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Trade 70-300L for 300 f/4L ?

Started Jun 22, 2014 | Questions
mermaidkiller Senior Member • Posts: 1,450
Trade 70-300L for 300 f/4L ?

Since 2012 I have the excellent 70-300 f/4-5.6L and it kept the excellent quality when I switched from crop to fullframe.
But I notice that I use the lens mostly at 300mm and many times in low light and sometimes even astrophotography). And the 300L has that extra stop, has IS too and the same minimum focus distance (1.5m). And, according to the test images on the-digital-picture it has even better IQ at full aperture.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=111&Camera=453&Sample=0&FLI=0&API=0&LensComp=738&CameraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=4&APIComp=0

Does somebody know whether it is worth the 'upgrade' ?

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rickso Contributing Member • Posts: 752
Re: Trade 70-300L for 300 f/4L ?

I have thought about the opposite, I have the 300   F4 , great optic, but the flexibility and size of the 70-300 is appealing, and  at 300 I hardly see a difference ,I would keep the 70-300, the 300 F4 is left home a lot because of size and weight

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R2D2 Forum Pro • Posts: 26,550
Re: Trade 70-300L for 300 f/4L ?

mermaidkiller wrote:

Since 2012 I have the excellent 70-300 f/4-5.6L and it kept the excellent quality when I switched from crop to fullframe.
But I notice that I use the lens mostly at 300mm and many times in low light and sometimes even astrophotography). And the 300L has that extra stop, has IS too and the same minimum focus distance (1.5m). And, according to the test images on the-digital-picture it has even better IQ at full aperture.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=111&Camera=453&Sample=0&FLI=0&API=0&LensComp=738&CameraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=4&APIComp=0

Does somebody know whether it is worth the 'upgrade' ?

Comes down to the flexibility of a zoom vs. an extra stop.  Both have great IQ.

R2

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technic Veteran Member • Posts: 8,932
Re: Trade 70-300L for 300 f/4L ?

R2D2 wrote:

mermaidkiller wrote:

Since 2012 I have the excellent 70-300 f/4-5.6L and it kept the excellent quality when I switched from crop to fullframe.
But I notice that I use the lens mostly at 300mm and many times in low light and sometimes even astrophotography). And the 300L has that extra stop, has IS too and the same minimum focus distance (1.5m). And, according to the test images on the-digital-picture it has even better IQ at full aperture.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=111&Camera=453&Sample=0&FLI=0&API=0&LensComp=738&CameraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=4&APIComp=0

Does somebody know whether it is worth the 'upgrade' ?

Comes down to the flexibility of a zoom vs. an extra stop. Both have great IQ.

My impression is that the 4/300IS has better IQ for closeups (I own the 4/300IS but have no personal experience with the 70-300L, so just going by comments from others) and that the IS for the 70-300 may be somewhat better (the IS on 4/300IS is very 'clunky').

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