Initial results from 300mm zoom shootout

[ron chappel]

For a little while now i've been trying to put together a test of the better consumer telezooms for those that are interested in such things.
I've had a bunch of lenses for several weeks but have been either been too busy or the weather hasn't been co-operating.
Anyway i now have some first up results.I've only tested at 300mm so far as this is the length where differences really show in these kind of lenses-they tend to be very similar at shorter focal lengths


IMPORTANT - comments on consistantcy of these lenses:

The 75-300 is an easy one.I've owned or used over five of these (various versions incl. the image stabilizer) and this one is a good average example

The 100-300usm is my third.I feel it's a touch less sharp than the first two ...just

The 100-300L is my first but seems to be consistant with the results others are getting.

The Tamron is also my first and seems to be a good one

My sigma is obviously a dud .
Even though brand new ,it's too soft at the long end *But very good at shorter focal lengths i must stress*
Remember this is the lens that alot of users like and recommend

Some notes:

This is a scene just outside the house.I used this because it's convenient and has various levels of detail.It also has some good out of focus highlights which show how much or little purple fringing you can expect.

A good tripod was used with remote release.
Focusing was done manually and MULTIPLE attempts made with each lens ,then the best shots kept.
- this is definitely the best these particular lenses are going to get!
These are 100% crops showing the center with some of the left of the scene as well.I didn't do any specific edge tests.
All pics are wide open at 300mm.This is where the relative performance of the lenses varies the most.Towards the short end they are all very similar.
I have done tests stopped down but won't post the results -it all get's abit out of and and doesn't prove much.
One thing i will say about stopped down performance- the L lens doesn't sharpen up much when stopped down while the others do But even stopped down they can't beat the L lens when it's wide open!:)

All files are 100% crops with light usnsharp mask applied (only because my camera is set abit soft) .No other editing was done.
JPEG compression was modest to preserve sharpness so the files are on the large side at 160Kb


You can find the test shots here (down the bottom of the page,the tree trunk shots)

http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=504236

[SeanH]

Canon makes a 100-300L? I can't find that anywhere, I know they make a 1-400 L........but a 1-300?????

[mrclark321]

I think the 100-300L is an older lense, Ron could tell you for sure.
Thanks for the info Ron, you have been a great help with these lenses.

Dan

[Nightcrawler]

I am assuming it is this lens that has been discontinued - http://www.photographyreview.com/35mm%20Zoom/Canon/PRD_83409_3128crx.aspx

[Andy_T]

Wow,

very useful comparison (as always).

Looks like the used 100-300/5.6 L is head and shoulders above the competition, with the Tamron being second.

Best regards,
Andy

[nitsch]

Good work Ron. Cheers for taking the time and effort to do these. That 100-300L looks pretty good.

[ron chappel]

Oops,yes,sorry to not mention that. The 100-300L is indeed the old model.



I've been writing up some notes on the various characteristics of each lens .

Canon 100-300/5.6 L
http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=3461000&size=lg
(click on the 'details' tab for comments)
This is an old model lens that is only available secondhand these days.I included it in this test because there is an obvious desire by buyers to get something a little better than the consumer zooms can offer without spending big on on a professional 300mm capable zoom
The main distinguishing feature of this lens is it's consistant sharpness at all focal lengths and apertures .
Consumer zooms can get close in sharpness near the shorter focal lengths -or maybe even beat it very slightly- but can't compete nearer 300mm

It has a distance scale .
Contrast is excellent and background blur is very smooth.

Possible annoyances:
Costs us$350-400 secondhand
Only f5.6 at the wider end.
Push/pull zoom -some don't like it
Noisey focus.
Focus abit slow (but VERY keen to refocus at the slightest change,it obviously has different algorthims-seemingly much better than the consumer zooms in that regard)
It just looks and feels old.
Modest closeup ability



Canon 100-300/4-5.6usm
http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=3460977&size=lg
(click on the 'details' tab for comments)
This is canon's best consumer telezoom and it shows.It might not be the best at everything but it is very good allround with exceptional focus speed (and is easily the fastest of all these zooms)
The sharpness is about the same as the 75-300 at the short end but is a notch up at the long end.
Build quality is good and it has very fast ,allmost silent 'ring' USM focus motor which allows instant manual overide without flipping switches .
It has a distance scale .
Colour and contrast are both strong and background blur is very smooth

Possible annoyances-
Pricey -us$280
Modest closeup ability
some purple fringing (minimal)
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=12059&is=USA


Canon 75-300
http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=3460959&size=lg
(click on the 'details' tab for comments)
This is canon's bread and butter lens.It does most things ok but is certainly not outstanding in any way.
The price is quite good- $160 , or $190 for 'usm' version.
It's basic characteristics are: Cheap build and feel (scratches easily),reasonable sharpness up to about 200mm,soft at the long end ,low colour and contrast .
The focus speed is slowish (non usm version) or modestly fast (usm version)
The background blur is very good .

Other stuff-
Modest closeup ability
Some purple fringing
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=169269&is=USA&addedTroughType=search
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=169267&is=USA



Tamron 70-300 LD (1:2)
http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=3461020&size=lg
(click on the 'details' tab for comments)

This lens is tamron's best consumer zoom but sells for the very good price of us$160.It also comes with a massive 6 year warrantee in the USA ! A free Hood is included in the price
This lens seems to show very good sharpness and contrast but has some strong colour fringing and quite ugly 'double vision' background blur.
It offers an excellent 1:2 macro magnification
It's middle of the road in build .It's made of cheap feeling plastic like the canon 75-300's but is reasonably well put together.
Focus is slowish and slightly noisy
The Zoom control works the opposite way to canon and the filter size is an odd 62mm
Be carefull you don't mistakenly buy the wrong model tamron.Their model range and naming conventions are very confusing and there are even some sellers still selling older models.
This is the model at B&H http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=213159&is=REG

Sigma 70-300 Apo macro super II

[EDITED TO KEEP UP TO DATE-new model and latest opinions included]
http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=3669345&size=lg

**Note-i'm only showing this image as an example of what a bad example lens looks like.
A good one of these should give results similar to the other lenses

Good price-us$210 at B&H
Nicely built and comes with good extras-a free hood and quality padded bag.
Like the Tamron it offers an excellent 1:2 macro magnification .
Extremely good sharpness at shorter focal lengths

slight annoyances:
Zoom control works the opposite way to canon
Focus is slowish (but -abit like the canon L- keen to refocus at any opportunity)

*now replaced by the new DG version.Basically the same but for minor multicoating changes (to work abit better on digital) and cosmetic changes

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=163657&is=REG

[Keiffer]

Ron thanks for a very indepth review. Well done sir!

[MTalley]

Thanks for the efforts, Ron. I'm glad to see that my investment in the Tamron was not totally wasted. :D I have about the same comments on it as you do, so apparently we both got either a good copy or a bad one. I suspect the former. For less than $200, it's a pretty darn good consumer grade lens.

[Andy_T]

I've started looking for a nice 100-300/5.6 L on eBay now ... they seem to be a bit scarce at the moment.

I remember seeing the occasional copy now and then in the past, but I didn't give it much consideration as an f/5.6 lens ... now that I know it is sharp at f/5.6, that's something different.

The only available lens I could find at the moment, some newbies (0 feedback points) obviously started a bidding war that brought the lens to 300$ ... on the first day of a 7 day auction :confused: Damned eBay newbies... there should be a license required for bidding :wink:

Best regards,
Andy

[Andy_T]

To make this very worthwile thread even more complete ... here's a link to the photozone test of the new Canon 70-300 IS (http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/lenses/canon_70300_456is/index.htm).

Quite expensive (B+H price: $ 530 after rebate) compared to the other lenses, for sure, but take a look at the verdict of the test:
The performance of the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 USM IS came as a total surprise. Unlike its predecessor the lens is capable to produce a very high performance throughout the zoom range without the significant drop in quality at 300mm typical for most consumer grade lenses in this range. It seems as if the new UD element helps to lift the optical quality significantly. Distortions, CAs as well as vignetting are also very respectable. So in terms of optical quality the EF 70-300mm IS can be almost described as a hidden Canon L lens.

Best regards,
Andy