Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens

Pros: Price; Build Quality; Image Stabilization; Excellent Focal Length Range
Cons: Focus Speed; Rotating Front Element

For a while I have wanted to complete my camera lens collection. I had the 10-135mm range covered beautifully by my C anon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM primary lens, and T okina 10-17mm ...

Pros: Good price, effective 3-stop reduction possible, Canon reliability.
Cons: Focus often hunts, some softness, especially at 300mm end.

When buying a new SLR and building your lens collection from scratch, most people will look for a utility lens that covers thew range around the 28-90mm area and the short to long telephoto around the 70-300mm length. After that they might go for prime ...

Pros: Accurate autofocus, good balance between lens speed, IS and zoom range.
Cons: Little heavy on lighter digital SLRs.

My Epinions Philosophy When I make a purchase, epinions is one of my most valuable resources for non-biased experiences and information. When I come here to research a product I generally read reviews and the product specifications on other ...

Pros: Very good lens quality, affordable, black and more compact than L lens
Cons: L lens has better build, faster focusing, sharper.

I'm just a novice who is part of the huge wave of consumers buying DSLRs on the market now. I bought the Canon Rebel XT series, one of the most popular models. Anyone who buys a DSLR does it to get the flexibility of using different lenses. So the ...

Pros: Excellent picture quality throughout zoom range
Cons: focus ring turns in AF mode

I use my Rebel XTi mostly for auto racing photos and recently added the 70-300 mm USM IS to my lens collection. This is a really fantastic lens for my purpose. It tracked the fast moving cars accurately, colors are very nice, and the lens is quite sharp without the fall off in quality at 300 mm as most other zooms of similar focal length do. The image stabilization is something I don't normally use at the track for fast moving shots but in low light situations it makes a world of difference in the picture sharpness. The 58 mm filter and lens shade size is readily available and reasonably priced so adding these items won't break your budget. Build quality is very good, the finish is quite nice also. Its light weight balances nicely with the XTi body. I think this would make an excellent travel or wildlife lens for someone, and a great companion lens would be the 17-85 mm USM IS for an excellent 2 lens combo. All in all this is one of the best lenses of its type on the market today and gets my highest recommendation, especially for the price I paid, 549.00.

Pros: Its very sharp, swift and silent.
Cons: The lens remains extended sometimes when you put it away.

I bought this lens to replace a very low cost Sigma 70-300 DL lens that was a bit soft past 200mm. I also found that many of my pictures had some motion blur, especially ones taken at dusk or dawn. The Canon with image stabilization would fix that. Well it definitely has.
The new lens is much sharper at all apertures, even at the edges. Now I get good pictures with no motion blur at 1/60 even at 300mm. The image stabilization work very, very well.
For a non pro lens it is quite well built. The motor is quite fast and completely silent. The gyros make a very small whirring sound, but it is not bothersome.

The only down side is that unlike most lenses with an ultrasonic motor, you can not manually focus it without first moving the "AF/M" switch to M. This can be a bit annoying when putting the lens away, as it may still be somewhat extended.

I really like this lens. Its a keeper.

Pros: Quality construction, good zoom, light and compact
Cons: Wishing it was more like a 28-300... Always switching lenses...

This is a very nice lens.

Sturdy.

With the Image Stablizier, you can take more clear shots without a tripod.

Pros: Great build, great quality photos, and a moderate price.
Cons: Too grande for the Rebel. You'll want a bigger camera body with this lens.

I was shooting with this lens and a Rebel XT and wasn't having a lot of fun doing it. I also own the wonderful L-Series 24-105 and this same thing holds true.

What I discovered was the Rebels are really not meant to hold these lenses, at least in the hands of most males. The body of a Rebel is just out of balance with this lens.

It a great lens in overall build quality, flexibility, and photo quality. In fact, even though its price is probably more than many beginners were expecting to pay, this lens really will be a good value, if for no other reason, for its flexibility.

BUT, now that I am using it on a 40D is when I realized the true beauty and sophistication of the moderately-priced lens. This is basically the "prosumer" canon lens and it deserves a body with just a bit more heft than a Rebel can provide.

My advice, buy this lens and then upgrade your Rebel to match, or love your Rebel as it is (a wonderful camera!) and find yourself yearning for a camera upgrade soon after you receive it.