Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III Lens

This lens is a must have for beginners. The focus is slightly slower than the 70-200. The lighter weight is a huge advantaged during a long day of shooting wildlife. Highly recommend for beginners. I've never used an extender on this lens, so have no suggestions if anyone is planning on using an extender. Photos are sharp. Lowlight can be somewhat of a struggle. I bought this lens 2 years ago, and Canon glass never disappoints.

Classic design with good results

The Canon 75-300mm lens has seen many versions and is an old design but it is still going after these years. Why? Well, it offers decent image quality in a relatively light and compact form, has a metal mount, is well constructed and is surprisingly cheap, especially second hand. Of course if you compare it to more recent, more expensive zooms with fancy lens elements, it will not seem as good. But if this bothers you, you will either have the money to buy them, or sigh and admit that this old budget lens is the best option available. All older designs of the 75-300 or 70-300 tend to be less sharp at 300mm, and this Canon lens is no exception. But I got perfectly good shots of a robin singing in a tree at 300mm. No doubt a better lens would have given me a touch ... MoreThe Canon 75-300mm lens has seen many versions and is an old design but it is still going after these years. Why? Well, it offers decent image quality in a relatively light and compact form, has a metal mount, is well constructed and is surprisingly cheap, especially second hand. Of course if you compare it to more recent, more expensive zooms with fancy lens elements, it will not seem as good. But if this bothers you, you will either have the money to buy them, or sigh and admit that this old budget lens is the best option available. All older designs of the 75-300 or 70-300 tend to be less sharp at 300mm, and this Canon lens is no exception. But I got perfectly good shots of a robin singing in a tree at 300mm. No doubt a better lens would have given me a touch more clarity. But...the price/quality ratio of this lens is just fine. The main down for it is it has no image stabilisation. I will let you into a secret; if you want to freeze the movement of say a bird, what you need is a really fast shutter speed. If you shoot a bird with your IS lens at 1/125th of a second, it won't be sharp because the subject will have moved during the exposure. IS does not make the world stand still. So the claims for the importance of IS are overstated. If you want a lens with IS on a budget the Canon 55-250 is just the job; it does not go to 300mm however, it has a plastic lens mount and is entirely made of cheap plastic. So I would rather have this venerable 75-300mm lens which is in my comfort zone financially and which usually delivers excellent results.

Compact Capability at a Bargain Price

I give this lens 5 stars based on its overall quality:value ratio. To be clear, it is not comparable to the 70-200 f2.8 (or even the f4) with image stabilization, but at its amazingly low price point, this is a very good lens. I purchased mine about two years ago as an inexpensive (on a "deal of the day" sale, around $100) emergency backup lens. Opened the box, attached it to my 6D M1, ran a few test shots, then tucked it into my bag where it has stayed until this past week. Recently, I attended a concert at a venue that allowed cameras but no flash or "pro" lenses, so I was unable to pull out my 70-200 f2.8 IS. Without terribly great expectations, I decided to give the 75-300 some work. Much to my surprise, this lens yielded very good image quality; even at 300mm, ... MoreI give this lens 5 stars based on its overall quality:value ratio. To be clear, it is not comparable to the 70-200 f2.8 (or even the f4) with image stabilization, but at its amazingly low price point, this is a very good lens. I purchased mine about two years ago as an inexpensive (on a "deal of the day" sale, around $100) emergency backup lens. Opened the box, attached it to my 6D M1, ran a few test shots, then tucked it into my bag where it has stayed until this past week. Recently, I attended a concert at a venue that allowed cameras but no flash or "pro" lenses, so I was unable to pull out my 70-200 f2.8 IS. Without terribly great expectations, I decided to give the 75-300 some work. Much to my surprise, this lens yielded very good image quality; even at 300mm, the labels on the guitars and drum heads could be clearly read. My distance to the subjects ranged between 60-80 feet. I didn't experience any of the soft focus or vignetting issues mentioned in other reviews. My camera was a 6D M2 shooting at ISOs between 8000-10,000. A number of the reviews mention the need to use a tripod, but all of my shooting was handheld and I had no problems with shake as long as I kept the shutter speed above 1/125. A couple sample photos attached. IS is a great feature, but anyone who's been shooting before IS existed should know how to brace a camera without using a tripod. The lens is extremely light and easy to hand hold, and the extra 100mm (vs the 70-200) of reach proved very beneficial. For photographers who need telephoto capability but are on a tight budget (or those that just want to have a lightweight backup to their "big" lenses), this 73-300 is a decent piece of glass to have in your bag

Good Value, Photos sharper than I thought they'd be.

I bought a used Canon EF 75-300 f4-5.6 III Zoom lens. I'm using it on an old Canon 5E Mark II full frame camera. I was surprised because the lens tends to get some bad reviews. But, I only paid $80 for a lens that was basically new and the pictures are sharp as long as you hold the camera steady. Now for video, it's a little trickier because you really need to use a tripod to get the video smooth. It's harder to hold the camera still for videos with a lens like this. For my purposes, to get some photos of birds or something in the distance, I'm sure I'll take plenty of very good looking and sharp pictures with it. It's not a professional quality lens but it is much better than I thought it would be.

Great Lens for a Nature Walk

I just got this lens for Christmas, and it is great. I took it on a nature walk and the photos it took of birds and other wildlife was great. I strongly suggest that you buy this lens if you are looking to capture any animal because it will allow you to get great photos from further away. From experience, this provides the animal with space to wander and not be afraid while you capture your epic shots. On the other hand, if you are looking for a lens that works with landscapes, I would not suggest this lens. That is because you cannot get the wide view that you can get with a smaller mm lens. Overall, a great lens that I would totally suggest you buy.

Great lens

This lens has made a dramatic improvement in getting the right camera shots. We usually have to wait for wild life to get closer, but this lens gives me a better concealment for better shooting cover. Those shots through the lens of the Camera prove that B&H gave me the best deal on some top of the line equipment. B&H has been my “goto” photography equipment facility for quite some time. Thanks for the recommendation and advice.

Having read the reviews . . .

Having read the reviews both good and bad, I find the bad has some merit but to be taken lightly with some reservation. As for the good, I let the examples of user photographs speak for themselves against the good reviews and some good advice is given in those reviews. For myself, I had to work with this lens a bit and came to the conclusion that this lens being hand held is not really a good idea beyond 75mm and that the use of a tripod, especially at the longer lengths, is more than a necessity, it is highly advised by myself. Hand held the images are quite soft but when a tripod is used they are greatly improved. I used an ISO of 400 @1/125 sec. f/ (various settings with available light) it was sunny day. This lens will produce useable images but don't expect any ... MoreHaving read the reviews both good and bad, I find the bad has some merit but to be taken lightly with some reservation. As for the good, I let the examples of user photographs speak for themselves against the good reviews and some good advice is given in those reviews. For myself, I had to work with this lens a bit and came to the conclusion that this lens being hand held is not really a good idea beyond 75mm and that the use of a tripod, especially at the longer lengths, is more than a necessity, it is highly advised by myself. Hand held the images are quite soft but when a tripod is used they are greatly improved. I used an ISO of 400 @1/125 sec. f/ (various settings with available light) it was sunny day. This lens will produce useable images but don't expect any IQ higher than that and they will take some software processing. I use Photoscape X found in the Microsoft Store. There are two downloads, one is free with limited features the other is the full run of software and worth the modest pricing. Overall the lens is fairly priced I think and a good lens to work and experiment with if one is in the process of learning and developing their photographic skills. I give it four stars, its not that bad a lens.

Its not a bad lens

Knowing what this lens is and its capabilities is important when making the purchase. A lot of negative reviews out there but again it has its place. Its a decent lens under the right conditions and settings. It will do a nice job if you research its limitations beforehand and take pictures using it properly. It does very well for me and fit a zoom range I wanted with just one lens. Cant go wrong when you get a like new one for half the price. Be your own judge.

Soft, Slow to Focus

The price of this lens is almost unbeatable, however, the focus motor is incredibly slow and inaccurate on any of the T series or SL series cameras (Used on T3i, T5, T6, T7, SL3, SL1). Along with this, the image quality of the lens is pretty bad. It's soft, particularly in the corners, and chromatic aberration is awful, making images in snow and bright skies almost unusable. I suppose its a fine starter lens, but once you get interested in wildlife, it begins to fall short.

This Lens Kit is a Great Value

Kit received on-time and in perfect condition. The 75-300 mm lens is perfect and the main reason why I bought the kit. You can't find a new lens alone for a better price. Love the pouch for the lens and filter kit along with other goodies like the lens cap keeper and micro-fiber cloth. I'm having issues with the 2X telephoto in that it causes blurriness of the image, even if just used on the stock 18-55mm lens, and it's really pronounced when using on the 75-300mm lens. But that in no way detracts from this kit being an excellent value.