What do you guys think about this lens?

LisaMarie · May 6, 2009

Hi all, i think i found a lens i would like to purchase but i was wondering if anybody has any knowledge on it? It's a Canon EF 75-300 f/4-5.6 USM lens.
I have a pretty good feeling that the quality of the pictures taken after its been zoomed out to a certain point isn't wonderful, but for a first telephoto lens, what does everybody think?

Big Mike · May 6, 2009

It's not a great lens, but for the price (isn't it under $200?), it's will get you a telephoto lens. For your first telephoto lens, on a budget, it might be a good choice. Just keep in mind that it really doesn't do well when the light is dim...but in bright daylight, it should be just fine.

LisaMarie · May 6, 2009

Thanks Big Mike, i actually found this lens on Facebook marketplace for only $150.00 including the B & W filter! So i was thinking it was worth the gamble, but is it any good when it gets into the 200-300 mm range in bright daylight?

DRoberts · May 6, 2009

I have found you start loosing your quality at 185mm, and get pretty drastic quikly. Using it as Mike said in daylight at about f/11 - 14 in the 75mm - 135mm range seems to be its sweet spot.

ShotGunNik · May 6, 2009

Nice, I'll keep that in mind as well as I was just looking into getting this lense too. What would be a step up from this but somewhate reasonably priced?

Big Mike · May 6, 2009

It's OK, but does get worse as you get close to 300mm. It really depends on what you are comparing it to...I'd say that it's better that your average 12X lens on a digicam...but it's nowhere near as good as a 70-200mm L or 100-400mm L lens.

For $150, it might be worth trying it out. If you don't like it, you could always try to sell it and buy something better.

Big Mike · May 6, 2009

What would be a step up from this but somewhate reasonably priced?

70-300mm IS
70-200mm F4
I don't know anything about the EF-S 55-250mm IS....but I assume it would at least be as good as the 70-300.

JamieR · May 6, 2009

Not completely off topic, but it saves starting another thread (my apologies LisaMarie)

What type of lens would give better performance? I've heard prime lenses are the best way to go?

Is this correct? And am i right in saying prime lenses have a fixed focal point?

Regards,
Jamie.

ShotGunNik · May 6, 2009

Big Mike said:
70-300mm IS
70-200mm F4
I don't know anything about the EF-S 55-250mm IS....but I assume it would at least be as good as the 70-300.

Thanks! I will look into this....

Big Mike · May 6, 2009

JamieR said:
Not completely off topic, but it saves starting another thread (my apologies LisaMarie)

What type of lens would give better performance? I've heard prime lenses are the best way to go?

Is this correct? And am i right in saying prime lenses have a fixed focal point?

Regards,
Jamie.

Yes, when people refer to a 'Prime' lens, they are usually talking about a fixed focal length lens (does not zoom).
And yes, they are almost always better (in terms of image quality) than a zoom lens. The basic reason is that it's easier to design & make a fixed lens and optimize it for image quality. When they design a zoom lens, they must compromise the quality to save money, size & weight.

Of course, a $2000 zoom lens might be better than a $200 prime lens...but a $200 prime lens will certainly be better than a $200 zoom lens....and a $2000 prime lens will be better than a $2000 zoom lens (extremely good).