First shots with EF 300mm f/2.8L IS

[Belmondo]

I took the new lens out today, and ended up in my normal place looking for trains to photograph. I was really interested in taking one of my normal locomotive mug shots so I could compare it with similar shots I've taken in the past with lenses like my 100-400L

I was absolutely blown away. The lens is a dream to use....fast, sharp, and built like a truck. I'm posting these photos here because it really isn't an artistic exercise. It's jsut a lens test, and I'm passing it along.

http://www.onlinephotographers.com/gallery/albums/Hot-August-Nights/UP_4579.jpg

100% Crop http://www.onlinephotographers.com/gallery/albums/Hot-August-Nights/UP_4579_Crop.sized.jpg

[Dante King]

nice, very nice! drool.....

[Tom W]

Wow, those are crisp! Looks like a winner to me!
And since its a train picture, it classifies as art regardless of the beholder. :)

[Persian-Rice]

Man o man, that 100% crop is as good as it gets. It might as well be a 600mm if you can crop like that and still maintain all that quality.

[cmM]

wow... 300 f/2.8.... what's next, Tom :-P

That's one sharp picture.

[pierrot]

...Must be funny to take a pic of a diesel locomotive with a lens that still smells smoke (from NYC B&H's warehouse) ;)
Obviously, there's no smoke trapped inside the lens barrel: that's so crisp! :shock:

[EoSD30fReAk]

thanks Tom,

this lens is now also on my want to have list.

man my list is getting long :lol:

[DWilkin]

Pretty cool, Thosey. One of my photo club members went to a car show and just did "full crop" photos of details like headlights and dashboards and upholstery and louvers. Never did take a picture of a whole car. They were beautiful. Especially the reflections in the doors.

[Tom W]

Well well well....
Looks like Belmondo gets a new nickname. "Thosey". :)

[CyberDyneSystems]

thanks Tom,

this lens is now also on my want to have list.

man my list is getting long :lol:

You mean it wasn't before! :lol: :lol:

Thsi list is pretty damn long for most of us I have to assume,.. in fact,. if it wasn't,. I'm not sure you'd fit in here too well :lol: :lol:

The detail is amazing i the crop. Smooth as can be,. no pixels visible.. it looks like that lens just turned yout 1D2 into a 1Ds as far as resolution is concerned.

[MDJAK]

Hey, Belmondo, now I know why you changed your mind about borrowing my camera when you get to New York. You don't want to loan me that lens. That is really a dream lens. The following is taken from Michael Reichmann's LuminousLandscape web site with regard to it for those who haven't read about:

"Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM
Grade: Unrated — But the French Magazine Chasseur D'image ranks it as one of the sharpest lenses they're ever tested.
"I am in awe of this lens. Image quality is the finest that I've ever seen. It's large, it's heavy and the price is extremely high, but if one needs a fast super-telephoto lens this is as good as it gets. This lens is as sharp at f/2.8 as it is stopped down. That's what one is paying for. My more comprehensive write-up can be found here.

"Introduction:
There are some lenses that have almost universal appeal for photographers. Fast ultra-long telephotos are among these, and few lenses are as appealing as a 300mm f/2.8. At the top of the heap of this rarified grouping are the new (1999) Image Stabilized (IS) ultra-telephotos from Canon — the 300mm f/2.8, 400mm f/2.8, 500mm f/4 and 600mm f/4 IS lenses, part of Canon's top-of-the-line "L" series. In January 2000 I purchased the 300mm f/2.8L IS. This was to enable me to pursue a broader interest in nature and wildlife work in addition to my landscape photography.

A few days after purchasing the lens I left for a winter vacation in Southern California. I brought the 300mm along because part of my itinerary was to do some shooting at the Salton Sea. I couldn't be more pleased with the results.
About The Lens:
When one has just spent U.S. $5,000 on a lens it's hard to be objective. Let me try though. It's beautifully made, in the current Canon idiom. Everything about its design and construction reeks quality. In fact this lens is probably as fine an optic as Canon knows how to make, and that's saying a lot. Reportedly Canon spent $11 million developing this line of 4 lenses, and it shows in every respect.
Independent tests, including one by France's Chasseur d'Images magazine rank this as among the finest 300mm's ever made. According to their tests, image quality is almost completely uniform from edges to center, and from f/2.8 through f/8. This is remarkable. My own more pragmatic tests show that this lens is usable wide-open without any hesitation. Stopping down only increases resolution and micro contrast very slightly. When you pay for f/2.8 with this lens, you get an f/2.8 that is every bit as usable as any other aperture. That's what one is paying for.
This, it shouldn't be forgotten, is an Image Stabilized lens. This means that it has circuitry capable of reducing image shake by 2-3 full stops. Hand-holding at 1/125 sec should be quite possible. I have hand-held my Canon 100~400mm IS lens at 1/125 second with excellent results. But, this lens is bulky and heavy, weighing in at 2.7Kg. It can, of course, be hand-held, but I wouldn't want to for long.
One advancement that Canon has included in this latest generation of IS lenses is the ability for IS to work even when the lens is tripod mounted. This is very worthwhile since even a tripod mounted lens is subject to vibration. I felt tremendous confidence using this lens under a wide range of conditions.

Because the front lens element is so large filters are mounted internally. Canon makes available (finally) an internal polarizer, and gel filters can be used internally as well. Of course the lens can be manually focused at any time and also features a preset button. This allows you to pre-focus the lens on a particular spot and then return to that exact point of focus by the turn of a conveniently located ring. There are manual focus override buttons located around the front of the lens. Very thoughtfully designed. Clearly Canon's designers have listened to feedback from photographers when designing this lens.

Another nice design touch is that the rotating tripod mount collar is removable. For times when the lens is going to be hand-held this lowers the weight and also makes it more comfortable to hold.

The only real complaint that I can make is that the lens comes with a hard plastic case with the words, Canon 300mm Lens boldly on the front. Who would use this? It screams "steal me". I found that the lens does fit in my LowiPro Omni Trecker bag, along with my 6 other lenses and 2 bodies, but it makes the weight excessive. I found a small soft shoulder bag that fits it very nicely and is convenient for field use.
3 Pelicans, Salton Sea, 2000

This photograph was taken with the 300mm lens and Canon's 1.4X Extender for an affective focal length of 420mm at f/4. It appears every bit as sharp as the lens does alone, even though it's being used wide-open. Remarkable performance!

A Lesson Learned

One thing that I was not prepared for was how shallow depth of field is with such a long lens and such a fast aperture ‹ particularly when used with the 1.4X extender. A number of otherwise worthwhile frames were rendered unacceptable because foreground birds were out of focus ‹ even when hundreds of yards away.



Custom Function #19

If you have a Canon EOS3 (or later) body and one of the new generation Canon IS ultra-telephoto lenses you may be interested in having Custom Function #19 added by a Canon Service Center.



What About the 2X Extender?

The 300mm as well as the 400mm, 500mm and 600mm IS lenses are designed specifically for use with Canon's 1.4X and 2X extenders. The quality with the 1.4X is truly excellent ‹ almost as good as the lens by itself. But, what about with the 2X extender?

Below is a full frame taken with the 300mm lens and the 2X, for an effective focal length of 600mm at f/5.6. The shot was taken wide-open, tripod mounted, on Fuji Provia 100F.

The frame below it is a "actual pixels" enlargement of the bird. This means that this is the maximum resolution possible from this 3200 DPI scan. You can see the grain of the film so we're at the resolution limits of the film/lens system. In such an extreme enlargement there is some softness. This would likely have been improved somewhat if I had stopped down one or two stops.

All-in-all I judge the use of this lens with the Canon 2X quite acceptable for just about any use, but would suggest stopping down as much as possible for maximum resolution.

Wimberley Sidekick

Long and heavy lenses like the Canon 300mm f/2.8 can be awkward to use in the field when shooting wildlife. The Wimberley Sidekick solves all of the problems of tripod mounting such a lens and is a must-have for field use.

All photographs above were scanned with an Imacon FlexTight Photo scanner at 3,200 DPI. Normal "sharpening" in PhotoShop was applied."

The foregoing was taken directly from www.theluminouslandscape.com. I hope I have not violated any copyrights. I am new at this forum stuff. If I have, I apologize and would, of course, consent to its immediate removal.

[cmM]

Custom Function #19

If you have a Canon EOS3 (or later) body and one of the new generation Canon IS ultra-telephoto lenses you may be interested in having Custom Function #19 added by a Canon Service Center.

What exactly does this custom function do?


Sorry for jacking the thread http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_redface.gif

[Jon]

It's the Lens AF Stop button function. Canon DSLRs from at least the D60 have had this function under one number or another (CF7 on the D60, CF 17 on the 20D). Obviously, the DR won't have it OOB, and I haven't seen it mentioned as supported with the hack either.

[PacAce]

Tom, is this the replacement 300 or the original one? I know you had talked about your copy not being as sharp as you had expected it to be so I was wondering if had it replaced.

[perfectpixel]

I took the new lens out today, and ..... so I could compare it with similar shots I've taken in the past with lenses like my 100-400L

I have a 100-400 and wondering about at 300 2.8
To make your test more meaningful, can you post similar shots (distance, settings etc) taken by both lenses.

[IanD]

I don't see an owl in there anywhere. No, wait! Wrong 300 f/2.8 owner:):):)
Damn that thing is sharp.

[roanjohn]

Noyce!!!!!

Congrats on the awesome lens!!!

Ro1

[ssim]

Pretty cool lens isn't Tom. I had the opportunity to take mine out for the first time last weekend and had somewhat of the same reaction as you did. It is just amazing.

It is, without a doubt, the sharpest lens that I have ever had the opportunity to own.

Congrats.

[Andy_T]

That's a very cool train shot!

Nice lens, as well.
Don't lose it in that big camera bag of yours :wink:

Best regards,
Andy

[Mills]

Awesome. Enjoy your new toy in Good Health! (And post more pictures of that incredible green desert)!

[abel]

just curious to see what body was used?

100% crop is awesome!

[Andy_T]

just curious to see what body was used?

Well, unless Belmondo has some more recent surprise purchases for us :lol:, I assume it will be his 1DII.

Best regards,
Andy

[Belmondo]

Yup. the 1D Mk II, although I don't think it would have been much different with the 20D. BTW, I was using AI servo.

[MDJAK]

Doh! Was the train moving? I don't see the motorman in the window of the cab. Bet my 1Ds would have shown him. That is, if I knew what I was doing with it. The train probably would have been in Osh Kosh before I got the thing ready to properly shoot.

[Belmondo]

Doh! Was the train moving? I don't see the motorman in the window of the cab. Bet my 1Ds would have shown him. That is, if I knew what I was doing with it. The train probably would have been in Osh Kosh before I got the thing ready to properly shoot.

The train was moving, probably around 60 mph (it's downgrade at that point). I don't think the 1Ds would make much difference as far as seeing through the heavily tinted windows. I've taken bunches of similar shots, and the only time you can see the engineer (motorman) is when the sun is very low in the sky and shining directly in on their face. Even then, I will often get an irridescent reflection off the windshield that prevents seeing through it.

[DocFrankenstein]

Fire extinguisher... what?

WOW!

Methinks mewants.

[Belmondo]

That's 'Fire Extinguisher Inside'

Underneath that, it's 'Tools Inside'

[Adam Hicks]

I've only seen reviews saying this is the sharpest lens they've ever used on a Canon body. Such a nice piece of glass. I can rent them for $25 a weekend, so I haven't decided if it's worth $3500+ yet (that's 140 weekends, or 2.5 years of using it every weekend) so I might just stick with renting it when I need it.

Congrats though, the shots look as expected from a good lens and a good photographer :)

[MDJAK]

The train was moving, probably around 60 mph (it's downgrade at that point). I don't think the 1Ds would make much difference as far as seeing through the heavily tinted windows. I've taken bunches of similar shots, and the only time you can see the engineer (motorman) is when the sun is very low in the sky and shining directly in on their face. Even then, I will often get an irridescent reflection off the windshield that prevents seeing through it.

You know I was joking, right?

[Belmondo]

:o
Well, I probably missed that, but it was actually an interesting comment. It inspired me to go back and look at all the similar shots I've taken, and there isn't one where you can clearly make out the engineer's face.

I was so wrapped up in the 'Riddles' discussion yesterday, my sense of humor decided to take the day off.

Do you want to buy a horse?

Thanks for clearing that up.


Tom

[MDJAK]

I must have missed the "riddles" discussion, but I'd sure be interested to know what it was.

As far as a horse, My next door neighbor has three. In fact, he was kicked in the face by one of his horses a few years ago and almost died. I think I'll pass.

Mark

[MDJAK]

I've only seen reviews saying this is the sharpest lens they've ever used on a Canon body. Such a nice piece of glass. I can rent them for $25 a weekend, so I haven't decided if it's worth $3500+ yet (that's 140 weekends, or 2.5 years of using it every weekend) so I might just stick with renting it when I need it.

Congrats though, the shots look as expected from a good lens and a good photographer :)

That's a steal. The camera store by me (calumet) charges way more than that for a weekend date with that lens. Probably still less than dating a girl for a weekend, and may be more fun too.

[RJSorensen]

Nice shot with your new lens . . . and a most fitting subject as well. I will hide and watch your use and postings of the 300mm. I will suffer for the time being with my still new 100-400. You get a lot more train traffic down your way than I do it would seem. Nothing makes a day perk up like seeing some Armor Yellow and UP Gray coming down the tracks.

I had not thought to use AI to shoot trains . . . lol, so I picked up a nugget today. We need to start a train section over in the 'share' section of the forum, can you put in a word for us?

[Adam Hicks]

MDJak I might clarify that it's $25 a day at my rental shop, but they treat weekends as a one day rental, so I rent it Friday morning, return it Monday around lunch and it's $25 :) Or I can get the 600mm for around $50 but who wants to lug that thing around. I even prefer the 300 2.8 IS with a 1.4x TC (f4 is just fine) vs lugging around the 400 2.8 at the races.

[MDJAK]

Adam, the only store that I know of that rents (and there may very well be more) is Calumet in Manhattan. I believe it is roughly 150 or more for a weekend with the 300. It is something like four or five hundred for a week.

At the 25 a day rate you quote, I don't think I'd every buy it, as long as I could rent it most times I needed it.

[raylks]

The image is very very very sharp. This is probably the most dangerous "L" lenses to the wallet. I dare not think of it. :)

[Adam Hicks]

MDJak (here we are with our side topsic LOL) this shop is in Dallas, and the first time I saw their price list my jaw dropped. They sell every lens made for Canon EOS, any kind of lighting equipment you can imagine, even complete medium format camera / lens combos. It's an occasional wedding photographer's dream :) The 200 1.8 was $35 for 4 days and they put a retail value on it of about $5k. I might not ever buy another lens over $500!

Adam

[Tapeman]

belmondo, are you going to follow up this post with " 4 ways to shoot at 300mm ?" :) :)

[Belmondo]

Let me think if I can do that.

300 f/3.8L
70-300DO
70-200 f/2.8L w/ 2X TC
100-400L
70-200 f/4.0L w/2XTC

How about 5 ways to shoot 300mm?

That's absolutely absurd. I really need counseling. :o :o :o