Review: Canon EF 70-300mm IS USM Macro Telephoto Lens
by Ian Thompson
The Skinny
The Canon EF 70-300mm IS USM lens is an excellent consumer lens for macro and telephoto photography. The range of zoom combined with the Image Stabilizer will give amateur and up-and-coming professional photographers a boost to the range of shots they will be capable of.
The Good
- Image stabilisation allows shooting in lower light without a tripod
- Excellent zoom range
- Great depth of field
- Very responsive manual focus
The Bad
- Focus is a little soft at maximum zoom
- USM takes some getting used to
- Auto-focus can get confused when there are multiple targets at different ranges along focus path
Review
I purchased my Canon XTi Digital Rebel 400D early this year. The last high quality camera I owned was a film camera nearly twenty years ago, and I had not done any serious photography in the intervening period. I had waited for nearly ten years for digital SLR cameras to come up to the right level of quality (at least 10Mp) at the right price (sub $1000), and once that had occurred I was ready to buy.
The camera I purchased came with a stock lens of 18-55mm, and I happily used this lens to take photos for my website for 3 months before deciding that for a full range of expression in my shots, I needed at times to get much closer to the subject. As it turns out, finding impartial reviews of lens is surprisingly difficult. People are passionate about their photographic gear (and there is probably much astro-turfing going on as well). In the end, I simply went to Amazon and read every review, from 5 star to 1 star on the lenses I was interested in. After some searching I narrowed down the choice to the Canon EF-S 55-250mm and the Canon EF 70-300mm. From the reviews I read, I could have purchased either of these lenses, with the reviews going slightly to the EF-S 55-250mm. As it turns out, my local camera shop offered me a very good price on the EF 70-300mm, so I went with that lens instead. So in the end the price was the deciding factor.
The first thing I must say is that the lens does take some getting used to, and this has led to a few poor reviews on Amazon. One complaint is that it is 'too light' to feel like a professional lens. I have to say, as I tend to lug the camera, 2 lens and the tripod for kilometers over fairly rough terrain, I am grateful for any reduction in weight I can get. Another complaint is that the ultrasonic motor (USM) feels strange the first time you use it, and I have to admit, when you first use it, it feels like the lens is 'wobbling' in your hands. However, this is not what is occurring at all. The USM is driving a gyroscope inside the lens, and the gyroscope is actually resisting the movement/shaking of your hand to keep the lens steady. And it shows in the shots you can take. You get very clear shots in very poor light at long focal distances.
The other problem that many beginners on this lens will experience is the auto-focus problem when there are multiple targets at different ranges along the focal path. It is important to note that this type of shot is fairly rare. Most of the time you will have a clear subject without any interference, but if you are taking photos in crowds of people, or in a forest, this can catch you out. Not that this is a particular problem of the EF 70-300mm, it is more a generic problem of auto-focus on telephoto lenses. I find that the simple solution is to use manual focus to choose which target you want to focus on, and then let auto-focus refine it. Once you have manually focused on the correct target, the auto-focus finds it easier to hone in on the that target. This works about 80% of the time. The other solution is to manually focus. One thing I must say about this lens is that the manual focus is excellent. It is much better than the stock lens the camera came with, and I find that at greater zoom levels I prefer to manually focus rather than rely on the auto-focus. It is a surprisingly fine focus even at full zoom. This, along with the Image Stabilizer (IS), makes shooting long shots with this lens so enjoyable.
Another complaint about an earlier model of this lens was that the lens would 'fall open' when the camera was pointed down. Canon has added a 'lock' to lock the lens to 70mm, however I haven't found it necessary as my lens is stiff enough to hold it's position, so Canon have most probably addressed that specific complaint in the current model as I have had no problem with the lens falling open, and I have taken it over some pretty rough terrain.
One thing that has delighted me about this lens is the level of detail I get in the photo, even at long range. I discuss this in greater detail on the photos page. Of course the camera has a ten megapixel resolution, but I believe it speaks to the quality of the lens when you can take a shot of someone over 20 metres away and you are able to see the weave of the fabric in their clothing in the resulting photo. The only exception to this is shooting at maximum zoom (300mm) where the focus tends to be a little soft. When I shoot now and I am at maximum zoom, I tend to pull back a little and take another shot. While this is a downside to this lens, it is not unexpected for a consumer lens at this price. For a full focal range, most professionals will buy an 'L' lens.
Overall, the Canon EF 70-300mm IS USM lens is an excellent consumer grade lens for amateur and budding professional photographers. While it does have it's flaws, the lens produces high quality shots for macro photography. It does take some getting used to, but once you have learned the quirks of the lens it will go with you whenever you go out on a shoot. And at under $600 the Canon EF 70-300mm IS USM is great value for money.
