70-300 DO opinion

Martin Muehlemann · Apr 6, 2012

Hi

Currently I am looking fo travel alternative, easier to carry on my multiple business trips than my 70-200L + 2x Extender. Size and weight is the key. Of course the IQ should be good.

I shoot only RAW.

I could get a fairly good priced 70-300 DO lens. Under 500 bucks.

I read a lot of positive things on this lens. Mostly the drawback would be the price.

Would you get this lens as an extension to my 28-135 IS USM?

Thanks for feedback.

Cheers
Martin

--

Canon EOS 5D Mark II | Canon EF 28-135 IS USM | EF 24-70L USM | EF 70-200L IS II USM | Extender 2x III | Speedlite 430EX II | Speedlite 270EX | Speedlite 600EX-RT

http://www.muehlemann-pix.ch
http://www.fotocommunity.de/pc/pc/mypics/1125341

ajcook · Apr 6, 2012

For that price, and with good provenance, I'd buy it instantly.

The price is however a little too good, even for second hand, so the provenance would have to be very very good.

Gearóid Ó Laoi Garry Lee · Apr 6, 2012

--I have one. Very prone to flare into the light but otherwise excellent. Slightly lacking in contrast but that is easy to tweak. Very sharp, a lot shorter than 28=135(I have one)
Níor bhris focal maith fiacail riamh (Irish Gaelic)
A good word never broke a tooth.

Andy Blanchard · Apr 6, 2012

Secondled on the price being a touch too low. Lenses typically hold their value pretty well, so I'd definitely want to see the lens and take some sample images before handing over the cash.

That said, it's a very good lens for its size and weight as long as you watch out for any lens flare and you can also get odd bokeh due to the DO element, particularly on objects with a lot of contrast such as a bare tree against a bright sky.

The only significant drawback is that the barrel tends to be rather loose in that if you point the lens down at a subject is self extends to 300mm far too easily for a lens costing this much. If that might be a problem, the a quick fix is to use a strip of surgical tape (less sticky residue than duct tape) to hold the barrel at the required focal length. Not ideal, but it does work.

Andy

Martin Muehlemann · Apr 7, 2012

ajcook said:
For that price, and with good provenance, I'd buy it instantly.

The price is however a little too good, even for second hand, so the provenance would have to be very very good.

Seller is trustworthy. The price is very good, indeed.

The IQ of my 28-135 is not superb, but for general shooting I am happy with it. For planned shoots and weddings I have still my other lenses.

Does the IQ of the 70-300 DO match or surpass the 28-135?

Thanks

--

Canon EOS 5D Mark II | Canon EF 28-135 IS USM | EF 24-70L USM | EF 70-200L IS II USM | Extender 2x III | Speedlite 430EX II | Speedlite 270EX | Speedlite 600EX-RT

http://www.muehlemann-pix.ch
http://www.fotocommunity.de/pc/pc/mypics/1125341

Martin Muehlemann · Apr 7, 2012

Gearóid Ó Laoi said:
--I have one. Very prone to flare into the light but otherwise excellent. Slightly lacking in contrast but that is easy to tweak. Very sharp, a lot shorter than 28=135(I have one)
Níor bhris focal maith fiacail riamh (Irish Gaelic)
A good word never broke a tooth.

Gearóid Ó Laoi Garry Lee · Apr 7, 2012

Gearóid Ó Laoi said:
--I have one. Very prone to flare into the light but otherwise excellent. Slightly lacking in contrast but that is easy to tweak. Very sharp, a lot shorter than 28=135(I have one)
Níor bhris focal maith fiacail riamh (Irish Gaelic)
A good word never broke a tooth.

I meant to type a lot SHARPER than 28-135

Gearóid Ó Laoi Garry Lee · Apr 7, 2012

Martin Muehlemann said:
Gearóid Ó Laoi said:

--I have one. Very prone to flare into the light but otherwise excellent. Slightly lacking in contrast but that is easy to tweak. Very sharp, a lot shorter than 28=135(I have one)
Níor bhris focal maith fiacail riamh (Irish Gaelic)
A good word never broke a tooth.

Click to expand...

You would say that the lens is worth the investment, right?

Dubious. It depends on how much money you have to throw around. It's certainly one I'm not getting rid of. Very handy when you want longer focal lengths and don't want to carry something like a 300 f2.8 (which I have)

snapperZ · Apr 7, 2012

It's a very decent lens but won't match the 70-300L for sharpness. It gives best results in good light. Overall IQ is on a par with the non DO version once contrast is given a slight boost but build, IS, AF, FTM and a non-rotating front element make the DO a much better lens IMO. It's slightly soft at 300mm wide open but sharpens up a lot at f6.3. If you're looking for something easily portable with good IQ but not ultimate sharpness for pixel peeping then I doubt you'll be disappointed at that price. It's a nice package.

The following are 100% crops from a 5D at 800 ISO, 300mm, f5.6, the first SOOC, the second processed.

Martin Muehlemann · Apr 7, 2012

snapperZ said:
It's a very decent lens but won't match the 70-300L for sharpness. It gives best results in good light. Overall IQ is on a par with the non DO version once contrast is given a slight boost but build, IS, AF, FTM and a non-rotating front element make the DO a much better lens IMO. It's slightly soft at 300mm wide open but sharpens up a lot at f6.3. If you're looking for something easily portable with good IQ but not ultimate sharpness for pixel peeping then I doubt you'll be disappointed at that price. It's a nice package.

The following are 100% crops from a 5D at 800 ISO, 300mm, f5.6, the first SOOC, the second processed.

Thank you.

I am not looking for something par with the 70-300L (which I had) and my 70-200L IS USM II.

I am going on business trips on which I hate to carry heavy carry on bagage. But I don't want to go only with my 28-135.

Capture some impressions at a decent sharpness is enough. No pixel peeping.

The DO sounds tempting in terms of size and weight, as well as the FTM and ring type USM.

Cheers
Martin

--

Canon EOS 5D Mark II | Canon EF 28-135 IS USM | EF 24-70L USM | EF 70-200L IS II USM | Extender 2x III | Speedlite 430EX II | Speedlite 270EX | Speedlite 600EX-RT

http://www.muehlemann-pix.ch
http://www.fotocommunity.de/pc/pc/mypics/1125341

Martin Muehlemann · Apr 7, 2012

Gearóid Ó Laoi said:
Martin Muehlemann said:

Gearóid Ó Laoi said:

--I have one. Very prone to flare into the light but otherwise excellent. Slightly lacking in contrast but that is easy to tweak. Very sharp, a lot shorter than 28=135(I have one)
Níor bhris focal maith fiacail riamh (Irish Gaelic)
A good word never broke a tooth.

Click to expand...

You would say that the lens is worth the investment, right?

Click to expand...

Dubious. It depends on how much money you have to throw around. It's certainly one I'm not getting rid of. Very handy when you want longer focal lengths and don't want to carry something like a 300 f2.8 (which I have)

Gearóid Ó Laoi Garry Lee · Apr 7, 2012

70mm slight crop. 1Ds2 400iso

300mm same camera. same iso.

f6.3.

--
Níor bhris focal maith fiacail riamh (Irish Gaelic)
A good word never broke a tooth.

Andrew53 · Apr 7, 2012

I own both the 70-300DO and the 70-300L. I sold my 70-200f4L when I got my 70-300L. A decision I occasionally regret because the 70-300L is so much heavier. IQ wise there is little to chose between the two L lenses.

The 70-300DO is not super sharp towrds the 300mm end wide open. It can have some very strange and very strong flare effects when shot with strong backlighting. That said, stopped down sharpness is good and the flare effects are somewhat rare. The bokeh on this lens is the best I have seen (in my subjective opinion). Better than my L primes and better than my very expensive Leica primes. It is the lens' best feature.

Further to that, the 70-300DO holds the place as the smallest least noticable 70-300 lens on the market. Compared to the heft and length of any of the 70-200L or the 70-300L the black 70-300DO is the lens you want when you want to keep a low profile. The 70-200f4Ls have close to the same weight and are sharper, but lack the reach and the black housing.

The Canon 2X converter is no where near as sharp as the 1.4X converter. In my opinion it is not worth the money and one is better off using the 1.4X and cropping a little closer.

I think $500 for a working 70-300DO is a good value. You really won't know if the compromises and benifits are worthwhile unless you try to see if it suits your style of photography.

Martin Muehlemann · Apr 8, 2012

Gearóid Ó Laoi said:
70mm slight crop. 1Ds2 400iso

300mm same camera. same iso.

f6.3.

--
Níor bhris focal maith fiacail riamh (Irish Gaelic)
A good word never broke a tooth.

Martin Muehlemann · Apr 8, 2012

Andrew53 said:
I own both the 70-300DO and the 70-300L. I sold my 70-200f4L when I got my 70-300L. A decision I occasionally regret because the 70-300L is so much heavier. IQ wise there is little to chose between the two L lenses.

The 70-300DO is not super sharp towrds the 300mm end wide open. It can have some very strange and very strong flare effects when shot with strong backlighting. That said, stopped down sharpness is good and the flare effects are somewhat rare. The bokeh on this lens is the best I have seen (in my subjective opinion). Better than my L primes and better than my very expensive Leica primes. It is the lens' best feature.

Further to that, the 70-300DO holds the place as the smallest least noticable 70-300 lens on the market. Compared to the heft and length of any of the 70-200L or the 70-300L the black 70-300DO is the lens you want when you want to keep a low profile. The 70-200f4Ls have close to the same weight and are sharper, but lack the reach and the black housing.

The Canon 2X converter is no where near as sharp as the 1.4X converter. In my opinion it is not worth the money and one is better off using the 1.4X and cropping a little closer.

I think $500 for a working 70-300DO is a good value. You really won't know if the compromises and benifits are worthwhile unless you try to see if it suits your style of photography.

I think that this lens is a gem for what it does. Although it is not going to outperform my 70-200L IS USM II, it will serve for what I want it.

Thanks very much for your feedback.

Cheers
Martin

--

Canon EOS 5D Mark II | Canon EF 28-135 IS USM | EF 24-70L USM | EF 70-200L IS II USM | Extender 2x III | Speedlite 430EX II | Speedlite 270EX | Speedlite 600EX-RT

http://www.muehlemann-pix.ch
http://www.fotocommunity.de/pc/pc/mypics/1125341

dnral · Apr 8, 2012

I bought mine new for around $1,300. I was impressed with how crisp it was at 300mm on a 7D. I was looking at a comparison of the 70-200 2.8L IS II with the new 2X and 1.4 (V.III) extenders compared to the DO lens (the digital picture side by side comparison) and the 70-200 with the 2xIII convertor was a much better picture in the chart.

I really need to quit looking at the lens I don't have and just use the one I have.

The DO is small and will be availble when I travel. I do not own the $2,500 lens and the $500 2x or 1.4x.

The photos of the owl looked good to me so I should be satisfied with what I have.

David

Martin Muehlemann · Apr 9, 2012

I got mine MINT, boxed for 550 today. Looks like a gem. Have not been in field yet. But the IQ is better than expected.

--

Canon EOS 5D Mark II | Canon EF 28-135 IS USM | EF 24-70L USM | EF 70-200L IS II USM | EF 70-300 DO IS USM | Extender 2x III | Speedlite 270EX | Speedlite 600EX-RT

http://www.muehlemann-pix.ch
http://www.fotocommunity.de/pc/pc/mypics/1125341

Martin Muehlemann · Apr 9, 2012

Two examples as of today

300mm wide open. I would say, sharp enough!

300mm 1/13sec handheld, wow. The clock looks sharp enough too me for an ISO 12800 ;-)

ALHET · Apr 10, 2012

Looks good so far. Do us a favor and post more pics as you get them.

Thanksl

70-300 DO opinion

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