So what is THE BEST 70-300mm lens out there?

Ninja_scrotum

So there are lots of different 70-300 lenses available - sigma, tamron, and canon have a few anyways. I have the sigma 70-300mm apo, and it is a deadly lens for the money, but of course the optical quality isn't the greatest.

So does anyone here have a 70-300 or similar focal range lens that is actually really good optically?

Has anyone used the canon DO 70-300?

Duchovny

Hey

I have the Canon 70-300 IS USM, its very good, i tested against the 70-200L and the differences are very very small and i do prefer to have the extra 100mm for a bit worst quality, I'm very happy with the lens and the IS works great

jackdaw

Duchovny wrote: »

Hey

I have the Canon 70-300 IS USM, its very good, i tested against the 70-200L and the differences are very very small and i do prefer to have the extra 100mm for a bit worst quality, I'm very happy with the lens and the IS works great

+1 the canon IS USM 70-300 is a great lens ...

I also have the 70-200 L f2.8 IS .. I wouldn't say the difference is very
small ... but the 70-300 is certainly a good lens..

Duchovny

jackdaw wrote: »

+1 the canon IS USM 70-300 is a great lens ...

I also have the 70-200 L f2.8 IS .. I wouldn't say the difference is very
small ... but the 70-300 is certainly a good lens..

If you take with both cameras at 70 i dont see a huge difference, i didn't compare 200 vs 300mm but i love the 70-300

jackdaw

OK

check these photos out for 70-300

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2155/2346978626_de39843952_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2005/2346295681_0395a06a24_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3095/2346841499_11d14fd5dc_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2028/2347191130_1635eea416_b.jpg


All of them untouched by photoshop EXCEPT the tiger where all i did was increase the
brightness .. so sharpness wise .. this is straight from the camera...

Ninja_scrotum

wow they're great photos, any of them taken at 300mm?

jackdaw

The lion (male) was taken at 300 mm

so was this ..

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2310/2347340390_cfbe891bcc_b.jpg

and this one (although this is a little soft .. the lens is capable of much better) ..
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2304/2346427771_8e816d532c_b.jpg

BoardsRanger

is the 70-300 lens the f/4-5.6 one? if so can anyone advise as to what it is like in medium light conditions?

Biro

Ninja_scrotum wrote: »

So there are lots of different 70-300 lenses available - sigma, tamron, and canon have a few anyways. I have the sigma 70-300mm apo, and it is a deadly lens for the money, but of course the optical quality isn't the greatest.

So does anyone here have a 70-300 or similar focal range lens that is actually really good optically?

Has anyone used the canon DO 70-300?

I have used the 70-300, it's a decent lens alright. I own the 70-200L f2.8 IS, and as I like to shoot at rallies and airshows, there is no contest.
I was interested in the diffractive optics one too, but read plenty of poor reviews on it from bhphoto. They reckon that while it's very handy to carry around, they'd never substitute it for the 70-300 unless space was at a premium.

Hank Taylor

Biro wrote: »

I have used the 70-300, it's a decent lens alright. I own the 70-200L f2.8 IS, and as I like to shoot at rallies and airshows, there is no contest.
I was interested in the diffractive optics one too, but read plenty of poor reviews on it from bhphoto. They reckon that while it's very handy to carry around, they'd never substitute it for the 70-300 unless space was at a premium.

Thank you for your input was thinking on getting the Canon 70-300mm f/4-5.6 L to go along with my 350 mm Leica which I love using at Air Shows Here are a few shots recently taken at the Chino Air Show this last May. I have been using the 5D with the 350 Leica but now that I just picked up a 40-D will set it up with a 70-300mm. One beautiful thing about the 350 mm 4.8 is the excellent contrast and sharpness it produces.

Hank

pearljamfan

Hank Taylor wrote: »

Thank you for your input was thinking on getting the Canon 70-300mm f/4-5.6 L to go along with my 350 mm Leica which I love using at Air Shows Here are a few shots recently taken at the Chino Air Show this last May. I have been using the 5D with the 350 Leica but now that I just picked up a 40-D will set it up with a 70-300mm. One beautiful thing about the 350 mm 4.8 is the excellent contrast and sharpness it produces.

Hank

those shots are great, i take it you were a passenger in another plane??

Hank Taylor

Thanks for the nice comments no the shots were taken on the ground the planes when they do a flyby they tip their wings as they pass over allowing you to get the impression that they were taken in a chase plane, here are a few more.