70-300mm DO IS

[mrclark321]

Well....There is going to be some more discusion about this lense and I think
we need some pics to verify how great this lense is.....Anyone with this lense want to post some pics!!! I think this lense would make a great birthday preasant don't you skip ( hint hint )....lol ( Maureen )
I would like to see more pics from this lense by the way!!

Dan

[Skip Souza]

Thanks for the help, MrClark.
I agree. More pictures might sell more DO's.

[Dante King]

Your wish is my command O' Clarky! Bear in mind I shoot mostly kids, yeah my kids.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=72903
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=70223 Poor PS work!
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=70212
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=69998

How do you like that! Remember that these shots have been had a minimum of PS work if any but a resize and gastly compression done.

You NEED a DO! You know you DO!

[Skip Souza]

Now Don King has a do. Good morning Dante, Your killin' me :-) :-) :-)
I think it was those pix that pushed me over the edge to the DO

[Dante King]

Funny, thing is I have heard so much bad about this lens, I almost did not buy it. I am still amazed at the prints I get as they are super sharp and the color is really natural, most of the time, w/o any correction. Oh did I mention the 2nd gen IS? WHOA! OH yea, I comes with a hood and pouch. Wish all canon lenses did.

Have you checked this lens out at your local camera store? I highly recomment this to you Skip. That way you can DO it with Maureen. LOL. I need help! I know. I know.

[steibeldj]

I am headed to a very difficult lighting challenge tonight. Its a school concert in a converted Gym with sparse sodium lighting. I as always will end up in the back row and my daughter will be behind the first row of flutes. I'll try to post what I consider the ultimate challenge for the 70-300 DO IS lens!

Sorry, with that kind of build up, someone's going to be dissappointed. I will try at least anyway.

[mrclark321]

Can't wait to see the pics with the 1.4 also Dante ( another new toy...lol )

Dan

[steibeldj]

I am headed to a very difficult lighting challenge tonight. Its a school concert in a converted Gym with sparse sodium lighting. I as always will end up in the back row and my daughter will be behind the first row of flutes. I'll try to post what I consider the ultimate challenge for the 70-300 DO IS lens!

Sorry, with that kind of build up, someone's going to be dissappointed. I will try at least anyway.

Ok, I really didn't do the lens justice at all, but I might as well show what mistakes look like with this lens and the 20d. Note some of the mistakes are: ISO only 800. (Thought I had it up higher.) This gave me only 1/30 sec. @ 300mm. I just don't have the hand held technique. Glad for the IS. Color temp should have been about 2500. I post corrected a bit in PS. Sorry, just not enough light with ISO 800.:oops:

[Skip Souza]

Steibeldj, you done good, especially under such adverse conditions. Can't wait to see what happens when you "get it right", hehehehe
Nice job.

[mrclark321]

Hey Skip

Can't wait to see you post pics with your new lense!!!! lol

Steibeldj, you done good, especially under such adverse conditions. Can't wait to see what happens when you "get it right", hehehehe
Nice job.

[Skip Souza]

Mrclark,
Don't hold your breath or you and your chicken (love it) will turn blue. My birthday is not until September.

[Jesper]

I also have the 70-300 DO.

I like it, because it's small and inconspicuous - I can't imagine myself walking on the streets on holiday with a big, fat, heavy, conspicuous white lens...

The image quality of my 70-300 DO is good but not top - I don't have an L telezoom lens, but an L would undoubtedly be better than the 70-300 DO. Especially at the long end and wide open (300mm, f/5.6) it's not really super sharp.

I've recently made some concert photos (http://jesper.fotopic.net/c539771.html) (outside, it was getting dark). Note, the lack of sharpness is not because the lens is soft, but because of motion blur. The DO is not a very fast lens, with its max. aperture of f/5.6 at the long end. Because of that it's less well suited for low lighting, indoor events - it's best when using it outside with a lot of light.

The 2-mode IS on this lens works great - it's better than the IS on my 28-135.

[Dante King]

i think you did good! I assume the blond is your daughter? 1/30th and this sharp at 300mm is a freaking miracle given light, av and iso imho. think this pick would clean up nice in ps.

[Dante King]

hope you dont mind. not perfect..but a bit better, well atleast on my uncalibrated mac notebook.

[Skip Souza]

I also have the 70-300 DO.

The DO is not a very fast lens, with its max. aperture of f/5.6 at the long end. Because of that it's less well suited for low lighting, indoor events - it's best when using it outside with a lot of light.


"A man's gotta know his (lens) limitations", adapted quote from Detective Harry Callahan, Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry
:lol: :lol: :lol:

[Dante King]

damn compression makes this retouch look worse! LOL


Nice quote Skip! I like "Do you feel lucky? Well DO you? PUNK!" By the same great american. Notice I got a "DO" in there again.

[Skip Souza]

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I think the correct quote is; "DO you feel lucky, punk? Well DO you?"

Dante you are slaying me.

[Dante King]

LOL, well I stand corrected! I got to bone up on my dirty harry. Been way to long.

[JAZZ D.P.G.]

I'll add some nature and sports shots here.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=56878
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=52199
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=66976

I like this lens. A good lens providing a mixture of size and reach. Yeah, it's not the fastest, but for hiking and travelling it is a great piece of glass:D

[J Rabin]

I've been looking for a solid monopod. My camera store calls me; has a used Gitzo carbon 1568 came in for $150 instead of $225 B&H price. I go to buy it. Walk out with it AND the 70-300 DO IS for $1,100 because he lost the warranty card showing it in shop, so I get no rebate.

There is some weird bokah and flare, which I will post later. BUT, this was shot spot-metered, HAND HELD, AT 1/30, 300mm, f/9 DIRECTLY into the SUN behind the leaf.
http://postit.rutgers.edu/uploads/Leaf%20Silhouette%2002%2Ejpg
Hand Held 1/30 300mm. For real. Here's one at 1/125 right into the sun, spot metering the leaf.
http://postit.rutgers.edu/uploads/Leaf%20Silhouette%2001%2Ejpg
This lens has the most amazing LACK OF CHROMATIC ABERRATIONS I've seen in a consumer tele zoom. OK, I know this is f/9, but still, NO PURPLE FRINGE EDGES, even pixel peeping a bunch of images at 400%. Wow. You gotta see it to believe it.

1. This lens does have softness at edges at 300mm, even stopped down, even on the 1.6 sensor camera. Somewhere between f/8 and f/11 it gets really sharp though. But, at this focal length, that hard to do under ISO 400.
2. This lens has fabulous color contrast. There is plenty of confounding confusion about perceived sharpness, resolution, and contrast blah, blah. But, I feel the GREAT CONTRAST of this lens makes up for lacks in optical sharpness (which it lacks in comparison to the 70-200L lenses).
3. This lens IS is FAR better than the IS on the 28-135 and far faster focus.
4. This lens has nice neutral color, with a cool bluish bias, like slide film, in contrast to the warm (yellow gold) color of the 70-200 L lenses (I use the 70-200 f/2.8 IS at work, so I know it well).
5. Some files from this lens tolerate, in fact need, to be SLAMMED with SHARPENING. Luckily, I own PhotoKit Sharpener, and when I followed Luminous-Landscape recipe using Edge Sharpen 1, or others, even some of sports shots I did looked strong. Images that I sharpened the hell out of do not show sharpening halos. Interesting. Like engineers knew the compromises they had to make in DO, and knew in digital, we're sharpening anyway. Images from 24-70L and 70-200 require much less sharpening.
6. This lens is too expensive, but there just is nothing else like it on the market. I use and respect the 70-200 f/2.8 IS, higher % photos from the 70-200 lenses are in-focus keepers, special, but can't lug it around the with a TC 1.4 for casual use. That's a discreet 2 kilo cannon.
I have shakey hands. More images later J.

[Skip Souza]

LOL, well I stand corrected! I got to bone up on my dirty harry. Been way to long.
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
You were doint alright, yout just needed more green in you DO.

[Skip Souza]

J, those were fantastic. I am so looking forward to my birthday.

[Dante King]

J, those were fantastic. I am so looking forward to my birthday.

Celebrate EARLY! DO it. DO it NOW.... LOL Sorry. I am ashamed. LOL

J Rabin, Great examples of what this lens can DO!

[J Rabin]

DO wonderers:

In my post above, I promised more good/bad shots from my 70-300 DO. Here are two from from the Air Products youth bicycle racing at Velodrome. I've only had it two weeks, still getting to understand this lens.
70-300 DO at its best:
http://postit.rutgers.edu/uploads/TTown%20Velo%20Sprint%2Ejpg
300mm f/7.1, 1/1600. I had to hit this HARD with sharpening, but the 8x10” print was fabulous. Good sports shots come harder with this lens compared to 70-200 L IS I use normally. I don't have to sharpen much. But, I happen to have access to that great chunk of glass and comparison is not fair.
But, THIS IS STRONG photo with good detail. I think families would be elated if they took travel/kid/candid photos with this detail all the time, if they only had one tele zoom.
The narrow depth of field, even at f/7.1 is typical. Some whiny web forum carpers do not understand how narrow DoF is at 200-300mm. Go to Canon museum and print the DoF chart for this lens. Learn it.

70-300 DO at its worst:
http://postit.rutgers.edu/uploads/Standing%20Start%20Time%20Trial%2Ejpg
180mm, f/6.3, 1/125. A parent or kid could display this standing start time trial photo with pride. But for me, look at the OOF background against the chain link fence. Pixel peep 200%. You will see when this DO lens encounters repeating OOF backgrounds it forms weird ugly target bokeh, or when it has overexposed backgrounds, it gets confused and “cracks-up” the image or flares, really badly.
This was only my second day with it. So, I will take great care where I point this from now on. That's this DO lens' weakness. I can live with it, but I had to experience it and learn.
Heck I was shooting at only 1/125, so I should not complain about lack of sharpness. IS works as advertised.
J.

[steibeldj]

Thanks for all the kind critiques. (I would really liked to have set it at ISO 1600. )

I was hoping to help those who may be on the fence with this lens. This is an expensive lens that fits a very popular niche. If 60-70% of your pictures are family, kids sports and occasional events, this lens has the reach, picture quality, size and weight. Maybe I'm just not confident enough to bring a 9 inch white lens to my 6 year old's soccer game, but with this lens, I get a good shot and most of all, I'm not afraid to pull this thing out, point it and get the shot. Most people say nice camera, not nice lens!

[amazingimages@bellsouth.n]

what dose the DO stand for?

[J Rabin]

what dose the DO stand for?

Diffractive Optics, like the thick Fresnel Lenses with their concentric rings in old light houses.

[steibeldj]

Ok, I wanted to try and make up for the concert photo. (The 100kbyte limit kills me.)
First is @70mm 1/200 f8 second is @300mm 1/250 f7

[steibeldj]

Whoa! The 100kb limit really killed that shot. I had to set the quality down to make it fit. Yipes! Oh well, take my word for it, it was sharp.

Also, the sun was setting right behind my shots and this lens is known to flare. At least that is my excuse.

[Maureen Souza]

Okay, okay Dan & Dante!!!! As soon as we unload a couple of lenses that we decided did not fit our needs, I will buy that lens for Skip. Father's day is still a month off and his birthday is still 3 months off. I had to wait for my birthday to get the 16-35mm........

[Dante King]

But mom! Come on! Timmy has a DO, Billy has a DO, Every body is DOing it. DOn't you love me? LOL.

Man I forgot about Father's Day. I got to get me requests in to the wife and kids...Humm lets see... 70-200 2.8 IS, Epson p2000, OH, 1DsM2. That should about cover it.

P.S. What lenses are you unloading?

[Skip Souza]

P.S. What lenses are you unloading?
The Tamron 28-300 and Canon 75-300 IS USM are in The Marketplace

[Dante King]

Here are some results with the inexpensive kenko 1.4 TC: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=75496