Camera Labs

Hi,

I just got a Canon EOS 550D with a 75-300mm III USM lens. Reviews on this lens were mixed, but I went for it since two reliable sources adviced me to choose this over the 55-250mm IS lens.

I have been playing around with this lens for just two days now, and have some pictures. Hopefully, I'll upload more soon.



Jinay.

_________________
A picture is worth a thousand words, but a photograph should make you say just one - "WOW!"

Canon EOS 550D + 18-55mm Kit Lens + Canon 75-300mm III USM + Filters.
Panasonic Lumix FZ35

My Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdm_01/

Hi,

Some more pictures I took with this lens:


Unprocessed; straight from the camera.


Applied Tone Curve Assist - High in DPP. Cropped to 4245*2830.


Applied Tone Curve Assist - High in DPP. Cropped to 4245*2830.

Now using this lens for some time, I observed:
1. USM focusing is quick and noticeably quiter than the kit lens.
2. The lens/camera has a hard time focusing with the sky as the background, like in the previous post.
3. Sharpness is pretty decent at 300mm.
4. There is noticeable purple fringing around high contrast areas, which can get fairly obtrusive under certain conditions, mostly under harsher lighting conditions. Otherwise, it remains noticeable, but not obtrusive.
5. It may be on the lighter side, but the camera is noticeably lighter with the kit lens. Overall the weight is pleasing and feels fairly solid to me, at least.
6. Having tried the 55-250mm IS lens from Canon earlier, I found focusing a bit quicker.

Overall, this lens has decent reach, as it gives me about 480mm equivalent, but that may not always be enough. The three pictures, saving the crow, have been cropped to 12MP resolution in DPP, so there is a "feeling" that the lens is zoomed out a bit more.

Jinay.

_________________
A picture is worth a thousand words, but a photograph should make you say just one - "WOW!"

Canon EOS 550D + 18-55mm Kit Lens + Canon 75-300mm III USM + Filters.
Panasonic Lumix FZ35

My Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdm_01/

Focusing is definitely fast, and relatively accurate. It's gets soft from 200mm onwards and the lack of IS makes it difficult to use without a tripod at the longer focal lengths.



focal length 200mm, f/8.0, 1/500s, ISO 100
handheld
adjusted the contrast a bit

Two cheap and co-operative "models" posed for this one. The focus is much, much faster and quieter than the kit lens. It took quite some practice to keep still with the lens not having IS.



Focal length 300mm, f/5.6, 1/160s, ISO 800
Handheld
Cropped from 5184x3456

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Bodies: Canon EOS 550D w/ Magic Lantern
Lenses: Tokina AT-X 116 Pro DX f/2.8, Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Accessories: YongNuo Speedlite YN-468 Flash, Neewer Macro LED Ring Light, Meike Battery Grip, YongNuo RF-602 Wireless Flash Trigger & Receiver YongNuo WR-128 Wireless Remote Control

Hi,

Focus is definitely very fast with this lens thanks to the USM. But, I usually have only the central cross-type sensor active for focus while shooting birds. Due to the 480mm reach and no IS, the lens naturally vibrates slightly. Using the AI SERVO focusing mode, the AF is so fast that it can lock onto leaves near the bird just before taking the shot. Hence, sometimes the birds seem to be slightly soft when viewed at high magnification.

Not having IS may be a disadvantage for this lens, but with good lighting and usable results at ISO1600, the 1/500 shutter-speed mark is crossed and beyond that IS is usually useless. With some practice to hold this lens steady, the IS shouldn't really be missed.

Jinay.

_________________
A picture is worth a thousand words, but a photograph should make you say just one - "WOW!"

Canon EOS 550D + 18-55mm Kit Lens + Canon 75-300mm III USM + Filters.
Panasonic Lumix FZ35

My Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdm_01/