Customer reviews from usa.canon.com
Canon - EF 300mm f/4L IS USM Telephoto Lens - White
Average customer rating
4.5
(24 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 24 reviews
5 Stars
17
4 Stars
3
3 Stars
3
2 Stars
0
1 Star
1
90%of customers recommend this product.
(
19 out of
21)
Customer Reviews for Canon - EF 300mm f/4L IS USM Telephoto Lens - White
Customer Rating
4
Still deciding
on January 31, 2013
Posted by: Anonymous
from Orange, California
I've shot with a 30D for about 7 years and recently switched to a 7D. All my digital SLR experience has been with these APS-C cameras. I purchased the 300mm IS f4L as a way to get a little more magnification than the 70-200mm IS f4L that I already had. With the APS-C format this lens performs similar to a 500mm (480mm), so it works well for bird and nature photography. I was hoping that the 'Prime' lens would out perform, or at least match, the great performance I experienced with my 70-200mm IS f4L. Although its performance can sometimes be great, especially close-up, at longer distances it produces slightly soft images more often than I would prefer. More often than not, I find myself gravitating back to the 70-200mm for its "Rock Solid" performance, rather than risking unsure results from the 300mm. My best results with this lens have been insects and small widlife shot at it's extreme close range end (5 feet+). I've recently purchased a 7D to replace my 30D and I'm interested to see if the 7D's 'Microadustment' feature can save this lens from it's spotty performance.
Pros: Fast auto-focus, Superior build quality, image stabilization, size and weight, close-up capability, case tripod mount & built-in lens shade
Cons: Semi-sharp images, i.s. noise (clunking)
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
great macro lens
on April 18, 2009
Posted by: ttomas
from Kentucky
This lens is amazing as a macro lens. I shoot with a Canon 100mm 2.8 macro also and love it, however I have to position too close to the subject To shoot macro with the 300mm, I have the ability to shoot from a little distance, and still get a fantastic shot. With the 300mm 2.8L, resuls are clear, crisp and he bokah is fantastic. Extension tubes are a must have to use this lens as a macro.
Pros: Super-sharp images, Superior build quality, Fast auto-focus, great as a macro lens
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
amazing lens~still shots or moving
on January 11, 2017
Posted by: Sorjourner
from Paris, France
WONDERFUL LENS~ONE OF MY FAVORITES~CHASING JETS BACK WASH~FLYING EAGLES~MOUNTAIN PHOTOGRAPHY
ONE OF CANONS BEST LENSES EVER~VERSATILE ADD A 2X AND U HAVE AN 800MM LENS~FANTASTIC CLEAR & CRISP
ONE OF CANONS BEST LENSES EVER~VERSATILE ADD A 2X AND U HAVE AN 800MM LENS~FANTASTIC CLEAR & CRISP
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
3
It's no substitute for an EF300 2.8L IS USM
on August 7, 2009
Posted by: EOS4me
from Los Angeles, CA
I've owned three of these over the years looking for the lens some people say they have. These lenses have been a disappointment to me in terms of pure sharpness and contrast compared with my old EF 300 2.8L. When comparing price, handy size and weight the EF 300 4L IS USM is clearly a very desirable lens but for pure optical and focusing performance the old EF 300 2.8L clearly beats the EF 300 4L IS USM both on film (EOS 1N's and 1N-RS) and EOS 1D and EOS 1Ds bodies I had at the time of comparison.
I had read a few online reviews from new owners when these first came out many years ago about how sharp the images they were getting out of these lens. So me being curious and wanting to save the significant weight difference between the EF 300 4L IS USM and my old EF 300 2.8L USM I bought one. I shot it for a few months and came to the conclusion that the trade off in terms of weight, size and cost are simply not there because the image quality was no match of my EF 300 2.8L USM. I've owned a couple of different EF 300 2.8L USM lenses over the years and they were both absolutely outstanding lenses.
So I sold that one off and a few months go by and I have an assignment where I think the EF 300 4L IS USM will be an advantage due to it's much handier size and weight so I bought another new EF 300 4L IS USM and went on the shoot. I started to notice a pattern developing once I got the chromes back from the lab. Even with IS working on the deck of a large racing sailboat the EF 300 2.8L USM images were sharper and had much more pop than the images shot with the EF 300 4L IS USM.
So I sold that lens a few months later to a friend of mine who I showed the chromes to fully disclosing my issues with the EF 300 4L IS USM lens. He still has that lens and it works fine for him shooting his kids playing soccer and tennis.
A couple of years later I thought I would try yet another EF 300 4L IS USM on my now digital EOS bodies. At the time I was shooting with both EOS 1D and EOS 1Ds bodies and by now I also had purchased another EF 300 2.8L having lost the first one in 600feet of ocean while attached to an EOS 1N w/booster. After many more months of shooting with them side by side the EF 300 2.8L was still the clear winner of the image quality race though I liked the smaller size and lower weight of the EF 300 4L IS USM I'm a quality geek so I sold yet another EF 300 4L IS USM to some lucky guy to shoot his kids playing soccer.
Pros: Superior build quality, Fast auto-focus, dual mode is, relatively small and light
Cons: image quality no match for old ef 300 2.8l
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
1
Most of my photos aren't in focus with this lens
on January 12, 2016
Posted by: Charlie
from Nashville, TN, United States
I bought this lens a few days ago, and have to say that I am highly disappointed with it. On my first day using it, None of the 70 or so photos that I took were in focus. I have been using the 100-400mm IS mkII since it came out, and was expecting this lens to be at least as sharp as it, but, so far, its not even close. I did read on-line where other people were having similar issues with it and recommended using ONE SHOT AF versus AI SERVO (AI SERVI is what I have always used with my other lenses), so I tried it today just using ONE SHOT and did have a couple of photos that were sharp, but, 2 sharp photos out of 60, isn't very good, and the other 58 weren't even close to being sharp. I could have gotten some really nice Red Tail Hawk and Coopers Hawk photos today had I took my other lens. I don't know if I just got a bad lens or what, but, it looks like I will need to send it in for repairs.
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
neato
on May 8, 2015
Posted by: cake
from las vegas
i purchase this lens from canon website they ship it fast i receive it only 2 days after purchase. the auto focus is loud and eats battery but works very well im super happy.
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Posted by: Swish
from Spirit Lake, IA
Verified Purchase:Yes
Got this for Christmas and haven't had a chance to really use it except just playing with it around the house. The Image Stabilization makes a small clunking sound whenever it goes into action. Is that normal?
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Posted by: Royce
from USA
Verified Purchase:Yes
This is an amazing lens. I can't understand why Canon doesn't make it anymore. It is relatively fast, lightweight for its reach, and incredibly sharp. I don't think there is anything at this price point that can compete with it. It's such a shame that it was discontinued.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com