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Thread started 09 Jan 2004 (Friday) 12:58
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Canon Ef 75-300mm $150 Worth it?

 
tpinchback
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Location: Houston
     
Jan 09, 2004 12:58 |  #1

I have heard that the Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III zoom lens is not a very good lens, but I can get it new for 150 dollars. Is there somthing better for less than $300? Why do people knock this lens so bad? Im a beginner when it comes to lenses, so be easy on me.

I will be using it for everyday "stuff" nothing special.


1D MKIII 5D MKII
Glass ranging from 16mm to 400mm

  
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Kinger
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Jan 09, 2004 13:10 |  #2

I bought one, and within the day I got it I wished I spent the extra for the IS version. Other then that I am enjoying it. Yes I know that there are better lenses, but for the beginner that know he/she will be eventually replacing the lens within a year or two, it's a good buy.


Stephen King

Drebel, EF 17-40L, EF 50, EF 85, EF 100-400L, 550 EX

http://home.comcast.ne​t/~king247 (external link) (randomly changing)

  
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tpinchback
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Jan 09, 2004 13:11 |  #3

how much more is the IS version?


1D MKIII 5D MKII
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Kinger
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Jan 09, 2004 13:13 |  #4

I think it was an extra $250


Stephen King

Drebel, EF 17-40L, EF 50, EF 85, EF 100-400L, 550 EX

http://home.comcast.ne​t/~king247 (external link) (randomly changing)

  
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Nolz
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Jan 09, 2004 16:03 |  #5

Kinger wrote:
I bought one, and within the day I got it I wished I spent the extra for the IS version. Other then that I am enjoying it. Yes I know that there are better lenses, but for the beginner that know he/she will be eventually replacing the lens within a year or two, it's a good buy.

spot on...although it took me about a week of use to truly conclude that....yeap! dammit i should have forked out the extra $$$....but now 2 weeks on i am getting used to its little quirks, and for the money im not going to complain.

thats the thing...the original poster mentions that he is a beginner and that the lens will be for general purpose shooting etc......so i'd say that, for the price, this lens should suffice......so go for it unless you have the money to get some serious-L-y expensive gear.




  
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richardtallent
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Jan 09, 2004 19:07 |  #6

At *least* get the USM version, which goes for ~$180 at B&H, and (like the other) has a $10 MIR in effect until the end of this month.

I got the non-USM (i.e., DC) version of this lens from Best Buy and it was well below my expectations. I took it back and got the USM version from B&H and it was worth the extra effort (BB was selling *above* the USM price, so it was even cheaper!).




  
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OviV
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Jan 09, 2004 21:32 |  #7

I have it. I am also a beginner and I am happy with it. I know its not the best lens out there but it takes decent pictures.

Here is a example:

IMAGE NOT FOUND
HTTP response: 404 | Byte size: ZERO


Ovi

5D, 40D, Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX, Sigma 15MM Fisheye,17-40 L, 24-105 L, 50 1.8, Tamron 28-75 2.8, Sigma 70-200 2.8, 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS, 100-400 L, 300 F4 L, 580 ex, Sigma 500 Super DG Flash x 2, too much other stuff to list.

  
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gsmx2
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Jan 10, 2004 00:12 |  #8

I got the USM model from B&H and am very happy with the lens.

gsm x2




  
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sjprg
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Jan 10, 2004 00:40 |  #9

These are all handheld with 75-300 III USM NON IS. Perfectly useable for $180.00. Don't let the "L" glass stampede you into spending a lot of money unless it will pay for itself, or you have a lot.


http://www.pbase.com/i​mage/20333482 (external link)
http://www.pbase.com/i​mage/21594258 (external link)
http://www.pbase.com/i​mage/21594328 (external link)
http://www.pbase.com/i​mage/21594328 (external link)
http://www.pbase.com/i​mage/19341171 (external link)


Paul
San Jose, Ca. USA
http://www.pbase.com/s​jprg (external link)
Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.
Dogs have masters, Cats have staff.

  
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tpinchback
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Jan 10, 2004 11:36 |  #10

Sorry for asking, but what does USM stand for?


1D MKIII 5D MKII
Glass ranging from 16mm to 400mm

  
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sjprg
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Jan 10, 2004 11:52 |  #11

USM > Ultra Sonic Motor. I assume that it is an AC motor driven at a frequency above the human hearing range. Not sure if dogs can hear it. Although the last dog I shot sure picked up his ears when I focused on him.


Paul
San Jose, Ca. USA
http://www.pbase.com/s​jprg (external link)
Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.
Dogs have masters, Cats have staff.

  
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KBMphotography.com
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Jan 10, 2004 13:35 |  #12

Go for it......

For the money you won't find much better. And it is ok really. (but I love my 70-200m F2.8L IS!!!)

Seriously, I wasn't overly impressed when I borroweed the 70i300mm IS.

It wasn't bad - but I expected more.

(and I have one for sale in the UK!!)




  
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Tom ­ W
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Jan 10, 2004 20:06 |  #13

sjprg - those are some exceptionally sharp images. Both the lens and yourself did a fine job.


Tom
5D IV, M5, RP, & various lenses

  
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ron ­ chappel
Cream of the Crop
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Jan 11, 2004 00:01 |  #14

I have a particularly good example of this lens (after owning/using several)
.The others were just not good enough frankly!Allways softish at any aperture and focal length + low contast and saturation.
The current one i have (it's a version II but they are all the same theoretically) gets occasionally very good pics but man it makes it hard work!
Yesterday and today i went out with this lens trying to get a great example of what it can achieve.I got some pretty good ones but there are lots of throwaways!
I've found this lens rather sensitive to camera movement blur far beyond what would be indicated by the shutter speed (including the cropping factor multiple)
I'll try adding a pic...never done it on this forum yet

http://www.photo.net …db/photo?photo_​id=2042202 (external link)
http://www.photo.net …db/photo?photo_​id=2042239 (external link)
http://www.photo.net …db/photo?photo_​id=2042257 (external link)
The last shot is just a little worse than the average from this lens wide open.




  
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richardtallent
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Jan 11, 2004 01:16 |  #15

I took this new lens and my 300D out today and got a few shots. Below this image is a link to the full-sized version (warning: almost 4MB and I only have about a 384Kbps upstream cable connection).

IMAGE NOT FOUND
HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'text/html' | Byte size: ZERO


(click for original) (external link)

1/500s, 300mm, f/5.6, ISO 200.

Minor photoshop correction: unsharpen (~ 1.6px, 30%), saturation and contrast tweaks, but the sharpness is really very good compared to the stories I had heard. Sorry, I threw away the CRW file on this one and can't post an uncorrected, but I can say that I tend to undersharpen rather to avoid that digital-sharp look (where the noise is sharp and the picture still blurry).

The autofocus seemed faster than the kit lens today, but it was slower earlier this week in poor lighting. Overall, I was very happy with the performance today, and it was the first time I really had a chance to try it. Combined with the Digital Rebel's 1.6x magnification factor, I couldn't believe how close I was able to get for under $200.



  
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Canon Ef 75-300mm $150 Worth it?
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