Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM: Review

Posted to Lenses 2009-03-16

Canon 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM Review:

The Canon 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM compact, lightweight zoom lens is an addition to Canon's budget-minded EF-series lenses. This is the non-image stabilized version of the lens. It features a micro-ultrasonic motor (USM) for faster and quieter autofocusing, an improved zoom mechanism, and a 4.9ft. close focus-distance.

The lens measure's 2,8 inches in diameter, is 4,8 inches long, and weighs in at a mere 16.8 ounces. The unit is constructed using 13 elements in 9 groups and features an angle of view of 32 degrees at 11 feet and 8 degrees at 15 feet. The focusing system used is a front group rotating system, and the zoom system uses a rotating system as well. The lens is ideal for shooting sports, portraits and wildlife.

Rating:

4.2 out of 5

Value

While it's definitely not in the pro or even the "prosumer" class, this lens still represents an excellent value for the digital SLR photographer on a budget. Its light weight, compact size and large zoom range make it an excellent addition to Canon's Digital Rebel series of cameras and complement's the standard kit lens (an 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 image stabilized model). The lens exhibits considerable softness when used at maximum aperture at all focal lengths. This softness decreases as you stop the lens down. You can still get some excellent shots with this lens that would be impossible without its wide range.

Ergonomics

Canon gets high marks here mainly due to the amount of zoom they've packed into a small package. The lens is actually smaller than some other zooms that only have a range of 75-200mm, and is extremely lightweight. Cameras like the Digital Rebel series are very light weight as well, and a large, heavy zoom lens gives them an off-balance feeling. In addition, the zoom features smooth, quiet autofocus operation, and the zoom and manual-focus rings operate smoothly as well.

Summary

You can easily spend more on a couple (or even one) lens than you paid for your camera, so it's nice to be able to get a 4x zoom for little more than the price of a kit lens. The image-stabilized version of this lens helps with the need to stop the aperture down to obtain crisp images, but you'll pay over twice as much for it. It's cheaper to use a tripod with this lens in order to achieve similar image quality. All in all a nice offering from Canon.

Pros

75mm-300mm zoom range
Compact and lightweight
Fairly fast at f/4-5.6
Smooth, quick autofocus operation

Cons

Considerable softness in images at maximum aperture