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Canon 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM EF Review Round-Up

Get information and user reviews for this lens from Amazon: Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens for Canon EOS SLR Cameras

Photo.net:

The new EF 70-300/4-5.6 IS USM is a better lens than the original EF 75-300/4-5.6 IS USM, as it should be since it costs more, in fact it’s more expensive than the EF 70-200/4L. The original lens has been discontinued, so the decision as to which is the better value of the two is now moot. I’d say the new lens is probably better value than the DO lens, as long as you can live without a silent ring USM motor and full time manual focus and don’t mind the extra 1.5″ in length. If you shoot at 300mm a lot, I’d say pay the price for the EF 70-300/4-5.6 IS USM. If you shoot most of the time at the shorter end, you can save by getting the original lens used (or maybe you could find a new one if you’re quick), so if funds are tight that’s not an unreasonable option. I can tell you that I have upgraded to the new lens. Whether the EF 70-200/4 L or the EF 70-300/4-5.6 IS USM is the better buy depends a lot on your application. If you’re shooting from a tripod and don’t need to zoom to 300mm, the EF 70-200/4L is a very good buy. On the other hand if you’re shooting handheld and need the ability to easily zoom from 70 to 300mm without stopping to add a TC, then I think the EF 70-300/4-5.6 IS USM might well turn out to be the better choice. READ FULL REVIEW

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Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS USM EF Review Round-Up

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Get information and user reviews for this lens from Amazon: Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L IS USM Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

Photo Zone:

Every now and then EOS, the goddess of mercy, seems to speak to the Canon lens designers and this time they listened carefully. The Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 USM L IS may well be the very best tele zoom on the market today – it is certainly the best Canon zoom lens tested locally to date. The lens was capable to deliver a near-flawless performance is all categories. The resolution figures are stunning regardless of the setting. Distortions, vignetting and CAs are nothing to worry about. The build quality is excellent with the new sealing as a another highlight. On top of that the lens now features a image stabilizer with an efficiency equivalent to 4 f-stops (at cost of shutter speed). The only heartbreaking drawback for some is the price tag which increased significantly to a whopping grand – price/performance-wise this is still very sound though. READ FULL REVIEW

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Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM EF-S Review Round-Up

If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below.

Get information and user reviews for this lens from Amazon: Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens for Canon DSLR Cameras

Photo Zone:

The Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 USM IS is not a perfect lens but it lives quite well up to the very high expectations of the user base. The resolution figures are among the very best seen so far for an APS-C standard zoom lens. The center resolution is nothing short of outstanding and the even borders can keep a very good to even excellent quality level. The distortion characteristic is quite typical for a zoom lens in this range (pronounced barrel distortions @ 17mm, moderate pincushion distortions @ 55mm) whereas CAs are unusually moderate. Unfortunately vignetting is a weak spot of the lens peaking around 1EV at f/2.8 throughout the range. It’s not a show stopper but a little annoying nonetheless. The build quality of the lens is pretty good but in relation to the price tag of the lens Canon should have used a little less plastic – finally even the much cheaper EF 70-200mm f/4 USM L features a magnesium-alloy shell. Probably a marketing decision to keep professionals away from APS-C DSLRs. All-in-all the EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 USM IS is clearly a level up from the other Canon standard zooms – a highly desirable lens though the pricing may rise a few question marks. READ FULL REVIEW

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Canon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 USM DO IS EF Review Round-Up

If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below.

Get information and user reviews for this lens from Amazon: Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM Lens for Canon EOS Cameras

Photo Zone:

In principal the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 USM DO IS is a very interesting lens … in principal. From a performance point of view it delivers all that a consumer has hoped for – high resolution figures in conjunction with low distortions, low vignetting and low chromatic aberrations and all packaged in a quite sturdy, small package with high speed AF. So what is the problem ? Well, it’s the price tag. The optical performance of the new EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 USM IS (non-DO) is simply about as good. Mechanically it isn’t quite in the same league as the DO lens but … hey – it comes at a 50% lower price tag! If we throw in the added values plus a little coolness factor the DO lens may be worth a 200-250 EUR/$ premium over the conventional lens but at 1100 EUR/US$ it is simply way over-priced (also true for the EF 400mm f/4 USM DO IS). So unless Canon reduces the price to something more in line with the (in-house) competition there’re some question marks whether the lens is really worth the extra financial sacrifice. READ FULL REVIEW

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Canon 28-90mm f/4-5.6 II USM EF Review Round-Up

If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below.

Get information and user reviews for this lens from Amazon: Canon EF 28-90mm f/4-5.6 II USM Standard Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

Photo.Net

The Canon EF 28-90mm low end lens does fairly well. True, it’s not generally as good as the more expensive lenses when used wide open, particularly at 90mm, but it does quite well when stopped down. Edge performance isn’t quite so good as the better lenses, but the difference is pretty small, especially stopped down at shorter focal lengths. All in all an OK performance and certainly capable of yielding decent quality small prints and maybe even the occasional 8×10. If you’re looking for the smallest, lightest, cheapest lens and you don’t intend to use it wide open all the time then it could be a reasonable choice. It’s not a very sturdy lens and the ergonomics aren’t great either (no separate focus ring, no distance scale), but it’s “only” around $100 and these days $100 doesn’t buy you much more than this in an autofocus lens. I don’t think I’d go so far as to actually recommend this lens, but if you have one I wouldn’t recommend throwing it away either! “¦ READ FULL REVIEW

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