Are DO lenes worth it?

I'm looking to get my first zoom, are the DO lenes worth the extra money? I'm looking in to getting the 70-300 IS USM DO:

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I own this lens. It was fantastic on my MKIIN and the 30D. It didn't give such nice results on the 5D...(for the life of me, I don't know why but the same photos taken with it on a crop camera just look better). It has a tiny bit of trouble w/lens flare but if you use the hood all the time you'll be fine. It has fantastic optics, though the bokeh, while being perfectly round, sometimes looks like tiny bulls-eyes...but not all the time. (check out this site for an example: http://www.the-digital-picture.com …O-IS-USM-Lens-Review.aspx ).

It's fast focusing, it's image stabilization is better than our L's...it's handholdable all the way through the focus length and the images taken with it, we've found are sharp and well saturated. (though some people have said they find theirs to be a bit soft, we never have). IMO It is L caliber, photo wise, at least compared to all the L's in mine/husband's kits. CA is well controlled.

It is not weather sealed and that's my biggest gripe for the price. It should be. Otherwise it's an outstanding lens, that I'd only not recommend if you were using full frame. It's in my husbands bag because I mostly use my 5D. Do I think it's worth the money? I have a 100-400 in my kit that I use on my 5D and don't like nearly as well. If that helps.

Permagrin wrote in post #2140042
I own this lens. It was fantastic on my MKIIN and the 30D. It didn't give such nice results on the 5D...(for the life of me, I don't know why but the same photos taken with it on a crop camera just look better). It has a tiny bit of trouble w/lens flare but if you use the hood all the time you'll be fine. It has fantastic optics, though the bokeh, while being perfectly round, sometimes looks like tiny bulls-eyes...but not all the time. (check out this site for an example: http://www.the-digital-picture.com …O-IS-USM-Lens-Review.aspx ).

It's fast focusing, it's image stabilization is better than our L's...it's handholdable all the way through the focus length and the images taken with it, we've found are sharp and well saturated. (though some people have said they find theirs to be a bit soft, we never have). IMO It is L caliber, photo wise, at least compared to all the L's in mine/husband's kits. CA is well controlled.

It is not weather sealed and that's my biggest gripe for the price. It should be. Otherwise it's an outstanding lens, that I'd only not recommend if you were using full frame. It's in my husbands bag because I mostly use my 5D. Do I think it's worth the money? I have a 100-400 in my kit that I use on my 5D and don't like nearly as well. If that helps.

Good, Im looking into zoom lenes without getting into the L-glass yet. Im using a crop camera (Xti) so I hope it does a good job.

This is almost as expensive (or more) than L glass. DO glass is in a class by itself. It's very controversial mostly because of the cost, but most who have it love it.

I was contenplating getting the 70-200mm f/4L IS USM but it was over 2k. So for now until I get use to the Xti (I'm a former Nikon user) I might stick with this lens for a while.
BTW nice smugmug!

ChrisBlaze wrote in post #2140078
I was contenplating getting the 70-200mm f/4L IS USM but it was over 2k. So for now until I get use to the Xti (I'm a former Nikon user) I might stick with this lens for a while.
BTW nice smugmug!

where are you seeing the 70-200 f/4 IS over $2k? You can get the 70-200 f/2.8 IS for around 1600-1700. Are you in Canada?

col4bin wrote in post #2140092
where are you seeing the 70-200 f/4 IS over $2k? You can get the 70-200 f/2.8 IS for around 1600-1700. Are you in Canada?

No Hawaii.

Travel lens only I would say. For general use I feel the DO's are overpriced for the image quality compared to what else you could get for the money. I thought of buying one last year but just wasn't convinced in the end. You can find user reviews here

The 70-300 DO lens is on my list......once I finish my basic lineup. Good lens choice for a 'pack light' trip.....but cant justify the price.

Did you read the sticky? I did and it would have put me off if I was considering it.

ChrisBlaze wrote in post #2139992
I'm looking to get my first zoom, are the DO lenes worth the extra money? I'm looking in to getting the 70-300 IS USM DO:

If you are a hiker or just like to travel light...then this lens might be a good choice for you. If you are just looking to get a good quality zoom lens at a decent price point...the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM or the EF 70-200mm f/4L USM are much more logical choices.

My own experience is as long as I shoot RAW and do a little postprocessing I'm quite happy with the images, but shooting jpg and expecting to print right out of the camera resulted in a lot of rather flat, low contrast shots.

i had one and sold it. just didn't like it at all.

the size and weight were nice though.

I also had one and sold it. It just was not satisfactory to me in the sharpness department. Comparing it to my 100-400 on a crop sensor camera, it just did not cut it. But, I tend to do a lot of 100% crops of birds and such. When doing that, it does look softer then the 100-400.

I do have to say, the IS is fantastic on this lens, the size and weight are also great. Sigma *I think* has a lens of the same focal length in about the same size package. To save some cash, I would probably explore that route if I wanted another small zoom. But, that also means giving up the IS.

yeah, actually, the IS was great.