canon lens. I could not be happier. This is a GREAT lens for the money. It is my favorite to use while hiking to get great photos of the wildlife. The lens produces crystal clear images at 300mm. The sigma lens I had is not even comparable to it. Needless to say, I don’t know what I would do without this lens now. I should have got it sooner.

gets a 9 out of 10 on a trusted review site
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
If you would like a list of sites with reviews email

gumby (at) dontquotemeonthat (dot) com

I’m going with this lens over the 75-200 f/4L lens, the IS and extra zoom are worth the sacrifice of build quality and slight sharpness increase

Pros: It is light, fast, sharp and economical. It is currently my favorite carry-around lens. Adequate for birding and pseudo macro functions. Not a bad portrait lens. All of this is in the context of use with a 20D and Rebel. It is a full-frame 35 mm lens.

Cons: The lens face rotates with focus, so use of a circular polarizer is problematic. You choose MF or AF, but not both at the same time like the 100-400 L-Series.

Pros: Huge improvement on older 75-300. IS is excellent! Much more subtle in use than a white L lens

Cons: No ftm. Front element rotation

if your a newbie here’s some info

A lens is “fast” when it has a low f-stop… ok so when you have a smaller number the apature is bigger which allows more light through, so this means you can up the shutter speed. and still have enough light reach the sensor.

ok so lets say you have an out door shot if you have say an f/4 lens the shutter speed could be 1/250 of a second and you would get a good exposer. Now this lens can only go f/4

but if you in the same outdoor setting, had an f/2.8 lens you could jump to 1/500 of a second and get the same exposer. and freeze the action mmore effectivly, this i believe is why it’s a “fast” lens.

ok have fun and get it done

I’m happy with it.
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Great price for this lens. At 300mm its a little soft, but easily sharpened in photoshop. The IS is awesome. Pretty light weight @ twice the length of the kit lens. Build quality seems decent. I’ve had it about a month now, and have already taken quite a few pics that I’m very happy with. It’s too bad they didn’t include a hood and case for it, but still a good deal.

A Great Lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
A Great lens that really reaches out for super closeups. very sharp, close to L quality. The IS is flawless in both modes, birds in flight are unblieveable. Pricey, but you get what you pay for.

Excellent low-price lens for Canon
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Works flawlessly, and at an excellent price for what you pay. Add this to your setup (with kit lens?) and you are good for a slew of photography options, now including nature shots (birds, for instance). This likely won’t get you published – the L series uber lenses are for the level of professionalism. But these will get you excellent shots from far away, and the IS is worth every penny.

I like this lens
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I have owned the 70-200 L lens and now I purchased the 70-300 IS. I like the 70-300 IS better and the pictures have been better. Actually I was disappointed when I bought the 70-200L but have not been disappointed with the 70-300 IS. I also owned the 70-300 non IS and would not recommend that one at all.I took pictures when it had rained all day and heavy overcast and the pictures were awesome. I would recommend this lens to anybody that’s not professional but wants some nice pics that are close to professional.

Incredible Lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
It is difficult to write a review for an item when there are so many other good reviews already present. It is even more difficult to give new feedback on an item that has a lot already said about it.

I will start by stating that I am not a professional photographer, nor am I a professional product reviewer.

With that said let me state that I am a person that does art, and has done it for a number of years. Photography was a means for me to try and capture my own subjects and scenes. I have a limited budget on photography equipment and cannot always afford the best, or elite items.

When I purchased this lens I knew that it was not going to be the fastest lens available, or the one with the highest zoom. I intended to get this for my nature photography to be able to zoom in on objects I see all around me. Instead I found this lens to be an incredible lens for capturing faces, and portraits. I can be in a crowded place, or at a party and this is always my lens of choice. I can capture someone from across the room, and they are unaware of me taking their picture. As a result my photographs are more natural and life like.

I have also used this lens for nature shots, and architectural shots. In all the lens is a really nice addition to my equipment.

As for a hood, I was able to purchase a cannon hood for the lens, separately. I have used the hood on numerous occasions. The size of the lens is not too bad, and storage is not a problem.

In all I would recommend this lens to anyone that needed an affordable zoom.

TVfuzz
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have shot with the 200L (don’t own one) that people are comparing this to. The lenses are different, and suit different needs. This lens was what I purchased because I wanted a longer telephoto with IS, instead of the shorter, higher quality non-IS lens. The thing that most photography reviews often don’t take into consideration when talking up one lens over another is price (I’m not picking on any reviewer on this, I’m just saying from experience reading many reviews all over). To get a theoretical 70-300mm IS USM in an L series, you would pay a TON more than the 200L. The 200L is obviously shorter and higher quality than the 70-300ISUSM. If you want to know about the quality and performance of the 70-300mm IS USM, my opinion is that its a strong build with excellent IS. I’m totally happy with mine, and have taken a few excellent shots at 300mm that turned out great. I use it in fairly harsh temperatures outdoors. For the price, you won’t find a lens even close that does the same job better. If you’re deciding on what lens to buy, I can’t help ya. But if you’re wondering about THIS lens, I say its great.

Good Lens, Some minor annoyances
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I chose this lens over the Canon 70-200mm f/4 L lens, though I paid almost as much. The IS feature is what swayed me, and it really does make a difference. I am able to get shots that I otherwise would have missed. The range on my XTi makes it equivalent to 480mm, so I can get really close with it and choose my framing better. The lens is somewhat heavy, but not overly so for such a big thing.

That said, I can say that the rotation of the barrel during zooming and focusing is an annoyance, and it really stretches out. I also have the hood, which is beastly huge, but I think it is really worthwhile (get the cheaper precision one). Precision Design ET-65B Lens Hood Canon for EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM Lens I also think that a polarizing or better UV Haze filter would be a good investment, as this lens can really amplify the haze by focusing on subjects through more haze. I have had to do a lot of correction with my pictures from Israel, though I was using it on hazy days that we couldn’t see as far.

This lens is also great for capturing the moment without disturbing it, as I was able to take some engagement photos for some good friends from a distance. I was even able to capture him down on one knee holding the ring from a good vantage point!

Love the lens – hate the tax
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
The lens meets my expectations. I’m disappointed with picture quality at 300mm, blurry – definately need a tripod.

I’m angry about an added charge for New York sales tax. I’m not a resident of NY. Amazon wouldn’t ship the item to an APO address (which our federal government declares must be viewed as a US address); so I had it delivered to a family member in NY, then forwarded to me. I was shocked to see the previously undisclosed charge added to my bill.

Best lens amoung few choices for my Canon 30D.
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I am a quazi professional photographer; meaning I have a small business in which I do commercial photography for several clients, which I started after I retired from my main profession (which was not in photography).

My first digital SLR was a Canon 30D and have the wide angle zoom, mid focal zoom and then purchased this zoom.

I had been very impressed with the quality of the other two Canon zooms (I had about 30 years experience with Honeywell-Pentex, then Minolta).

When I got this zoom it felt “cheaply made” by comparision. I took some test photos and decided to return it.

I then bought the Tamron 70-300 zoom which has AF but not IS, but cost only $125. That lens seemed better built, but when retaking my previous test shots, I found it had some flare at the edges and was not as crisp and clear when enlarged greatly. Those two items would not be a big issue unless you work with large photos or enlarge small sections.

The biggest problem was no IS. When shooting anywhere near 300mm, you ended up without a clear photo, unless using a tripod.

Soooooo, back went the Tamron and I bought this Canon lens….yes, again.

I couldn’t see any other choices that include IS AND were much less money, so this seemed my only choice.

Bottom line: lens performs well, IS motor is a bit slow and noisey, and it is pricey, but there really isn’t any other alternatives.

Great Lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I was very impressed with this lens. I originally tried out 70-200mm L glass series lens and sold it to buy this one. Much better reach and the image stabilization made up for it being a slower lens. Pictures are sharp and clear, great for kid’s sporting events and wildlife shots. I also own the 28-135 mm lens, which is a great all purpose lens.

Great Lense
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I agonized about which lens to purchase. I wanted one that gave me a range of features and crisp sharp images. This lens gives me everything I wanted.

Excellent lens for the price.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Very clear, not too heavy, great IS function; a very good value for the money. Lower F would be nice, but not for $1000 extra. At long focal lengths the f/5.6 is still very good.

Does the job
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
When I bought this lens, I was looking for something that had longer reach than my 18-55 kit lens on my XT. I was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked the lens…though it didn’t blow me out of the water.

After shooting for a couple years and handling some really nice L series glass, this lens feels crazy cheap. The main thing I dislike about this lens is how the front element extends and rotates when it focuses. Also, you cannot manual focus while it’s in AF. Canon NEVER includes the lens hood which sucks but I believe it’s necessary especially when shooting facing the sun.

Performance:

I originally bought this lens to get better images at the local speedway, but have recently used it on my 5d2 to shoot recreational sports. After a few stints in flag football, I realized that it’s a terrific lens given you want to get up real close. You have to be really picky w/ the framing and extremely conscious of the backgrounds and distance-to-subject to get decent bokeh. This (http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs084.snc3/15137_180353043674_818528674_2807800_328474_n.jpg) as opposed to this (http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs028.snc3/11563_176623333674_818528674_2780434_578842_n.jpg). It’s only a f4-5.6 and not a f2.8, and while great images are not totally dependent on that fact, it would definitely be nice to have those extra stops.

The IS is great and has two modes; one for all around IS and one for panning. So that feature coupled with the newer cameras’ ISO capabilities = good slow shutter, hand-held performance.

But all in all, it’s a good bang for buck for the avid amateur. I’ve listed my gripes but considering all of them, I’d buy this lens again if I was tight on cash but needed the reach. If you can afford it, get a better, faster lens i.e. the 70-200 2.8L.

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens for Canon EOS SLR Cameras
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Great company – delivered product on time. Tested out the lens in Mexico, Brazil, and Canada. When the automatic settings on camera (Canon 10D) were selected and pictures were taken outdoors with a lot of daylight, the background is overexposed. This results in things like clouds not being included in the picture. Manual settings and adjustments within the camera will remedy the problem. However, there is an expectation that lens from Canon should take quality pictures from the automatic setting. Otherwise the lens works great.

Excellent addition for any level photographer
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I purchased this lens as a replacement. The image stabilizer and quality is outstanding.

Excellent
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have had this lens for about a year now and am very happy with it. Sharp images, and great with IS at the far end. I have taken some nice wildlife photos with this lens.

You can spend more money on a longer lens which would be better for sports or wildlife, but for the price this is a good starter telephoto. It would be nice if it were a bit faster, but a faster lens in this range would me much more money.

Great lens for the price.

Fast AF, Excellent IS, good sharpness
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this lens to replace an EF 100-300mm (USM) that we had from my wife’s film shooting days (not a common lens to have, apparently; the 75-300mm seems to be more widespread). That older lens produced some surprisingly good pictures (quite sharp), but handheld shots were hard to get right at long focal lengths.

The image stabilization feature of this lens works remarkably well, but it’s quite a bit noisier than that of the EF-S 17-85mm IS (my first IS lens; you hardly hear the IS gyrations at all on that one). The sharpness is quite good (probably a tad better than that of the EF 100-300mm, although it’s not a foremost strength of this lens in my opinion). I was surprised by how much faster I can acquire focus with this lens, even though reviews suggested that it still falls short of L-series lenses (see e.g. the “flying gull” shot I uploaded to the “customer images” set).

If you want to shoot hand-held at 150mm+, I don’t think this lens has much competition under $1000 for Canon EOS users.

Canon EF 70-300mm
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This lens is outstanding. I am a rookie mom taking football pictures for my freshman son’s games and the photos I have been able to get are great. I am in the stands and my pictures look like I am right next to the players. I can see their eyes in some photos.

I bought my camera at Best Buy but found that Amazon had the best price for lens and memory cards

Great lens package.

Disappointed
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I’m not particularly thrilled with my 70-300 lens. It is impossible to get a sharp image with anything less than F8 when shooting at over 100mm. At F8, I can get reasonably sharp shots and still have a very nice DOF effect. But still, I can’t say that anything I’ve been shooting has knocked my socks off. Everything still seems to have a bit of a halo around it.

One other oddity is that I cannot seem to use my polarizing filter at all on this. The results with a filter are always *incredibly* blurry shots – even with manual focus. Even thru the viewfinder I simply cannot get this lens to focus worth a darn. I thought it might be the filter, so I tried another one, and same thing: incredibly blurry shots – completely unusable. Without the filter things are much better, but still disappointing.

The Image Stabilization does work like a charm tho!

I had read in another review that the 200mm lens was better and just cropping a high-megapixel image worked better than using this 300mm lens, and I have to agree. I cannot recommend this lens.

Great product
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I was thinking about getting a 70-200MM f/2.8 or f/4 IS. I decided on this because of price and weight (very light, can carry for hours). Works great. What ever you decide GET AN IS lens. Trying to hold still at 200mm+ is very hard and even more difficult to get a non blurry image. I was a little concerned about getting good blur @ f/4-5.6, no worries.

Cons: When zooming, lens extends, though has zoom lock

Not all that fast, if your shooting sports get something faster

Minim focus distance is almost 5 feet, that’s a lot, can be annoying.

Great Canon Lens for Newbies
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Let me just say that I’m brand new to DSLRs and this lens just confirmed why I switched from point and shoot digital cameras. Besides having full control of my photos, the lens is capable of capturing extremely crisp pictures at the maximum resolution and even at low light environment. I also have shakey hands and with the help of IS 1 and 2, I can now zoom in and capture clear and crisp photos regardless if it’s moving or stationary. The Lock feature is another neat idea. It locks the lens @ 70mm (fully retracted) so you can pull out the lens from your camera bag by holding the front end of the lens preventing it from extending. The lens is made from high quality plastic and about 60% metal so be prepared for the extra weight specially on extended shoots.

I took the lens to its first actual shoot, which is to my son’s basketball game a couple of days ago and it performed great with my Canon Rebel XSi. This lens is neither the cheapest nor the most expensive but it gives you quality photos that you will want to look at over and over.

I just have a minor complaint. There are certain situations when the lens takes a little while to focus. Sometimes it takes up to 3 times to focus correctly by half depressing the shutter. This is really not a big deal to me for now. However, I know time is of the essence to advanced or experienced photographers when you’re shooting at fast pace so this might become a bigger issue down the road. But for now, I extremely happy with this purchase. So If you are a beginner with DSLRs and have a tight budget, this makes a great starter lens while you dive deep into the expensive world photography.

Outstanding Lens!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have used a different brand 70-300mm zoom before which worked well, but it was noisy and slow to focus. The Canon 70-300mm is absolutely silent and extremely fast in focusing, and produces absolutely outstanding photos. So good in fact, that I have posted a few of the images under this lens for you to judge yourself. Photos that I took at the Atlanta Zoo, under all types of lighting conditions. The lens produced incredible photos. All were hand-held shots, most of which were at the full 300mm range. And the IS is incredible. I had one photo which was taken in the shade and I was shooting with aperture priority and wide open. I did not realize how well the IS stabilized my photo till I looked at the exif data on my Flickr site – the shutter speed was 1/10th of a second, hand-held, and at 275mm. What more can you say about a lens, to obtain sharp photos like that. This lens is an absolute winner for me! For a sharp, fast, quiet lens with a tremendous zoom range, this is the next lens you want to buy!

Good entry level telephoto
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This appears to be a popular lens for those of us starting out in photography as far a tele-photo goes. The “IS” is a great feature worth its weight in gold. I have used this lens now on a few occasions with great results when adaquate light is available. Just remember shes not the fastest lens in the line up but for its $500+ price tag, you cant go wrong. Who wants to pony up $1600+ for the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8l “is” lens when this lens produces such great results at a third of the price ?

Great lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this lens to use at track meets and football games and have had excellent results. Any problems have been caused by the guy behind the camera, not the lens! I have it coupled to a Rebel XT (about to upgrade to a 40D) and have gotten great action shots of my kids. I also have used it to take outdoor senior pictures of several kids, again with excellent results. It is a bit slow, but shooting at the highest resolution and increasing the ISO does a very good job. IS is amazing, just remember to switch to mode 2 when panning. It is also a great lens for getting candid shots of people. You can be far enough away that they don’t even notice you.

Canon 70-300mm IS Lens – Excellent Stabilized Lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I’ve owned many cameras and lens over 3 decades. My copy of the Canon 70-300mm IS lens is an excellent performer. It has a reasonable build quality, is capable of sharp photos under most conditions and the stabilization and focus are fast and very reliable. I use mine with a 30D body and find the combination excellent for shooting outdoor action shots and indoor shots with reasonable lighting.

The lens focuses pretty fast and in fairly low light and has provisions for stabilization when panning.

This is hard to beat. I owned the predecessor and this one is worth the upgrade.

Terrific value and great lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have several Canon lenses but this one I have found to be very versatile particularly when I travel abroad. It is reasonably compact and th weight is acceptable for its capability and performance. It is very sharp, focuses quickly and has the stabilization feature which really helps when I don’t have my mono pod. You will love how crisp the pictures are and especially the zoom versatility you will have to compose as you need especially with wildlife or where you can’t get close to the subject. A very, very good value.

Great lens for a photographer on a budget!
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This is one of my first lenses, so understand that my experience is that of an amateur somewhat new into DSLR.

Regardless of that factor though, it is clear to see that this lens is a very good value for the cost. Comparable lenses in quality cost significantly more money. Comparable lenses in cost suffer from poorer quality.

This lens is an EF lens, meaning unlike its EF-S cousins, it will work on all newer Canon models. The EF-S lenses cannot be mounted on a full-frame camera as-is. Thus, for compatibility, it is a good purchase in case you ever want to upgrade your camera (as compared to the 55-250 EF-S lens)

The build quality is quite sturdy. It’s significantly larger and heavier than the 18-55mm IS kit lens included with my XSi (450d), which feels a little strange as the bulk of the weight is in the lens as opposed to balanced between the lens and camera body. It’s not too bad though, since in general you’d be using a second hand to steady the lens.

Image Stabilization on this lens is great. I’ve noticed a significant difference between photos with and without my iS enabled, and have definitely been able to slow the shutter speed down and still take clear photographs.

I’ve only found two flaws with this lens thus far. One is that the manual focus ring is slightly loose–it’s very easy to rotate, though that really isn’t an issue for me since I hold the lens slightly closer to the body. (and generally keep in autofocus anyway) Secondly, I have noticed a slight tendency to hunt for focus when in dark situations. It’s not terrible, but on a couple of occasions I have switched to manual to get a better focus.

All in all though, the lens is quite sharp, the image quality is good, and though I haven’t tested it that thoroughly yet, the bokeh seems to be nice as well.

I strongly recommend this lens for anyone looking to extend the focal range of your lens collection, especially if you are starting new with the 18-55mm IS kit lens like I was. However, keep in mind the additional size and weight, which are pretty significant considering the kit lens’ light plastic build.

Great zoom lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I use this with a Canon Digital Rebel xTi (10 megapixels).

It has given me truly outstanding sports (soccer, swimming, surfing) and wildlife pictures. The image stabiizer works great, and it is small and light enough to take hiking too.

Great pictures. Great value.

Great Lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is the best lens you get for the money. I can’t believe how great and easy it is to use. I used it to take pictures of my son playing soccer and I could zoom him right up and get close up’s that I could not have gotten with a regular lens. Love this lens………………

C. Kemp

the canon lense is very sharp as a stock photographer it has put me on top of my game. Wonderful Lense
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I love my new lense

sharp sharp photography

Thank you for having this

lense on Amazon

Impressive lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this lens as a replacement for the earlier 75-300mm IS lens. I was generally happy with that lens, but it had definite limitations – I needed to shoot at f8 or f11 and bump up the ISO to get a decent shutter speed.

This new version seems sharp at full zoom even wide open, allowing me to use a lower ISO setting. Size is similar to older version, but the IS seems more effective – looking through the lens when it kicks in you can actually see the image become more stable and less shaky. I got this over the Canon 70-200 f4 L because of the extra reach, smaller size (slightly) and the images I’ve seen from both are very similar.

UPDATE: There have been reports of soft images when using this lens in a verticle orientation – however I have not experienced this on my copy. I’m happy to say that after months of using this lens, I still consider it great.

Good, not great lens..
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I bought this lens about 2 years ago and have taken some great, sharp shots with it. The IS is excellent in both modes. I’m glad it has the zoom lock because without it the lens will flop out. Since buying this lens I have added some L’s to my lineup and have gotten a bit spoiled. If I could do it over again, I would buy the 70-200 f/4L IS instead of this lens even though it is white (I hate to stand out). I hate that the 70-300 does not have ring-type USM. It has the micro motor USM that you cannot manual focus unless you flip a switch. If you can swing the price difference and don’t mind the shorter focal length, I would recommend getting the 70-200 instead.

Update:

I just noticed on the description of this lens on Amazon, they claim it has ring-type USM (the better, faster auto focus with full-time manual focus in one shot mode). This is FALSE, it has micro motor USM (slower to auto focus and NO full-time manual focus).

Better than Tamron 70-300mm
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this lens after using the Tamron 70-300mm lens for about 4 or 5 month. At first I was totally ready to trash the Tamron lens. Due to my economic situation I could not afford replace the Tamron. With time and practice it started producing better and better images quality and I started having more fun with it. The truth is, I was learning how to use it correctly. The Tamron is a good, well made lens at an excellent price which I intend to keep.

Now the Canon 70-300mm with IS USM is a totally different class of lens. Twice the price of the Tamron but the IS alone is worth that. Image quality can be anywhere from very good to breathtaking. This lens is very easy to use, well made and looks good. If you can afford this lens, buy it, you’ll like it. If money is a little tight, get the Tamron. You’ll have fun and become a better photographer as you save your pennys for the Canon 70-300mm IS USM.

Excellent
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Very happy with this purchase. I gave the lens as a gift, and the receiver was VERY happy with the lens. The pictures are coming out fantastic with no issue with focusing or anything else.

buy a faster lens instead of IS
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
i’ve had this lens for over a year and was generally happy, because i didn’t compare it with anything else. recently i had a chance to use sigma 70-200 2.8 lens with my canon digital rebel xt and find the sigma noticeably sharper, even wide open, and more useful. Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 is f/5.6 at 300 mm. I shoot indoor sports a lot, and find that 5.6 is sometimes really not enough, even with IS, even at ISO 1600. When I shoot with sigma at 2.8 (constant aperture throughout the range), i get enough light and can usually have better enlargements because of crisp image quality.

i haven’t used canon 70-200 4L or 2.8L so i cannot compare (plus they are more expensive), but if i were making a purchase today for my telephoto needs, i would definitely opt for sigma 70-200 2.8, i feel it is worth of its price premium over this canon.

Get product, Great Service
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I received this a few days after my new Canon XSI. I used it for about a week and loved it’s crisp clean resolution, image stabilization, auto focus, etc. However, after using it for awhile I realized that the manual focus was not working properly. I was so disappointed. After the initial shock of the malfunction, I went to the Canon website and applied for warranty service. I followed that instructions, and within a little over a week, I had my lens back good as new. The whole process was very simple and straight forward. I did have to pay for shipping but the repair was free. All in all I am very happy with the lens, service, and would highly recommend it to anyone from beginner to advanced photographer.

Great lens for the money
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I use this lens on my 350D (AKA Digital Rebel XT). I bought it for 2 reasons:

1)My 70-300 Quantaray that works well enough for on my Rebel film camera gives me the infamous “Error 99″ on my digital.

2)My daughter’s high school graduation was coming up. The ceremony was to be on the outdoor football field

I shot nearly 300 frames with this lens at the graduation in very tough lighting. The distance from the bleachers to the ceremony required every bit of the 300mm focal length much of the time (even with the 1.6X crop factor of the digital rebel). With the IS I was able to get quite passable images with shutter speeds down to 1/80, although I stayed at 1/125 as much as possible by using higher ISO settings and the largest aperature. There is no way I would have been able to get decent images handheld at these focal lengths and shutter speeds without an IS lense (especially on a shaky high school bleacher!).

Considering the importance of the event, if I’d never found another use for the lens it would have been worth the cost for me. I have subsequently used it at an air show and a few other events. I’ve successfully used the “Mode 2″ on the IS to get some cool motion blue on moving airplanes and cars as well.

If I have one complaint about the lens it’s the speed (or lack thereof) of the autofocus. It’s a bit sluggish but this isn’t a shocker given that this is a consumer product and not professional gear.

Anyone purchasing this lens just needs to know what they are buying. Essentially, you are buying a 200 dollar lens with 400 dollars worth of IS added to it. One previous poster recommended getting the 70-200 F4L IS instead. That would be a great purchase aside from the fact that you’d be giving up 100mm of focal length and paying 400-500 more dollars. I considered that lens (and may get it down the road when I’m “rich”) but this one will meet my (decidedly amateur) needs for quite some time!

Good, but big . . .
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Takes great pictures — but, is a beast to lug around. Make sure you have the right type of camera bag before you invest in this. Great image stabilization. I love it!

Fantastic Purchase
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I did quite a bit of research on zoom lenses in this range and decided that this would be the one I would purchase. I am glad I did. The quality is superb and having the Image Stabilization really makes it a pleasure to take pictures in less than perfect lightening conditions. I would recommend this lens to any and everyone.

Canon Lenses
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This Canon Lens upholds the tradition of fine products from the Canon line of photographic accessories. It takes very clear, sharp, hand held pictures with the Image Stabilizer capability activated. It negates the necessity of carrying a tripod every time one wants to take long telephoto shots. It should be a must for any serious photographer that wanders the countryside, taking candid pictures, and wants to lighten the load of equipment carried.

Great lens
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This is a great lens and the IS feature makes a HUGE difference in the quality of pictures without the use of a tripod.

I take many pictures of sporting events for my four kids and my neices and nephews. I am very happy not to have to drag my tripod along. I do use the battery extention on my camera so I get a little longer battery life while using this lens. With the IS feature on it tends to drain your battery life quickly.

getting down the aisle
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This lens is great- I purchased it for wedding photography and it goes the distance. The image stabilizer is the best asset and it does drain the battery so keep an extra on hand!

AWESOME LENS!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
THis is an awesome lens that enables me to get shots that would be impossible to get (hand held) w/out the IS feature. I am VERY picky about sharpness and in the same lighting/conditions, this lens produces images as sharp as my L lens!! I LOVE how light it is and it is quick to focus! Of course to some people the “lightness” makes it feel cheap, and I’m sure it may not be as durable as a heavier L lens but I like the ease of carrying it around. I can hand hold at 1/10 a sec (I do have steady hands though) and get a decent shot…of course THOSE aren’t tack sharp shots but w/out IS I wouldn’t get the shot at all and they are still pretty good. If you are debating between this lens and the L zoom (70-200mm) I can tell you I use this lens A LOT and I LOVE it, it’s light, it focuses quickly (I mostly use manual though), it is capable of VERY sharp images and gives so much low light capability due to the IS…the L 70-200 zoom in this price range doesn’t have IS so you won’t get as many low light shots and the extra 100mm is great also. People will tell you that the “L” zoom crop at 200mm is sharper than a 300mm shot from this lens but i have not seen that to be the case yet. I am 99.9 % sure that if you buy this lens you will be VERY pleased with it!!!!

I Feel Like a Pro
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
As an amateur, I shoot a lot at airshows and I have been using a Tamron AF XR Di 28-300mm lens with a Canon SLR Digital Rebel for several years. Most shots are of aircraft from 1/4 to 1 mile away. I don’t use a tripod. The Tamron lens is great until you get to full zoom or your trying to get a shot of the P-51 in a high speed pass. The results are ok. Out of 100 shots, 25 might be considered good. With this Canon lens, its image stabilization, and AF almost 75 out of 100 are poster quality. You can count the rivets on the planes! I just can’t wait to get to the Sun n’ Fun and Oshkosh airshows this year.

I realize this lens is not professional grade, but it at least makes me look as if I am a half-decent photographer. The stabilization compensation for my inability to stay perfectly still makes all the difference in the world.

Try and take a shot of wildlife or the moon with a non-stabilized lens and then try this one. It is an amazing difference.

I was nervous about investing about the same money in a lens as I did the camera, but I have not been disappointed. It was certainly worth the investment and I will be able to use it on my future Canon camera upgrades, too.

A Solid Lens with drawbacks
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
This was one of my first lens purchases. I initially enjoyed it however as I became more and more serious about photography I found that this lens was not producing the quality I was looking for. For one, the chromatic abberation at the long end was terrible when the image was viewed at 100%. Secondly, when shooting wide open, the images are soft although stopping down a stop or two corrects this. I ended up trading this lens in towards the purchase of an EF 70-200 f/4L IS USM lens.

This lens, however, is not a complete loss. The 3-stop IS is fantastic and the focusing is relatively fast and accurate. I would suggest people just starting out on a tight budget purchase this lens if the higher end lenses are simply out of reach especially if you don’t plan on making outlandishly huge prints from your photos. That said, if I had to relive this purchase, I would have held out for a lens with a higher resale value and higher quality.

Quite happy with the lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
After debating between this and the 70-200 L series I decided to purchase this lens. I have been pleasantly surprised by the results. I also own the 17-85 and the 50mm 1.8 lenses and I have found that I have gotten the “most pleasing” results from this lens. The pictures have been very sharp from my 20D – even in the 200mm – 300mm range. I’ve also been happy with the quality of the bokeh.

The primary drawback I see is that the AF tends to hunt a fair amount when confronted with low contrast images. That being said, I used it for some flying bird shooting at the wildlife refuge and was surprised to see how many of the shots were in sharp focus. However, it was a little bit of all or nothing. Several shots were also wildly out of focus. Since the lens is fairly slow to focus, you never know what you’re gonna get with such a fast moving object against the distant sky.

I had much more consistent results when shooting soccer, softball and football in the park. The AF speed did not present an issue for any of these activities and the results were excellent.

I wish the lens were a little less expensive but I the prints I have gotten from my 13 X 19 printer have been worth the extra money.

I love it !!!
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I’m not a professional, i just love to take pictures and this lens helps me a lot to get where the normal lenses not. The pictures are incredible

Good Lens+ Long Reach+ Price Right
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Have used this lens for a few months now and am very happy with it. The long reach specially with the 20D is definitely a plus. The lens is a little slow but the IS allows you to take at 2-3 stops than normal for static subjects. If I would rate it with 10 being best, optical quality is 8, focus speed 8, construction is 7 because of zoom creep and loud IS, price 9.

Great quality-good value
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I looked at the “L” series lenses also before buying this lens and just couldn’t justify the additional cost (but I liked those white barrels!) and am more than happy with it. I used the lens to photograph a weekend softball tournement in sun and rain and was very happy with it’s performance. It was able to focus very quickly and my images are sharp and clear. I would suggest a monopod for that kind of shooting-not taht the lens is that heavy, it’s just a lot of waiting for a few frantic shots. I didn but a lens hood and UV filter to help protect the lens. Great quality and so far it has worked perfect-my favorite lens right now.

A len that goes beyond mechanical len
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Cannon’s auto focus and image stabilizer technique allow you to take picture in actions. I have catched moments of flying birds, soccer games, and water ballet of ducks where three bottoms were in the air. Even a professional photographer may not be fast enough using traditional lens.

sweet lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
this lens is by far one of the sweetest you can ad to your bag. you will get stuning photos, and the image stabalizition is off the hook.

i take a lot of landscape shots, and have to say that this lens has taken some of the best photos ever.

canon cameras are some of the best on the market, and their lenses are superior.

get this lens, you will not be disappointed!

Fantastic!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Hardly take this lens off my Canon Rebel XT, it is fantastic, crisp, clear, everything I had hoped for and more!

Canon 70-300mm lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I received the Canon 70-300mm lens quickly from Amazon.com. Their service was great. I haven’t had the chance to use the lens much yet, but know I will love it.

great service
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Order arrived sooner than estimated and in excellent condition. I would purchase from them again.

Great features!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is a terrific lens, the obvious benefit is the IS feature. But the lens lock is also a valuable feature. I sold my 75-300 US lens and purchased the 70-300 IS US lens so I could more easily capture birds in the wild.. What a difference Image Stabilization makes! For a medium priced lens, you get some of Canon’s high priced values. I recommend this lens for any Canon EF mount user!

The reason to get this lens is for the IS
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I recently used this lens on an impromptu nature walk and was pleasantly surprised at how much the IS helped, especially at the 200-300mm range. I was able to get some really good long shots–all hand-held–on a relatively low contrast overcast day. Perhaps it was what I was shooting (relatively still nature, like birds) but I didn’t experience any problems that others may have noticed with focus speed or visual quality issues. I will say this is probably not the lens to use for fast moving sports or even everyday walk-around photos. For me, telephotos (200mm+) are fairly specialized (I prefer street photography). In most cases I would use my 28-135mm and crop. I usually use this lens for very specific purposes.

Great!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
As an action photographer I was able to get some pretty interesting shots, even though I was situated at the far end of the field.

As a scenic photographer, the shots were amazing, tripod or not, even at night.

Highly recommended for anyone that wants quality shots when panning.

Also, highly recommended in general.

very pleased
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I read countless of reviews of this and the Canon L-series 70-200 lenses, and opted for this for my Digital Rebel XT. I have no regrets. As an active amateur looking for a flexible telephoto zoom for family, sports, and nature photography, the 70-300 IS has not disappointed.

The importance of the IS can’t be understated. I wanted to work without a tripod in most circumstances (soccer games, nature hikes with my son, etc.), and the IS allows me to get great long shots with little loss of quality. I’m sure the L lenses have great optics, but with the IS, the L lenses would have been WAY too expensive for my needs.

The lense searches a bit when using AF, but a minor quibble. Fast enough for me, and I’m very happy with image quality.

One of the best lenses out there & a great price.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I owned this lens for quite a while, sold it, and am going to re-purchase it at this great price. It takes fantastic, sharp pictures in very low light situations (such as at the zoo, in one of the “houses”), great sports pictures and much more. I have shot super clear, beautiful animal pictures at 1/25th of a second, due to image stabilization. I think at about $460, this lens is a steal. Rather than writing a long, boring review, click here to see just one of the animal pictures that I shot with this lens: http://eyefetch.com/image.aspx?ID=575247

Canon EF 70-300 rocks
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The EF 70-300 IS USM is a superb lens. I’m using it for sports and birding. Crisp. Focuses fast enough for US soccer. Have only used it in daylight. Haven’t tried under lights yet. Easily images the goal from the half. Highly recommend it as an affordable alternative to the L series lenses.

Great lense
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I use this lense for taking photos of wildlife here in the area where I live. Also when the Blue Angels come to town will use it then as they fly over my home. The pictures come out great with my canon digital rebel.

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens for Canon EOS SLR
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have a passion to shot strangers. And this lens allows me to do that. Pictures are very good and clear. I don’t use a tripod but IS works just fine. My lens is noisy but that doesn’t bother me. A friend of mine has bought the same lens and it seems working silently. Good luck with yours. Recommended.

Canon 70-300mm IS Lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is a terrific lens, my new favorite. IS is an excellent feature; I wish all my lenses had it. Even with a 2X Teleconverter on, it is rock steady viewing and shooting. My images are sharp as a tack with great contrast and color. I’d have to pay three times this much to get any better telephoto images.

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens for Canon EOS SLR Cameras
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
For the price it is a superb lens. I find no flaws at this time. It seems to do everything it is supposed to do. A very nice complimentary lens to the 28-135mm IS that I also find is an excellent lens. Maybe neither is an L quality lens but with the difference in price you can take a couple of photo tours and enjoy your camera and lenses. I would recomment this lens. Buy it without any hesitation.

Best Lens for the Money
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is a great lens. Nothing more really needs to be said. If you want to spend money on a “L” Series lens, go ahead, but it won’t make you a better photographer and it won’t really take pictures better than this lens.

Cannon EF 70-300 mm lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I am using this lens on my Canon Rebel Digital, and it is well manufactured, very clear with no distortion, light weight, and exhibits smooth operation. Very Happy.

Plain review in plain terms with sample shots
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
The short version:

Pros:

The optical quality is great, the speed is terrific, and it compares well to the 70-200mm lens that people like to say blows this out of the water (I believe they are wrong – but we will get into that later) and finally, the price cannot be beaten. Buy it.

Cons:

No hood, extends as it zooms, and the quality of the picture in low light situation lessens a little.

The long version:

I am writing this in simple terms. I found several, several reviews on this lens but they were all in technical terms and leaves you scratching your head a little. So, if you are like me maybe this review will help you.

I bought this lens a couple months ago from US1Photo.com (check these guys out. They regularly have significant sales and terrific customer service). I use this lens with a Canon 40D.

I take several types and styles of pictures so I needed a lens that would do the best job at several things and have a very affordable price (right at or less than $1,000). I looked through new, used, third party (Tamron, Sigma, etc) lenses, and read too many reviews and looked at too many images to count, and spent four hours in a photography store playing with lenses before I decided to spend money and take advantage of this lens. All in all I spent about a week’s worth of time in research and testing before I bought this lens.

—

Edit:

Okay, so amazon won’t let me put a link here. This is how you find me.

~Go to Flickr

~Then type in a “/” then “photos” then “/” and last type in “gman_five0″

And that should take you there.

—

Test of comment #1:

~The Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM does not track moving objects very well and the farther to the end of the zoom the slower the tracking.

(Flickr Gallery page 2)

This, I have found, to be completely wrong. I have used the lens at several sporting events and found that it tracks rather nicely. I was able to track every step of a base-runner from first base to second, slide, and recovery after the play without losing ONE shot.

To see what I am talking about check out my gallery on Flickr. The older ones are NOT done with this lens or camera and taken, actually, several years ago. I will reference the pictures in question.

Safe, Got There By a Mile, Breaking Up That Double Play (please note that as time goes on from the date that this was posted the pictures may have been re-moved). Also, “Safe” was used instead of another shot taken at the same time and angle with a 70-200mm IS lens.

To take these shots I used “AI focus” and the “H” settings on my camera for quicker tracking and the H settings for about 6 frames per second.

Test of Comment #2:

~The 200-300mm range is nice in theory, but a tack-sharp photo from the 70-200mm f/4L at 200mm is going to look better cropped than a 300mm full-frame photo from this lens.

Again, I found this to be wrong. Though I have no actual “full sized” picture for this if you comment back with an email address then we can arrange a viewing of one. Otherwise, take my word for it, I own several lenses and this one stacks up well.

(Ref Flickr Gallery)

The pictures from the Dance Theater and Tashina were all taken at the 200-300mm focus lengths. Again, they are not full sized because of photo pirates, but if you email me we can see about full sized shots.

Test of Comment #3:

~The IS motor is loud

I do not know what these people are talking about, but if you call that loud…

On the other hand, I have heard (once), the sound of the IS motor, but if you are not listening for it you will not even notice it.

Things I have found about the lens:

If you spend some time with the lens will be one of your best friends. It is a great lens especially for people on a budget (like me). To take the best pictures you cannot just twist it on and go to shooting. Take the time to LEARN about the lens (change shutter speeds, ISO settings, aperture, white balances, etc) and it will show you where it shines – just like the L series lenses and the 70-200mm IS.

This lens has a solid make and feels like it will last forever. Then again, as you zoom the lens does extend and is plastic. So, watch out if you are doing sports. You may get it knocked off. It did well for me, though. Extending while zooming makes putting a hood on the lens a bit (very little; so little that you cannot tell) awkward and it looks kinda goofy.

I like the lens because it is not as bulky as the 70-200mm lens and it is extremely mobile. It is as quick as some other lenses, not as quick as some, and quicker than others. It will give you great quality pictures. It does have its limits, however: in low light situations not being able to take it back a couple stops and get a wider aperture will not give you the same shot as a 70-200mm. Then again, like I said, it doesn’t drop to that f/2.8 and does not cost all that money. This has been the single drawback for me about the lens.

I use this lens for portraits (Tashina, Samantha), for sports (see gallery), and music (Shawn Pander – See Gallery). So, it’s pretty versatile. I have yet to use with it flash, but that is because I simply do not like to use flash. I have yet to use it in a studio setting, but when I do I will amend this review and add a couple of those pictures as well.

This lens comes highly recommended from me. I am not a big time, highly paid, or well known photographer. I just like to shoot and like what I shoot to be of the best quality that I can have AND afford at the time. So, if you are like me and cannot spend the needed $1,500 – $1,700 on a 70-200mm IS lens then spend your money on this lens. You will not be sorry for it.

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On another note, comments are welcome. This is my first ever review on here so let me know if there anything else that you would like to know about and I will do my best to answer the question in the most plain terms as possible.

Wow, I love this lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I’m just getting into back photography after 25 years. I received this as a gift and was overwhelmed at first. But in no time I was having a ball with this and how easy it was to use. Love the lens!

Awesome Lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Have used this lens from the deer stand while hunting, at sporting events (indoor and outdoor) and at concerts. Fast focusing and great image stabilization (IS does use quite a bit more power, though). Have not had one problem with it. Solid build and has a little heft to it. It is a bit pricey, but I chaulk that up to it being about the best on the market. Would recommend it to anyone looking for a top shelf lens.

“The hidden L lens…”
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I bought this lens about a month ago when I purchased my Rebel XT.

I was initially dissapointed by the image quality but it turned out that I actually had a bad filter on the lens. Once I removed that cheap filter the lans came to life and has blown me away!!

If you read some of the forums there are actually Canon owners complaining that this lens is too good and has effectively devalued their expensive “L” lenses!

The only negative thing that I can say about this lens is that the front element rotates while focusing, making using a circular polarizer somewhat cumbersome. The Image Stabilizer really is a technological marvel though and will leave you wondering why every lens doesn’t come with it (the answer is that it adds to the weight and IS isn’t cheap).

This weekend was the first time the weather cooperated enough for me to try it outdoors. I went to a small local zoo and took a picture of a red fox from about 30ft away… through 2 wire fences… in sub-par lighting. I didn’t expect much. The picture actually came out and is so sharp I am having it framed.

Buy this lens!

Great lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this lens to replace the Canon 75 – 300 mm EF lens I used with my film Rebel. I wanted the IS and USM. It certainly was worth the money. I was able to get some amazing action photos at my daughter’s lacrosse game. I had taken pictures at a previous game with my old lens and really ended up deleting most of them with a few keepers. With this lens, I probably kept 90%. Even the pictures I took before I realized the IS was off were good. It was fast to focus and easy to handle. It’s a little heavy but that’s to be expected. I’ve only used it once for a indoor shot of a co-worker doing a presentation…with my 430 EX flash, even that came out well. I have found it to be a great investment and addition to the couple of lenses I own.

Great lens!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I purchased this lens so that I get better pictures of my son at his football games. I have been very impressed with the results.

satisfactory lens
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I searched a lot before buying this lens and it was hard to decide between this lens and EF 70-200 F/4 L.

At the end I bought this one and after my first few days I can say that it is more than satisfactory.

Pictures are sharp and even at 300 mm. under low light you can have some brilliant pictures.

One thing that can be criticised is that you can hear some noise when auto focusing and it becomes longer and longer when you focus at 300mm. but it does not bother me.

Canon EF 70-300mm Lens Review
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Great lens. Before purchasing this lens, I did some homework. It costs more than some others but I am really glad I chose it. The quality of the photos is awesome. And, it is 100% compatible with my Canon digital – others aren’t always completely compatible.

Very Nice Lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I used this lens on our vacation in the Smokey Mountains i October 2006. I performed great. I was able to zoom in on a bear cup and got some great pictures.

Canon DSLR Rebel XTI and the EF 70-300 Lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Canon DSLR Camera and Lens

I researched various digital cameras when I wanted to step up from my Kodak Easy Share “point and shoot” digital, which I do still love but wanted to broaden my photo abilities. I read articles, e-mailed friends, and even stopped people on the street with cameras to ask them the brand name and what they thought about their cameras. The Canon DSLR Rebel XTI came out ahead of all others, for simplicity in use, dependability of shots, lightweight, and price. I LOVE my Rebel XTI and it wasn’t any time before I just had to order the the EF 70-300mm lens for even more zoom. Even I can’t mess up all my photos! It’s a great camera to be able to expand your abilities with interchangeable lenses, etc. Go for it!

A Starter Lens With IS!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I picked this up with my first 350d, and was very happy with it. I since purchased a whole bevy of lenses and sold this to another happy user:)

Not a bad lens. Better than the old 75-300mm IS, but get the 70-200 f/4L instead.
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I owned this lens’ predecessor, the 75-300mm IS. That lens was horrible. When I read many good things about this new 70-300mm IS lens, I thought it was time to upgrade. But, it was difficult to decide whether buy this lens or Canon’s 70-200mm f/4L professional lens. I bought this lens and it was my mistake.

While it has numerous improvements over the 75-300mm IS, there are still some shortcomings with this lens that keep it from competing with the similar-priced 70-200mm f/4L.

First, starting at around 150mm-200mm and getting worse as you approach 300mm, this lens gives images that look soft (no, I’m not using any filters!). This is not an issue of focus, but of low-cost consumer-grade optics. You can stop the lens down and get some improvement, but then you lose your depth of field. (EDIT: The sharpness problem with my lens was the result of using it in portrait-orientation, a defect among the first batches of this lens. Canon repaired the lens for free and it became sharper, no matter the orientation, but still not as good as the 70-200mm f/4L).

Second, the focusing speed is slow. New in this lens is variable-speed focusing; as the zoom passes 200mm, the focusing speed slows. I assume this is to prevent the missed-focus hunting common with its predecessor. But, this makes it harder to track moving objects and keep them in focus.

Third, this lens suffers from very ugly purple chromatic aberration. This lens really shows this problem too, in that even small bright objects develop purple halos.

Finally, the lens gets larger as you zoom, the lens gets larger when you focus, the front of the lens moves when focusing, the focus ring moves when auto-focusing, the zoom retracts by itself when pointed upward (EDIT: last item was fixed by Canon during the above-mentioned service), and I’m sure there’s more I’m forgetting… But none of these problems exist with the 70-200mm f/4L.

This is not “the hidden L lens” as one reviewer said, it is nothing but a common consumer lens with a big price tag. The IS feature is the single sole benefit. If you have very shaky hands you might just need this lens. If you have very steady hands, with IS you can use this lens in the dark of night (assuming you have a very still subject). The 200-300mm range is nice in theory, but a tack-sharp photo from the 70-200mm f/4L at 200mm is going to look better cropped than a 300mm full-frame photo from this lens.

If what you want is a very high quality lens that will give you sharp photos in daylight; buy the 70-200mm f/4L lens instead, it even comes with a hood. The hood for the 70-300mm IS lens is another $40, making the 70-200mm f/4L a lower priced lens (and it even comes with a bag!).

Great long range lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have been using this lens for a month or so for long range shooting form inside a vehicle. With the engine running and my shaky arms, it still takes clear pictures. When you zoom in on the computer you can see only minimal blur. For the price and what you get, I feel like I got a great deal.

Excellent lens for the price
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Before buying this lens, I spent quite a bit of time debating between this lens and Canon 70-200 f4 L lens. The positive reviews and the IS feature of this lens swung my decision in favor of this lens. I have had this lens for about six months and I am extremely pleased with it. I am sure people will say that the 70-200 f4 L lens blows this lens out in various ways. But for some one who has a fixed budget and for whom photography is just a hobby not a profession the value that his lens presents is hard to beat. I simply couldn’t justify spending $500 more to get the 70-200 f4 IS lens.

The optical quality of this lens is really good. The pictures are sharp, with beautiful colors and contrast. This lens gives a very pleasing bokeh. Take a look at image 334 of customer images ( African Daisy) to see what I mean. I haven’t extensively tested the speed of Auto Focus, but from whatever little testing I did on flying birds I was satisfied by its performance. And finally the IS feature on this lens works really great.

WAY too expensive, but…
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
WAAAAY too expensive (they all are though) but it gets the job done. A decent lens, but it’s definitely NOT an “all-in-one”… you’ll need others to get the job done. The low and high ends are pretty much useless, but the mid-range is good.

so far so good
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I have just bought the lens and took some trial pictures

1- the Auto focus is not great at 300mm.

2- it is impossible to take sharp pictures at night using image stabilizer at 300mm, however, between 70-160mm IS works great at night and to me, it is good enough.

3- regarding the construction, it looks little bit cheap comparing the L models.

4- the images taken under day light are really sharp even at 300mm.

I would strongly recommend this lens if you do not mind the negatives I wrote down above.

Nice Lens
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This lens does everything it should very well. Really allows you to take a close look at something with great image quality. The only thing I wish was better about it is the aperture. The 4-5.6 is not bad by any means, but can be limiting when you are trying to stop fast movements. However, as long as you plan for it and the conditions are constant, you can work around it. All in all this is a nice lens.

Great lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
First off, I am not a professional photographer. I am a newbie with limited digital SLR experience. The main reason I bought this lens was for landscapes and action photos. As a landscape lens, it is not good. As an action lens, it is great. When I was in Vermont over Christmas, I took great sledding action photos. The lens pretty much sucks for any subject less then 20 feet away. It is good for indoor shots; I used it at my sister’s graduation and was able to get great up close shots from about 25 rows back. THIS LENS IS BIG, AND HEAVY. It is about twice as heavy and bulky as the non-image stabilized 70-300 lens. It is a great lens, and Amazon had the best legitimate price I could find.

Perfect For Us Soccer Moms
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I’m not a pro photographer. It’s a hobby. A few years ago when my kids started soccer I needed a great telephoto lens. I went into my local camera shop and told them I needed a great lens to take photos outdoors of my kids on the soccer field. The rep didn’t blink twice and handed me this lens. This probably the most used lens in my arsenal for taking outdoor photos. I take mostly photos of my kids and I prefer to catch them off-guard, so I sit to the side and just take shots of them when they aren’t really aware. I like that. I get some really meaningful photographs, one of which is one of my favorite photographs. It always makes me smile.

I’m sure the pros will say there are better lenses on the market, but really. For me, a mom wanting outdoor photos of her kids playing soccer. This is the best lens. It’s also very comfortable and easy to use. It feels good and responds well. I let a friend of mine borrow this several months back and she also took some amazing more artsy photographs with it and she more pro than I’ll ever be.

Overall, this is a great lens, you can read the specs for product details, I won’t go into all that, but know that if you need it for outdoor field-range shots, this is the perfect lens. Soccer moms unite! The only thing that this really needs and I keep forgetting to buy is a hood. Sometimes my photos are too exposed if it’s really sunny.

Pix R Us
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
Good lens, some nice features, but for about the same mony you can have the 70-200mm “L” lens, and have Crisp Clean pics and digitally zoom in ,and still have better results than the 70- 300IS I bought the 70-200 “L” lens, and couldn’t be happier! Well,unless I had around $1600.00+ to buy a 2.8 “L” lens.

There are Better, but There are More Worse
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This is a good zoo lens. It is not as heavy or noticeable as something like the 100-400 L lens. Also, with the 3 stop IS and smaller size and weight this makes a great backup lens to the 100-400 on trips or when I just don’t feel like carrying around a 3+ pound lens all day. So if you don’t want to have to deal with the cost or size of an L series lens this is one of the next best options.

A good telephoto lens: pros and cons
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This lens is very useful for different purposes. Not only as a zoom-in lens that allows you to approach distant subjects but also I find it suitable for portrait photography. In fact, you can say this is a non-intrusive lens -so to speak, when it comes to taking face close-ups. With other lower focal distance lenses I have noticed that people, and especially children, get bored or uncomfortable. Besides, it’s extremely easy to achieve a significant “bokeh” (diffused background) given the amplification factor that a large focal distance produces. Taking portrait pictures at 300mm the background starts to get out of focus just a few feet behind your subject. The role of aperture is not key anymore because depth of field (DOF) isn’t what matters most. The IS works great and the sound it makes isn’t too noisy. I have achieved very sharp images even in middle or low light conditions, thanks to this feature. Now the flip side! This lens is heavy and too large for transportation. Definitively it’s not a good choice for traveling or if you are concerned for your safety. The lens is expensive and easily catches people’s attention. If you hold it for some time in your hands while it is attached to the camera body, you start feeling tiredness. Due to the weight and size the gravity balance point of the camera shifts from to body to some point along the lens so I tend to grab hold of the latter instead of the camera body, as usually happens with any other lens. When it comes to focusing, the process is a bit slow though I think it’s a normal behavior. Under low light conditions (for example, bulb lights) the lens might find it difficult to get a subject into focus. If that happens the focusing barrel goes back and forward till it gets something into focus. Over all: good lens!!!

Still learning – but all signs are good
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I picked this up on recommendation of a friend for my New Rebel XSi. I’ve still only used it minimally, but the shots I have taken have been wonderful. I still need to take it out and shoot the kids playing soccer, baseball or basketball to see how the action is both in doors and outside, but for relatively slow moving or still shots, it’s been great.

The only reason I did not give it 5 stars is because I have not had enough time with it yet.

A Powerful, Versatile Lens for Consumer Grade Digital SLR Cameras
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
When purchasing my new Canon EOS 40D I wanted to get an additional lens that would add an extended zoom range from the 28-135mm lens that came in the kit. I had a budget of $2,500.00 for a digital SLR camera, hot shoe flash, additional lens, memory card, and a large gadget bag. I wanted to purchase the best quality camera that I could get, so I had decided to purchase the EOS 40D by Canon (kit with 28-135mm lens), but that meant that I would have to sacrifice money spent on the other accessories. I purchased a 4GB Sandisk Extreme III CompactFlash card, and the Canon Speedlite 580EX II flash with the camera, so that meant I had roughly $675.00 for another lens and a nice camera/gadget bag. I researched the Canon EF lenses extensively and decided that I had to have a lens with image stabilization. I wanted a Canon lens and wanted it to have a large zoom range. All reviews I read pointed to the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens as a solid choice.

I ordered this lens from Amazon and got a great price, and with free shipping. The first thing I noticed is that this lens is lightweight and feels very well made. The light weight did concern me a little, because I typically process the thought of lightweight electronics gear with cheap build quality. Well I am convinced that this Canon lens does NOT suffer from cheap build quality. The lens feel solid, and the focus and zoom rings are not sloppy at all. The auto focus is fairly fast (although it can be a little slower in the highest zoom range), and the image stabilization works great. As others have pointed out, this lens produces a somewhat softer looking image above the 200mm range. However, the contrast and color remains sharp, even at maximum zoom. If you don’t mind giving up some depth of field by adjusting the aperture, you can get very clear images at the full 300mm.

My biggest complaints with this lens are as follows:

- The end of the lens rotates when focusing, which causes the constant need to adjust my circular polarizer.

- The zoom changes the length of the lens.

- If you tip the camera at a sharp verticle angle, the zoom adjustment of the lens will retract on its own.

- Auto focus becomes slower at higher zoom setting.

- Having the lens set to AF prevents you from fine tuning the focus manually (there seems to me a mechanical, gear-type lock of the focus ring when AF is engaged)

Overall I am extremely happy with this lens, even with the few shortcomings mentioned above. The auto focus is accurate and fairly fast, the IS feature is rock solid, and the light weight of this lens makes it very good for handheld shots and does not cause balance issues when using a monopod or tripod. Although I have noticed some minor softness in photos above 200 or 250mm, my pictures always look clear and contain excellent contrast and color. I’m sure you could get better results from a Canon professional lens, which would cost you well over a grand for this kind of zoom range, but for the average hobby photographer I think this lens is about as good as you can get; and it can be had for under $600. I am confident that this Canon EF 70-300mm lens will last for many years to come, and I would definately buy it again. I hesitate to recommend this lens for a professional photographer, but for everyone else it is an excellent choice.

Excellent quality
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This lens has dramatically improved the way I am able to shoot pictures, and the image stabilizer permits me to get normal day-time shots without a tripod!

great
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
i feel like paparazzi, this is fantastic

worked WONDERS while photographing my last wedding; it was like i was standing at the altar with them

recommend

Missing the “wow factor”, but still worth it
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I own several lenses for my Canon Digital Rebel XTI, and this is honestly not my favorite one. However, I can’t fault the overall performance of this piece, and I would recommend it being aware of its limitations.

PROS

- Excellent build construction. The case is metal and appears quite solid even when extended.

- 300mm at a reasonable cost. Combine that with the 1.6 magnification of the common half-frame sensors found in many digital cameras, and that equates to some serious zoom.

- Fairly short focal length: this is definitely a telephoto, but if you want to take portraits with it, you can get within 5′ or so of the subject, even at more than 70mm.

- Image Stablization: invaluable. I rarely get a blurry shot; recently I compared this lens with and without a tripod and could not notice a difference. Of course, low shutter speeds will greatly impact this feature, but it is still a must.

CONS

- I’m not impressed with the clarity of most pictures. The AF is quick and reliable, but it often feels like something is “missing”. Pictures are not out of focus but sometimes feel excessively “soft”.

- Weight: if you are going to walk around a park or nature trail all day, figure a creative way to carry this thing. Not a “con” per se, but definitely a consideration.

- Color just feels lackluster sometimes.

I think this is a decent lens which requires careful attention to lighting and camera settings to take a truly good picture; it’s less forgiving than the other lenses I use (mainly a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II & Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-4.6).

Amature takes picture taking to new level
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The addition of the Canon EF70-300mm with IS lens to my purchase of the Rebel XTi body has allowed this very average amature picture taker to now call himself an up an coming amature photographer. The range and image quality of the lens along with with the IS feature are very forgiving, consistently providing clear, sharp, images. The lens is light enough for me to take it everwhere, even hanging from the strap over my neck. I now often leave the stock 18-55mm lens at home in favor of what is now my favorite.

Sharp, clear pictures from far away
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
If you need to take a photo from far away, this is what you need. It is easy to use and the photos it takes are crystal clear. Excellent for getting the shot from a distance away. You can manually focus or put it on automatic focus and snap away. It is also has a stabilizer for taking fast photos that still remain clear. I have snapped several pictures from probably 50 feet away. They look like I am standing right next to the subject. I am very pleased with this product and feel it was worth the money. I researched for quite some time and found it for the best deal on here. There are other, cheaper telephoto lenses but this one really works.

Love the lens!
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
After 3 months of research, going between the EF 70-200 f4, the EF 70-200 f4 IS and the EF 70-300 IS I bought the 70-300 and can say I’m very pleased. The IS is awesome, you can actually see the frame stabilize as the IS kicks in. I tried out the 70-200 but I just couldn’t get the shots handheld that I could with the 70-300 IS. I actually considered the 70-200 IS but once I played with it I thought “do I really want to lug this around on my travels?”. The answer was no.

I uploaded a couple of photos…one of a white swan I took at our marina and one of my nephew. By the way, I’m new to photography.

I Love It
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
As a novice photographer, I highly recommend this lens. With the image stabilizer, it makes using the lens a lot better. Just be sure to adjust your ISO up to at least 800, otherwise the shutter is way to slow and everything is blurred. It makes the camera a little heavy if you have to carry it around your neck for very long, but other than that, I absolutely love it. It was well worth the money.

Awesome Lens Great Price!!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I had the 70-200 L F/4 usm without the IS, I returned that lens. Without IS it was not worth keeping for me, to many blurry pictures(must be on a tripod) So I exchanged it for this 70-300 IS USM about the same price too. Love it!! Made it all worth while. It’s pretty good at up close, not a macro lens. Great with 300mm, Clear and sharp at all ranges. nice walk around lens for me. Very Happy with this purchase.

It’s great – just what I was looking for
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This lens is just what I was looking for. The lens that originally came with my Cannon Rebel just couldn’t get close enough for me to get the shots I wanted of the local wildlife and missed out on a lot of good shots. The resolution is great and once I have the picture in my computer I can do more with it. The stablizer also works great for those real long distance shots and make the picture so much clearer. I make stained glass windows and take a lot of pictures that use in my designs and now I can get up close and personal with the subject. I have a couple of friends that also have the same lens and they are as happy as I am with it.

excellent lens
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This is an excellent lens. It was lighter than I was expecting and so far seems to be very sharp and much better than its predecessor. It is smaller and lighter than the 70-200 or 100-400 mm and therefore very likely to accompany me on distant journeys.

Love this lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is my first dSLR camera, so I do not have much experience with other lenses. I can tell you every shot I take looks great, well, as great as the operators abilities! I have captured some wonderful shots of birds from across my yard, the details remain clear even if I crop them in futher later.

Good
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Auto focus would at times act bad. But takes good photos once you get used to it.

Dissapointed
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I am a Canon fanatic and own many lenses and this lens is the one that does not give me that happy glowing feeling. I bought it primarily so when I went to sporting evens I could get closer into the action – I tend to buy seats close rather than sitting at the back of the stands and I am frustrated after a year of ownership.

At 300mm the lens is blurry, it seems to produce inconsistent color when I use bursts (1-2 pictures out of ten come up dark…..?) and it can be slow to focus. I thought I would be able to use this for nature photography however without the predictability of baseball I am not sure I’d be able to snap a birds that might land quickly and dart away again.

Its just not up to the quality of my other Canon lenses. I also think it is shameful that it does not come with a hood considering the price – you can tack on another $40 for that. When all is said and done you may find something similar from Sigma or one of the other producers that is cheaper and of similar quality. I personally wish I had gone that route for once.

It is not bad … its just not great. I’m looking for a replacement.

Excellent Lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have owned this lens for 11 months now and I highly recommend it. Its my most used lens and I have taken some really nice photos with it. Here is my take….

It handles well on my rebel xti. There is ample space on the barrel to rest it on my left hand and get a nice weight balance, and still turn the big grippy zoom ring. The zoom ring is easy to turn but not loose. Although the focus ring turns during auto-focus its out of reach from my hand. You can reach the IS switches easily by feel without looking. You have to press them a bit to get them to move, but it is impossible to accidently switch them. The AF/MF switch is hard to get to, but I don’t MF that much anyway. The build quality is solid and typical of a canon mid-range/non-L lens.

AF is fast and accurate. It does have a habit of hunting at 300mm if focus is way off to start with. All other focal lengths are fine. AF noise is very quiet but not silent like my EF 17-40L.

The Image stabilization (IS) is excellent!!! If you have good handholding technique you can get blur free (or close enough) still photos to 1/30th second at any focal length. If your hand holding technique is sloppy IS won’t help as much. IS really adds to the versatility of this lens.

The image quality is great. The images are sharp at any focal length. (I mostly shoot around F4-5.6). The bokeh (quality of the blur) is very smooth, and better than my 50mm 1.8 which can be a bit “nervous” at times. Colors and contrast are good.

I am glad I bought this lens instead of the EF 70-200 F4 L non-IS. The L has better build, and (the consensus is) better image quality. But I have never thought, “Dang, I wish this lens was sharper or was built better”. But I have thought “Boy, I’m so glad I have image stabilization right now” and “I’m glad my lense is less conspicous than the larger white L lense”. I really think that the image quality differences will not be noticed by most people, and can easily be swamped by technique.

One word…. AWESOME!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this lens after returning the canon 75-300 that I was very unhappy with.

This lens has impressed me every step of the way and yielded some excellent images. I highly recommend it. and if your on the fence like I was trying to decide if you need the IS or not. Just do it. you wont be sorry, My only regret was wasting my time with the non IS version.

Click order and enjoy. You will thank me.

Simply put…….awesome
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have used this lens for 2 months now and I am constantly amazed with its results. Whether it is used for (reasonably) fast action at my daughter’s soccer games, or for static shots, the lens is easy to use, fairly lightweight and produces excellent results.

Of course, I wish it were less expensive (and it will be in time).

Awesome.

Canon 70-300mm Telephoto IS USM Lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I purchased this lens to go with my Canon XSI camera. So far the lens is all what I expected. It’s movements are very quick and smooth. The AF is really fast especially on moving targets. I would buy this lens again.

Telephoto lens review
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Nice overall lens for taking close up shots from far away. Great for our kids sporting events.

Awesome lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This was a fantastic lense to use having the feature- image stabilization.

Upon each hand held, photo I took, when slightly pressing the shutter, you could hear a faint motor kick in, and the image stabilizer immediately froze the movement of camera shake, allowing then to snap the photo. It was incredible and the zooming power was great.

A bargain telephoto zoom lens
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This lens is a bargain, excellent resolution, easy and fast to use, image stabilization (two modes), and at a price dramatically less than other Canon tele zoom lenses, albeit this is a stop or two “slower” lens, f/4.0-5.6 instead of f/2.8 and such. But, for the number of times I need a lens this long, I found it a great choice. A pro will want faster lens but for many if not most folks, this is a great choice. The IS is a great feature for a lens this long.

I found the image stabilizer noisy, not annoyingly so but clearly louder than my other Canon IS zoom lens, which is perfectly silent. I took it to Canon and they were also concerned but then they tried some others of the same lens that they had on hand and they were all noisy, so we concluded that that’s the way this model is.

solid lens so far
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Having only used the lens for a few weeks, I have not had that many opportunities to see limitations, but overall the lens seems to do all that I could have asked of it. The autofocus seems to be very fast and accurate. It is not a “l” series lens, but for the price and the focal length, it is able to capture action frames as fast as the Rebel xsi it is mounted on will cycle. I am very pleased with the performance of this lens so far and would recommend it to anyone who is looking for an affordable way to outfit their digital SLR.

Nice shot
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
It is a very “nice” zoom. It is quite smooth, and auto focus is excelent. I just bought it and it has been very useful for me. The only thing to take in consideration is that the weight is a little heavy, for long periods of carrying it in your neck. No matter that, it is a excellent choice. I recomend it.

Another thing, We should say where we bought it from, to prevent all other people to get bad treated.

Great lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I’ve been using this lens for a week and love it. I’ve taken some great pictures of my twin boys and some great photos of sunsets from my backyard. I uploaded three photos to flickr to show some samples. My flickr name is bfmersereau and the photos were uploaded on January 4th, 2010. I’m your average photographer and I’m using a Canon T1i. I highly recommend this lens.

Very Good Telephoto zoom for the money
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Although there are a few small minor issues with this lens, for the most part it is well worth the money, the IS works remarkably well and I have taken some extremely sharp photos with it and my Rebel XTi. The 70-300 range is versitle and I have even taken very clear shots of the moon, wildlife and far away scenery. The negatives have to do mostly with its construction: The fully extended lens is very long, especially with the hood. Oh yeah, the hood was an extra $30+ ; The barrel wobbles a bit and sometimes it can’t autofocus at 300mm. The barrel also rotates when focussing which makes it difficult to use a circular polarizing filter. In spite of these flaws I would recommend the lens as a really good consumer grade product. I use this lens with a Canon close-up lens sometimes to get awsome macro shots. I have a 1.4X teleconverter on the way that will extend its range to 420mm (672mm on the XTi). I will update this review after trying the teleconverter.

Great one!!!
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This lens is very good and works perfectly for my need.

Cons: Heavy

Excellent for the price but no sub for 70-200 f/4L IS, not even close.
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Use it on 40D and 5D, based on real world use, not target pattern shooting.

Pro:

- IS

- light weight

- AF accuracy (when subject is reasonably close with reasonable contrast)

- black (as oppose to the big white L. I’ve been looking for an IS tele but too stingy and shy to use a big L, so I got this one – a refurbished one for $410.)

– reasonable price

Neutral:

- build quality – good, but nothing to brag about. Zoom ring excellent, but MF ring is loose and tube wobbles during MF but not when zoomed.

- The canon shade is expensive, but got one from eBay for $7, not bad

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

Con:

- not yet

Bottom line: great for low key day-to-day use – it’s cheap/black/light weight. I tend not to agree with ‘you get what you paid for’ – good shots can come from anywhere. Great if you can afford big white stuff, for the rest of us, this zoom is fantastic.

P.S.

Did some quick comparison test in the backyard: Tamron18-250, Canon 200L, Canon 70-200F/4, Canon 70-300, Sigma 170-500. As expected, no miracle here: the L prime is the indisputable best, closed followed by 70-200F4, , then 70-300, then 18-250, with the big old Sigma in the dead last place. I tried on both 5D and 40D, RAW and fine JPEG. As expected, 70-300 is very consistent, AF is accurate, color/contrast are nice. Just not that sharp especially when the subject is far away (20 yard+). It’s IS works beautifully.

P.S 2.0 -

Some cautions about this lens:

I got it as a substitution for the much more expensive 70-200 f4L IS. Nope, I was wrong. For this lens, IQ is awash under harsh light (over cast, sunny noon, etc). L zoom is far better. Also, the IS kicks in far slower than those on L zooms. Often times it stalls the shutter on my 40D. This actually is the ONLY lens that does this. I have the Tamron 18-270 VR, which doesn’t do this at all. The Tammy seems to let go of the shutter without kicking in its VR if 40D is on high speed continuous mode. Hope this is just my copy. Other than that, I think this lens is good, love the handling and size and weight of it. Finally I got a 100-400L, not much sharper actually comparing to this lens. But everything else works without a glich, fast and spot-on AF, seemless IS, consistent output regardless of the weather condition, great contrast and color, always! Ya, the big whity weighs more. But I love the convenience of the push-pull and its consistensy! L lens seems to do things as advertized on paper, the others are hit and miss… Based on my own personal experience so far.

Looks great on paper…
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
As a serious amateur photographer and careful research on a decent lens to help get me started, I chose this one. The photo quality and sharpness had me immediately impressed, but after using it for a while now I do start to see its downfalls. It seems to have a serious drop in photo quality as it approaches 300mm, making true telephotography with this lens a challenge. I had read reports on its focusing issues (being too slow, etc) but never really noticed or cared much. After a while using it however, it does start to get a little frustrating and sometimes found myself manually focusing on the object I wanted then switching back to auto to make sure I had it right (and so auto wouldn’t search for seconds at a time).

That being said, the Image Stabalization does do a great job for low-light. I never found it much use during the daytime and it’s currently set to off to help save my battery while I’m on vacation. The photo quality is really tremendous for a beginner, and one will not be upset with it by any means. It just has its limitations which I guess should be expected from a non-professional lens.

Even so, if I could do it over, I would choose the similarly priced professional (L) telephoto lens even as a beginner. The differences seem to be vast.

Excellant
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Just finished using this lens for the first time. Am very impressed with the results and the ease of use and speed of lens. Autofocus worked quickly enough to capture clean images at a Rugby match and IS function kept my pictures shake free all the way upto 300mm (the other side of the pitch). Used with the Canon ET-65B Lens Hood.

Great performing lens as a good pricepoint
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
So, this certainly isn’t an L lens, however given the pricepoint and image quality, you can’t go wrong. I’ve used this lens at a number of motorsports events where the image stabilization is a must have. Before using this lens, images were blurry and just as many were bad as good. With the IS turned on, things look great. Additionally, being able to shoot in lower light has allowed me to take some shots that might have otherwise gotten away. I’d buy again, though this time I’d add the lens hood to it.

I prefer these EF lenses to EF-S.
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I got to use this lens on my Canon XSi for a couple weeks and was very impressed. The picture quality is very good, but I am a little disappointed that this lens is not compatible with the lens abberation correction features of Canon’s Digital Photo Pro (DPP) software. The software corrects barrel and pincussion distortion and light falloff in photos taken with many other Canon lenses, but not this lens. The DPP software comes with Canon’s dSLR cameras. However, lens abberations are lessened on my XSi by the fact this is a EF mount lens, not EF-S, so the light cone is significantly larger than my sensor, so any abberations at the edge of the light cone are not included in my photos. And, if I upgrade to a full sized sensor Canon camera in the future I can use any EF mount lens, but not an EF-S lens. Also, this lens has a metal mount and a better build overall, whereas the EF-S lenses I have seen have a plastic mount and poorer build. One thing in the technical details on Amazon could be misleading to those who are not in the know: The mention of a USM ring type motor (the typo says ‘monitor’) focusing system could lead some to think this lens has full time manual focusing, when in fact the switch must be set to MF to have manual focusing. Based on the short time I have used this lens, the good user reviews at Amazon, and the very favorable reviews I have read on several technical photo sites, I can recommend it to others, and I will be purchasing it soon myself.

ADDED: To the commenter, I stated the typo was “monitor” (instead of “motor”). The statement is still misleading in that “ring-type USM” generally allows manual focusing even with the lens set to the auto-focus mode. This lens does NOT have full-time manual focusing.

NEWEST ADDED: I just updated the DPP software at the Canon USA website and lens abberation corrections are now included for this lens. The instructions do not list this lens, but just click on “tune” in DPP, and the program will make corrections at the push of a computer key.

ADDED ONE MORE TIME: I have decided to get a 1.7 teleconverter for this lens, just to give me a little more reach. No Canon TC is compatable according to this lens’ manual, so I have decided on the Kenko 1.7 300 PRO, based on good reviews. I will loose auto-focus and one f/stop, but retain image stabilization and auto-exposure with this lens/TC combination. I don’t consider loss of auto-focusing to be a big deal, I started photographing back in the days of the AE-1, when there was no such thing as auto-focus. This is the best compromise until I can rationalize spending $$$ on a ‘real’ long lens. One thing I noticed during my research into teleconverters is that they can be found to fit the EF lenses, but not the EF-S lenses.

The lens is excellent. I am very pleased with the price , Your price beat a well known competor by 100 plus dollars.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The lens is excellent. the image stabilizer works as specified. So far nothing but good results with the product.

Great Lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is a great lens. The image quality is very good for the price and the stabilization is great. I have taken some of my best photos with this lens.

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens for Canon EOS SLR Cameras
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I am interested in taking photos for about 5 years. This product actually open a new age for me. Considering the price of the product and comparing it with others, I admit that this lens is excellent and meets my need. From now on, everybody and every detail of everything will be the models on my new coming photos.

Canon EF 70-300mm 4-5.6 IS USM.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The EF 70-300mm 4-5.6 IS USM lens (not DO) is the best midrange lens for price and image quality. It is a good choice for the advanced amateur, and the only comparable quality lenses available would be in the expensive L series.

nice lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The kit lens just dosn’t cut it for longer shots. This lens does and then some. The IS is great. I can’t complain about any thing.

Image stabilization
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I am getting serious about getting excellant photos and do most of my shots hand held. This lens is awesome for getting action shots and close-ups that aren’t blurred by being hand held. I take a lot!!!! of bird pictures and they don’t sit still long so you have to be quick and steady and the Canon EF 70-300 is an excellant entry level stabilized lens for doing this if your serious about good photos that can have the quality for selling.

the best
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is the best lens i own. Its sharp, zoom in close, and and work great in low light.

Fantastic Lens and Service!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have had limited opportunities to put this lens to work so far, but I have been instantly impressed! The autofocus is quick and accurate. The benefits of the Image Stabilization is apparent the first time the shutter is depressed enough to focus this puppy. I also have the 28-135mm with the IS. I can’t see ever again buying a lens without this feature, even if it means saving just a little while longer to have it.

Also, as there was an unexpected delay in shipping (which can happen to any seller), Amazon did me right by adjusting the shipping option to meet the reality. I am very very pleased with both the purchase of the product and the service of Amazon!

Lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Product is exactly what I wanted. It came on time and in good condition

My first image stabilizing lens
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Well today I was like a kid with a new toy just got my new 70-300 mm this is my first image stabilizing lens so I was excited to try it out

so i took off my 70-200 4 L probably a good lens to compare with.

Well first thing is the weight it’s light and inconspicuous compared to my 70-200 L with its black finish ,

it feels very nice and its fast to focus, image stabilizion is excellent (Featuring the latest 3-stop Image Stabilizer for camera shake reduction) and the range is great 112mm to 480 mm on my XT Rebel.

Colours and sharpnesss are a not nice as my 70-200 f4 L

but image stabilization and weight and extra range make it very attractive , I am happy with it would liked a pouch and hood for the money come on canon it’s only a piece of plastic!

see some picture unedited and some edited on my site

p.s I am not a professional.

http://www.pbase.com/2bruce/gallery/canon_70-300_usm_is_

Canon EF70-300mm F4-5.6 IS USM
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Lens was all I had hoped for, performed great when just shooting hand held on solid land or when bobbing around in a kayak. Excellent wild-life and scenery shots under varying conditions and distances.

Excelent telephoto for amateurs
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Sure, it’s not L glass but then you’re not paying those extra $1,000. I can get sharp images within all the focal range. It might need to be stopped down a bit at 300 so it’s more of an outdoor lens but I’m totally satisfied.

Absolutely the best!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Absolutely the best lens I have ever used! Color and saturation are excellent and the lens is sharper than any I’ve ever seen. Stabilization works great as does the auto focus. Highly recommended.

Love the lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I absolutely love this lens. It works great for the sports, scenic and military photos I have taken recently.

An Amazing Lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Just returned from a trip to Hawaii and had the opportunity to put this lens to the test. I was very pleased with the results. This is a powerful lens, yet it is relatively light weight and not burdensome to use. I was able to get some really amazing wild life shots of birds, zooming in from a distance with a hand held camera (Canon EOS 20D) and virtually every shot was a keeper. The IS feature allows you to quickly zoom and compose your shot and fire it off and the image quality is excellent with sharp focus. Usually a lens this size with this much power requires a firm grip and almost always a tripod – not so with this one. I shot in both portrait and landscape mode and I didn’t see any problems with focus, clarity or sharpness. All the images were clean and razor sharp. If you are looking for a long lens with the ability to bring in a distant shot without having to use tripods and other equipment, I highly recommend this lens for your arsenal.

The price is right
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Updated 4-20-09

Having used it for a few months and comparing it to a 400mm f/5.6L, I still think you get a lot of bang for your bucks for this lens. Sure it is a little soft and does hunt a bit on AF sometimes, but you are looking at a 500.00 dollars tele zoom, in my opinion, you get more than what you pay for. Though nowhere sharp near a L lens, it is still quite sharp, pretty good low light performance and very light and compact. I probably would not used it much for small birds but I will still use this on people and landscape. Unless you plan to get a L lens in the near future or are birding, you will be very happy with this.

Updated 2-18-09

After using this for about 2 months, I would still say for the price you pay it is a very good lens. I have some good pictures from it on birds and birds in flight. Having said that, it is still kind of on the soft side, but look at the money you are paying for it, you really cannot complain. I am going to keep this for close range birds in the backyard and indoor/auditorium shoot, but looking to get the 100-400mm 4.5L or 400mm 5.6L for better birds shoot.

Updated 1-2-09

Do perform the AF Microadjustment, it does make a difference even if you cannot get it spot on.

A very good lens for those on a tight budget. For this price you cannot go wrong. Do not take the free Tiffen filter, use the credit for a Hoya coated filter.

Great lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
If you have a small sensor camera, like a 20D, then you can enjoy it as a 480mm, isn’t that great? It’s a little slow (f/4-5.6) but if you are low on budget this is a great lens to purchase. High quality glass. Very solid. Nice to have the image stabilizer.

Excellent lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I love this lens. I had the Sigma 70-300mm zoom lens but wanted to have the image stabilizer in this one. This is a very versatile lens and is easy to carry for an all around lens. If I could only carry one, this would be my choice. The pictures are clear and sharp. This is one of my very favorite lens.

Amazing Lens!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I was a little hesitant about spending this much on a lens, due to the fact it costs as much as my rebel xs, but I am sure glad I went for it! I’ve taken some amazing shots of the moon, dragonfly’s, and birds, that I never though possible! Its a really great lens for wildlife, and general outdoor shooting because of its range, but as I got used too it I really began to want more than 300mm…L series here I come!!

As far as sharpness at 300mm, images still look extremely sharp. The autofocus works well, but I couldn’t get a beep from my camera at 300mm? My only real complaint is the noise. The focusing makes a weird plastic rubbing against plastic noise, and it gets a little old. The Image stabilization, which by the way works amazingly, is also a little loud (high pitched whine). These are just minor complaints though, the lens really impressed me! One review on a photography website, called this lens a L series in disguise.

If you would like to see some samples check out my photostream on flickr[...]

Best Canon all-purpose zoom
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I bought this lens a few years ago before I got serious about photography. Since then everything else in my kit has slowly been upgraded, but I just never seem to find a good enough reason to replace the 70-300mm.

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

But then the upsides:

1) 3-stop image stabilizer. I can’t give this enough praise. I’ve taken crisp photos at 300mm with 1/15s shutter speed, sharp enough to make it onto Flickr’s blog.

2) Lightweight – as a travel zoom you can’t beat the versatility versus weight.

3) Sharpness, colours and contrast are top notch. People who’ve seen photos from this lens have assumed I had a big white expensive lens, and are shocked when they find out.

Sure it feels very flimsy and isn’t weather sealed, but the reality is, mine has been to dusty game drives in Africa and air shows on a windy beach, and is still like new. For similar money one can get a 70-200mm F4L, but for me the lack of IS on a 200mm lens is a deal breaker.

I’ve often considered upgrading to the 70-200mm f2.8L IS or 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L, or primes such as the 300mm f4, but every time have to ask myself: as a serious hobbyist (rather than a professional), can I really justify the huge expense when this is almost always good enough?

Love this lens
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
First off I should state that I am more of an average joe then a serious photographer but I love this lens. Like anything there are some trade offs but for what I was looking for this fit the bill and more.

Like everyone else I was debating between this lens and the 70/200L. I wanted a telephoto lens and the 200 is just plain too short to be affective at taking photos of wildlife in my opinion. To me the 300mm was still a bit short so I added the Tamaron 1.4 teleconverter and have been pleasantly surprised at the speed and quality of the shots. I will say you need plenty of light with the teleconverter or it will hunt, the darker it gets the more it hunts.

My brother has the 70/200L and last weekend at my nieces graduation ceremony he was unable to come close to capturing the shots I was able to get.

Good lens for sports photos
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I use this lens to capture sports and it has performed extremely well. Due to the nature of my photography, I don’t use a tripod/monopod of any kind. The image stabilizer feature allows me the freedom of movement while still capturing sharp photos. A must have for any action photographer.

couldn’t be happier
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I am very happy with this lens. There simply isn’t anything bad to say about it. Sharp pictures, well made.

Canon 70-300 lens
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Got the Canon EF 70-300 mm with image stabilizer lens for my Kenya safari. I’m quite satisfied with it and got great pictures of wildlife, but wished I had gotten a more powerful one – something like a 400.The 400 is way out of my budget; and if I had gotten that I would have wished for something even more powerful.

Some of my pictures zoomed to the max do not appear to be as focused; not sure if I did not do something right or a shortcoming of the lense itself.

The image stabilizer is great; I’ll never be able to do without it from now on.

I like this lens!
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
You get what you pay for. To me this one is good! A lot of people compare this one too much with more expensive lenses which doesn’t make any sense coz they are comparing an apple with a pear! Nothing is perfect. Especially with certain budget! So please stop blaming on the equipments and work on yourself! I always think the one behind the camera is more important. If you want to stick to the quality of the photos, go get more money first!

I went on a trip out of country right after I received this order. This lens didn’t disappoint me. It has got me plenty of decent shots. With my budget, I am quite happy with its performance. Will upload some photos later if I can coz I’ve never done it before. A picture is worth a thousand words!

A note for beginners…
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I got this lense as a Christmas gift for my Digital Rebel (so I haven’t had it very long) but I was absolutely blown away. When I was looking to upgrade to a lense with a larger range (from the original 18-55 mm lense that you pretty much get with the camera), I read through most of the reviews and compared prices between the different lenses. I wasn’t sure if getting the IS was worth the significant extra money over the other lenses offered, but decided it was worth a shot. On my first picture, I zoomed all the way in with the IS turned off and noticed a large amount of shaking just from me trying to hold the camera still. Then I flipped the IS on and decided right then that it was worth the money. I can’t believe how well the IS works…

The only thing I wasn’t really expecting was the weight of the lense. I don’t have much experience with others like this, so I don’t really know how it compares, but I realized it was much heavier than I was expecting. The only other disadvantage is that it sucks battery power like there is no tomorrow. My next step will be investing in a higher mAh battery… and now a bigger camera bag to hold this monster.

Great addition
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This lens is great. The pictures are absolutely amazing. Recommend highly although I’m not a professional photographer.

This is the 1st lens you want to buy after you got your new Canon camera !
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I just received my Canon 70-300mm USM/IS a couple of weeks ago, and I finally got the chance this week end to go out and try it. I was kind of scared after reading the other reviews that I would have issues with the quality of the images at full zoom. Well, let me tell you something, WHAT A GREAT LENS !

I was able to take EXCELLENT pictures of my fiancee at a full 300mm settings. After reviewing the pictures on my computer, I was amazed at the details. You can clearly see the smalled strands of hair in the wind. Absolutely amazing.

I also took pictures of my dog running on the beach at full 300mm. Some people told me that the focus was kind of slow and I would have issue. It’s a little bit slower I agree, but I took great shots of a moving subject. I do not know how good and fast would be the focus in another kind of day (not sunny, low light…) but my first experience with it was great.

If you go and look at the customer images link, you will find the one I uploaded (under Simon Templar) and you’ll see what I am talking about.

The IS is also a great feature. No need to walk with a monopod anymore.

Gotta love it !

Nice lens, a bit heavy and make sure you have an extra battery
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I have had this lens now for only a few days but I think it’s a great lens overall. Not quiet 5 stars as you’ll see below:

Cons:

1. I have read that at 300mm (480 on my XTi) that images begin to get a little soft. I have noticed this too however I think it is sharper than my previous 70-300mm Tamron lens.

2. This lens drains batteries faster than any other lens I’ve had. I imagine it’s because of the IS (even if it’s off). I was having a problem on my XTi when I only had 2 bars left on the battery. I have the Canon power grip too, so I had 2 batteries in there. When it was at about 2 (nearly 1 bar I imagine) my Camera would take a picture and even use IS with the lens, but after the shutter opened it would close and the lcd screen on my XTi would not work. The power light would stay “on” on the camera even if I turned it off. I had to remove batteries then I could take one more picture and same thing happend. I read on message boards about this error, and it seems it’s just the draining of the battery, so make sure you have a backup battery!

3. The lens is a little heavy, not that bad, but if you were going to be walking around all day (which I do); I think alterating hands and lens throughout a day will be okay.

4. Not a “L” lens. Image quality will not be quite as sharp but hardly noticable.

Pros:

1. Not a “L” lens. Yes I know that was a con too, but basically what I mean here is that it’s not going to standout like an “L” lens does (the L lens pro series has a white body instead of black like this one).

2. Compact. Fits nicely in my Canon backpack.

3. IS. You can really see the difference at 300mm while looking through the view finder, even before you take the picture. IS is great!

4. Price! For a Canon lens I think the price here on Amazon is spot on. Great lens and well worth the price.

5. Image Quality. I feel this lens is better than my old Tamron lens.

Well overall I think this lens deserves a 4. Great lens. Oh and go ahead and buy the hood, it’s worth it too.

Fuzzy at 300mm
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I purchased this lens for a cruise to Alaska. The lens works great except I had blurred pictures at the 300mm zoom. I was disappointed in the results.

I don’t know if it is out of focus, or I may have jiggled. I think if I had increased the ISO setting, I might have gotten a faster shutter speed and had eliminated the blur.

Terrific lens for the cost
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I use this lens when I don’t want to travel with a heavier/more valuable one. Given its range and the image quality for the cost, I highly recommend it.

Superior Image Stabilizer Telephoto Zoom from Canon
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The Canon EF 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM telephoto zoom lens replaces the first Image Stabilizer lens of its kind, the Canon 75-300mm f4-5.6 telephoto zoom lens. It offers now up to three – as opposed to two – apertures in image stabilizing mode, as well as slightly wider focal length. The current June 2006 Popular Photography issue has a fine test report on this lens, showing that it is capable of excellent contrast and resolution in the range from 70mm to 200mm; at 300mm, both contrast and resolution decline slightly to very good, but still an excellent result for a zoom lens in this class. It is also fully compatible with Canon’s digital SLR cameras (112-480mm equivalent), with improved lens coatings optimised for digital sensors. Without question this is an excellent lens for the Canon photographer interested in excellent nature and landscape photography, without resorting to a sturdy tripod to hold both the camera and lens; thus it is also quite suitable for handhold panning shots at most outdoor sporting events held under good weather conditions.

LOVE this lens!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I just got this lens a week ago and I love it! One of the things the included booklet says about this lens is that it has a “truly round aperture hole resulting in a nicer background blur.” That is a very true statement! The IS feature is definetly worth the extra money. I have taken a couple hundred shots so far, all handheld, and nothing has come out blurry yet. Awsome lens!

EF 70-300 IS lens is great!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Got this lens for my Rebel XTI primarily for sports. It was a hard decision between this and the 70-200 f4/L lens. It is a debate everyone has. After checking with several people who have had both lenses I decided the extra 100mm and the IS was what I needed. True the 70-200 L lens is a hair sharper but you have to really enlarge the photo to tell. This lens gets me excellent photos.

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens for Canon EOS SLR Cameras

I bought my Rebel XT two weeks ago, and instantly knew I needed zoom capabilities. This lens not only does that, but it does it well. The images are clear and crisp, and I was able to get very good action shots. This lens focuses on the subject crisp and crystal clear, and blurs the background evenly and smoothly. I have no doubts about this lens.

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens for Canon EOS SLR Cameras
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I am very satisfied with the performance of the image stabilzed feature of the lens. Last week in the Galapagos Islands, I took a number of shots of birds in flight and in the distance. The clarity of the photos is excellent and much better than my old 70-300mm lens.

very good
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I am not a profesional by any means but I think this is a very good lens. It does every thing I need to do.

Not L-quality, but really good at f/8
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Don’t expect L quality from this lens. The build is not amazingly solid, it extends when zooming or being carried, and the focus is not silent.

However, when stopped down to f/8 this lens is great. The IS is amazing. The focus is fast and accurate, and the build quality is good to very good. So for the price it’s an excellent buy. Just don’t expect miracles, and be willing to tolerate some softness wide-open at 300mm, and having it extend when carried pointing downwards.

Update: I recently replaced this with a 70-200 f4 IS L, and the difference is amazing. The L lens is a lot heaver, but enormously smoother, faster, sharper, and better quality. It costs twice as much, but it’s significantly better.

Canon comes through again with another great product!
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Great and powerful lens! I used it with the xsi and will with the 50d. The pics so far are ourstanding. I do think it’s a little pricey but the IS system is worth it.

Great Lens for the price
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Not a fast lens, but for the price you get alot. IS is great. Optics great

The Canon EF 70-300 mm IS is a GREAT lens for the price!!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Bought this lens a few months ago and have been very happy with all the photos since. I don’t think you can take a bad picture with this lens. I’ve taken everything from drag racing pictures of dragsters going 320 MPH, to beautiful zoomed-in shots of flowers and butterflies with amazing results. Can’t buy a better lens for the price. It focuses super fast and always takes clear shots. You’ll love it !!

Great IS and Bokeh
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
With this lens, I can capture very nice pictures of my kids/nephew/niece. The IS work wells. Handling is good. Bokeh is what I expected.

The only thing that I like to have is the Full-Time Manual Focus which it doesn’t have.

must have the IS lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The lens is a magnificent addition to your canon digital SLR. The IS feature adds a few hundred dollars to the non stabilized lens but it is worth it. Sharp immages even when hand held at 300mm

The Canon Difference!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I purchased this lens for my wife’s XTi in January. We were both very impressed with the focal quality and sharpness from end to end, and the Image Stabilizer is priceless! This is a great lens from portrait through telephoto, and at a price that doesn’t break the bank, leaves a little left over for other fun Canon gadgets. If you’re not buying “L” Series lenses, this is a must in your arsenal. Thanks Canon.

Less than satisfactory
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I am very disappointed with the performance of this lens. I expected better from Canon since I am a long-time Canon user and have many lenses by them. Images are soft to semi-sharp at all focal lengths. 300mm is never sharp. When enlarged even 25% all images go very soft and become noisy and would be useless for printing. I get much better results with all my other Canon lenses. For the price of this lens I expected much better. My son has a cheaper canon telephoto and gets better images. Looking at the reviews others have written on Amazon, it may be that this particular lens has an inherent optics flaw. The IS works fine in both settings, but the images are still not crisp.

Reasonably sharp pictures – especially for the price
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
At 300mm, this lens produced much sharper images for me than the EF 100-300mm zoom lens. The image stabilizer (IS) allowed good handheld photos at much slower shutter speeds – had to use 1/800sec previously. With IS, I can now use 1/200sec.

Would like to have full time manual focus override but so far only needed it once when the autofocus was temporarily confused because I had not pointed at a contrasty area before pressing the shutter button.

Using it on a 1.6 crop factor camera with very satisfactory results.

AWESOME!!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
this lens is great. All of the functions work properly, and it is very easy to use. I would but it again and again!

Good Purchase
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
After debating the need for the IS feature, I am glad that I spent the extra 400 bucks for it. It’s not just for very low light conditions, but is quite handy in many everyday situations where the lighting isn’t that great and you don’t want to hike up the ISO. My mom just recently purchased the same lens without the IS feature, and my lens smoked hers whilst taking Christmas photos in our house. If you don’t have the room or the time to set up a tripod, and you have the cash, spend it.

Pretty good lens
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I have owned this lens for over a year now. I owned the 75-300 IS USM before this and was satisfied with it. I have taken some great pictures with this lens. Having never owned an ‘L’ lens, I do not have too many issues with the construction. However, picture quality is not exceptional, it is good. With decent light, especially 5.6 and up, it really shines. The IS is a must have for the focal length this lens covers.

Great lens but a bit pricey
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I replaced an older Canon lens of the same size. I mainly photograph water birds and wild flowers. I find that the image stabilizer does help me get more clear photos of birds in flight. If you need this feature it is a very good lens.

Sports dad
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Great lens. Glad i bought it, my son is 12 and plays football. This was all I could afford. I’m glad I did’nt decide to save a few dollars and buy a cheaper one, I’ve heard stories. Oh ya make sure if your doing action photos like me you get the IS model

shake no more
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This lens is a “bad boy”!I bet an erthquake wont’t defit its IS feture.Colour,sharpness…among a lot more,and no blur specialy shooting at low light.This is nothing comparing with what you can do when you use this lens.I let you see for yourself when you buy yours.The money I payed was well spent.Its a promotion for your camera bag in performance,not in weigth.

Awesome Lens!!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
One of the best purchases I’ve made in awhile. Very glad I bought the Canon brand after seeing what a friend of mine went through with an off brand lens. You definitely get what you pay for.

Quiet and Smooth.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I had a pretty old telephoto lens. It was loud and mostly manual with separate switch for macro. The lens that I purchased is quiet and really smooth. The stabilizer is a great addition to the lens. I am very happy with this purchase and would buy from this company again and again.

researched for weeks, went with this lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
clarity and results of this lens are exceptional.i can stand in the bleachers and get excellent close-up shots of my son on the ball field. as he ran..still very clear.when i downloaded my shots onto the pc, they could be blown up with incredible detail, so i can zoom and crop away. i have not tried this for indoor sports yet, so i cannot attest to those circumstances.sale price is worth investment. i wanted the l lens, but went with this due to smaller size, they are both incredible lens.

Amazing!!!!!!!!!!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I am using this lense on a Canon Xsi and it is truely amazing. The pictures are so sharp and clear. I could not be happier with this purchase. It is a lot of money but well worth it. I love it!!!

Not terribly impressed
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Nice lens, but I’m not all that impressed, given what was paid. The “USM” is actually quite noisy. Image quality and focusing speed leave much to be desired.

Adorama is the store you’re buying this from through amazon, don’t I paid for expedited shipping (1-3 days) and it took almost 6 days. Adorama is a horrible amazon seller, do avoid at all cost if you’re interested in getting your items in a timey fashion and enjoy quality customer service — they have none.