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upgrade from EF70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM to 70-300mm f/4-5.6l IS USM

Started Jun 28, 2013 | Discussions thread
Lawrence Becker Regular Member • Posts: 395
Re: Agree with Lemming51 and some tips

The tips link is very good.

I have had the 70-300 DO for several years, shooting through 1DII, 1DIII, 5DII and now a 5DIII, and have appreciated it for its reach, size, and image quality. I found it soft until I discovered that if I do a mild sharpening in Camera Raw and another sharpening pass in Photoshop, the images are on par with other lenses. With the current Camera Raw in CS6, I can and do bring out whatever levels of sharpness and contrast that I want, and I don't find the lens lacking at all.

I recently traded in a 100-400, which was a LITTLE sharper than the 70-300 DO (ok, a LOT sharper from 301-400!), I never carried it - it's just too darned cumbersome for most shooting that I do. I would certainly never travel with it (again). The trip becomes all about the equipment, rather than about the journey.  If I need more reach than 300, I bring my Panasonic GH3 and 100-300 (200-600 equiv), the combination of which together weighs about the same as the 100-400 and gives me great image quality.

For sure on the DO I'd forgo the protective filters and ALWAYS use the lens shade, even indoors (because you now have no protective filter).

Try the new camera with the DO and see how it goes. Try processing in Camera Raw, too. ALSO, the lens profiles in the camera are really helpful, especially if you only shoot jpg.

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Larry Becker

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