Canon EF 70-300 4-5.6 IS USM

Alexsfo wrote:

I have owned 70-300mm L for a couple of weeks and took it on vacation. I own a 6d body. I can tell right away that 70-200mm f/4 L IS that I used to have a while ago has better colors and more detailed images both for portraits and distance shooting - you can actually crop easily and even still retain the bokeh at f4. 70-300mm L is very sharp but it loses color at 300mm wide open somewhat and detail (high end 3d look) is not equivalent to 70-200mm L IS at 200mm at f4. Of course, you absolutely can get stunning results with 70-300mm L, however, I am finding the lens is very heavy to handhold for video use and overall on 6d it is not well balanced. I just acquired EF 70-300mm USM IS and was not expecting much at all from it reading the reviews. However, the size/weight is MUCH better than L. Surprisingly, IS is actually better in video in the older lens, balances very nicely on 6d, solid build quality and black color. Central point AF seems almost as snappy - haven't tried tracking yet. I only took a few shots in the yard and could not tell the difference between the two lenses both at the short and long end. The colors (flowers) look identical - maybe 6d processing equalizes colors? I will be extensively testing the non-L lens this weekend in all kinds of conditions. I hope I will be satisfied with the results because I rarely use telephoto but when I do, I really enjoy the results especially video. It would be so much easier for me to carry non-L in my bag and not heavily invested in a specialty lens like this. Used copies can be found for <$250. AF is very precise at all focal length, no AF micro-adjustment needed and like L lens, it has zoom lock. The only downside is that it doesn't have Manual Focus override which I like for video but the AF/MF switch is very well placed and easy to toggle - so no biggie. Front element rotates when focusing. However, this is not a big deal because I wouldn't be putting a polarizer on a slow lens like this. You need all the light you can get.

DOn't compare 300mm to 200mm, compare 200mm to 200mm and the 70-300L actually does a trace better than the 70-200 f/4 IS at 200mm.

The 70-300 non-L is not as sharp across the board center frame and much less so at FF edges than the L and above 200mm it has a lot less contrast than the L. The AF is also noticeably slower and much less accurate and it moves the entire front of the lens which tends to make it shake around when in AI Servo mode unlike the L.