That's not a typo in the title, I really used the Canon 90-300mm. I got it for around 30$ from a local seller after trying it on my 6D, the Af was working fine and I thought that for 30$ I wasn't really going to worry about IQ.
This morning I had to go to Taipei for some business, and I carried with me that old zoom as well as a 50mm prime, but eventually I spent the whole time using just the zoom.
Optically speaking there's nothing that makes me think:"Oh wow, this lens is much better than expected!". It's soft wide open, soft stepped down. Using the words of a wise man, "it vignettes like a mofo" and "it distorts like a mofo", and I couldn't find a lens profile on DxO. Pretty much what I was expecting from an old zoom lens that has never had a great reputation to begin with.
But I enjoyed using it. It always gives me a warm feeling inside when I can give "new life" to something that other people are not using. Apparently this lens has been in a drybox for ages because it looks like new, and it well deserved a second chance.
I was very surprised by the Af. I tested it on cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and even on flying plastic bags. We've had a very windy afternoon, so that plastic bag was flying around pretty quickly but the lens got it in focus almost immediately. The Af worked a bit like a diesel, so if it was very far from being correct it would feel very sluggish, but as it approached the correct focus it got much faster and always very precise.
A zoom with this range, decent Af and peanut-price is great for me. It's not a range that I use often, so being able to take the shot is more important than having good optics, and it later on I'll buy a good telephoto lens like a 70-300 L or a 100-400, the 90-300 could be a backup on which I spent next to nothing.
no idea why DP show all that artifacting at the bottom, it's pitch black on my pc.
Apparently this lens also worked as a lucky charm, this was the first enjoyable sunset in ages.
If anyone is curious: yes, I went to "Camera street", but they mostly sell new products at regular prices, and if I want to order some grey market item imported from Hong Kong I can do it from the town where I live, so no deals to be had for me.
And nice try to the tagging system of this forum for trying to auto-tag 3 Sony lenses on this thread. Spot on!
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This is where I write stuff: http://randomibis.wordpress.com/
This is where I upload stuff: http://www.flickr.com/photos/107755637@N06/
Canon 6D + 50mm f1.8 STM + 85mm f1.8 + Samyang 14mm F2.8 + 17-40mm F4
Canon SX 50
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