Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 USM DO IS

Hi after a short illness and a stay in hospital, i decided my Sigma 120-400 OS was too heavy for walking around, so i have sold it, im after another lighter lens, i have roughly £500 to spend, ive managed to source a used
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 USM DO IS, for £500, reading reviews on this lens is so confusing opinion seems to be split 50/50 some love it some hate it id love some advice please thank you

People who hate it often haven't used it.

I had one, sold it now, but found it light, unobtrusive and fairly sharp. The build quality and IS are good, as is the focus speed.

HOWEVER: in the wrong conditions image quality can suffer. Unfocused backgrounds can have some very strange effects, and you might want to stay away from strongly backlit compositions. It's also way too expensive bought new.

Two pics taken with the lens:

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/ianev/366842000​7/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/ianev/473504327​9/

I'd have a look at the non DO version, the 70-300mm f/4-5.6 L , it's much sharper and the size penalty is not so bad.

IanE wrote in post #15097873
People who hate it often haven't used it.

I had one, sold it now, but found it light, unobtrusive and fairly sharp. The build quality and IS are good, as is the focus speed.

HOWEVER: in the wrong conditions image quality can suffer. Unfocused backgrounds can have some very strange effects, and you might want to stay away from strongly backlit compositions. It's also way too expensive bought new.

Two pics taken with the lens:

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/ianev/366842000​7/
sam by IanEv, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/ianev/473504327​9/
coming in to land by IanEv, on Flickr

Thank you Ian i like those shots

lannes wrote in post #15097878
I'd have a look at the non DO version, the 70-300mm f/4-5.6 L , it's much sharper and the size penalty is not so bad.

Unfortunately its out of my budget reach, thank you

Ive just bought the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L USM have i done the right thing sacrificing 100mm

happyduck wrote in post #15113798
Ive just bought the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L USM have i done the right thing sacrificing 100mm

it's a great lens, later on you can get a 1.4x teleconverter if you need the extra range