EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Arrived Today!

[Carl in Louisiana]

Wow this is going to be a fun lens. I put it on and took these two shots from the from the porch. The first one was at 70mm and the second was at 300mm and cropped. The boat is right close to one block from me.






Any tips on how to best use this lens would be a big help. Thanks for looking!

I am just getting over the gout in my right foot and am looking forward to getting out with this new lens and practice with it. It came at just the right time....

[Geoff F]

Yes, a useful lens at a realistic price.

Just watch your shutter speed and use a tripod where necessary. Try to avoid shooting with the aperture fully open.

Is a lens hood an additional option? I simply purchased one of the third party rubber hoods which screw in the filter thread and never had any problems with it.

ps. I have some friends who have suffered with gout. Very painful; and contrary to common belief, it isn't caused by over indulgence in rich food and glasses of port etc.

[Carl in Louisiana]

Yes, a useful lens at a realistic price.

Just watch your shutter speed and use a tripod where necessary. Try to avoid shooting with the aperture fully open.

Is a lens hood an additional option? I simply purchased one of the third party rubber hoods which screw in the filter thread and never had any problems with it.

ps. I have some friends who have suffered with gout. Very painful; and contrary to common belief, it isn't caused by over indulgence in rich food and glasses of port etc.

Thanks Geoff,
I did pick up the lens hood at the same time.

So a fast shutter speed is needed with this lens when not on a tripod?

I have had the gout from about 2000 to this date. The last bout was two months long and this time around one month and yes very very very painful. I can not stand the ceiling fan on let alone any cover to touch the big toe.

[timmy]

70-300 lenses are great, i use mine loads even hand held as long as the shutter speed is greater than the focal length then everything should be fine. you will have many hours of fun and I'm sure you will get some great shots. i use mine for portraits and wildlife. so remember if your focal length is 300 try and use a shutter speed of 500. simple. have fun and get well soon.

[Carl in Louisiana]

70-300 lenses are great, i use mine loads even hand held as long as the shutter speed is greater than the focal length then everything should be fine. you will have many hours of fun and I'm sure you will get some great shots. i use mine for portraits and wildlife. so remember if your focal length is 300 try and use a shutter speed of 500. simple. have fun and get well soon.

Thanks Tim,
I am still trying to make up my mind where to go first...and I will watch the shutter speed for sure now.

[timmy]

Thanks Tim,
I am still trying to make up my mind where to go first...and I will watch the shutter speed for sure now.

i would go to a large lake and wait...... wildlife is great fun, however don't be upset if at first your captures arnt what you expect. as i said play and learn..... I'm still waiting for a kingfisher, been waiting for about 2 years... i know that one day i will get one lol... i hope

[rpcrowe]

Congratulatons on your new lens. This is a nice general purpose telephoto lens. Don't just use it for sports and wildlife...

Don't be afraid to use this lens for landscapes - longer focal lengths can provide very interesting in-camera crops to isolate portions of the scenery. The distance compression of a long lens can also make shots quite interesting.

Additionally, try the lens for portraits at anywhere between 100 and 150mm. Wide open, the lens will provide very decent selective DOF. I tend to shoot most of my portraits at 130-140mm on a 1.6x crop camera.

If you keep your ISO up around 320 or 400 and shoot fairly open, you will be able to keep your shutter speed high enough to get sharp shots hand held. Arount 1/500 second shoud be sufficiently fast but, I like shooting at a bit faster shutter speed. The IS assistance really helps. If you find you have trouble hand holding the lens at longer focal lengths, try using a monopod. They are not very expensive and they really provide support for the camera/lens....

Your lens is also good for people shooting. You can get shots of people without them being aware of the camera and reacting to it. The shots are, therefore, more natural looking.

Often when a person is beginning to use a long lens, the focus may be a problem. The camera can often select a point to focus on that you don't desire. Either use a single center point for focus or be cognizent of the focus points selected.

[Loose Canon]

Congratulations on the new glass, Carl.

Pretty impressive demo shots there.

I'll be interested in how you get on with it. I've been thinking a lot about something in the 300mm range lately.

Sorry about the right side skid, though. Hope the recovery continues and quick.

[Carl in Louisiana]

Congratulatons on your new lens. This is a nice general purpose telephoto lens. Don't just use it for sports and wildlife...

Don't be afraid to use this lens for landscapes - longer focal lengths can provide very interesting in-camera crops to isolate portions of the scenery. The distance compression of a long lens can also make shots quite interesting.

Additionally, try the lens for portraits at anywhere between 100 and 150mm. Wide open, the lens will provide very decent selective DOF. I tend to shoot most of my portraits at 130-140mm on a 1.6x crop camera.

If you keep your ISO up around 320 or 400 and shoot fairly open, you will be able to keep your shutter speed high enough to get sharp shots hand held. Arount 1/500 second shoud be sufficiently fast but, I like shooting at a bit faster shutter speed. The IS assistance really helps. If you find you have trouble hand holding the lens at longer focal lengths, try using a monopod. They are not very expensive and they really provide support for the camera/lens....

Your lens is also good for people shooting. You can get shots of people without them being aware of the camera and reacting to it. The shots are, therefore, more natural looking.

Often when a person is beginning to use a long lens, the focus may be a problem. The camera can often select a point to focus on that you don't desire. Either use a single center point for focus or be cognizent of the focus points selected.

Thanks Richard,
I will keep all of this in mind. I do like the street photography and will be trying my hand at it soon.

[Carl in Louisiana]

Congratulations on the new glass, Carl.

Pretty impressive demo shots there.

I'll be interested in how you get on with it. I've been thinking a lot about something in the 300mm range lately.

Sorry about the right side skid, though. Hope the recovery continues and quick.

Thanks Terry,
I will be posting soon, but can tell already I am going to like this lens a lot.
The skid is almost completely healed and I am ready to go until the next episode....

[Hero]

i would go to a large lake and wait...... wildlife is great fun, however don't be upset if at first your captures arnt what you expect. as i said play and learn..... I'm still waiting for a kingfisher, been waiting for about 2 years... i know that one day i will get one lol... i hope

Large lakes are usually not a good place to find kingfishers. They prefer smaller waters like pools or brooks preferably with steepish embankments or earthen walls nearby. I don't know if you know the website observado.org, but it's a good startingpoint to find locations where certain animal species can be found near where you are.

[chypp]

I have a question in regards to this lens. I to have this lens and my husband just got me a 18 - 270 lens for my birthday. My question is; should I now get rid of the 70 - 300 lens?

[timmy]

I have a question in regards to this lens. I to have this lens and my husband just got me a 18 - 270 lens for my birthday. My question is; should I now get rid of the 70 - 300 lens?

depends on the difference of the lenses, which one has better optics as i would keep the better quality one. the 18-270 is very versatile and would become an everyday lens or if you wanted to go out with little equipment.

[Bobobird]

Congrats on the new lens Carl. You will love it. The FL is just prefect for almost anything.

[Bobobird]

depends on the difference of the lenses, which one has better optics as i would keep the better quality one. the 18-270 is very versatile and would become an everyday lens or if you wanted to go out with little equipment.

The Tamron 18-270?

I have one but is only used when changing lens is not practical ie car shows, events, festivals etc when we would want both long and wide shots. Be careful shooting high contrast object ie leaves in front of a bight sky sort of thing. The CA will be a bit hard to correct. Other then that it is a pretty decent lens. Sharpest around f8 on my copy.

[Dr Bob]

Hi Carl.

Your thread got my attention. First because I too have this lens and I recently had gout. Ouch!!

I bought this lens over a year ago for a March trip to Maui. I was hoping to capture some shots of the whales from my walks on the beach. This was more than a challenge as although the whales are numerous at this time of year, you have to be at the right time, I mean within minutes, to catch a whale surfacing close enough to get a shot. My whale shots, even with this lens, was like a "where's waldo" picture. Anyways, I have not used this lens since. You have inspired me to take it out and give it a try with other subjects.

Thanks.

Dr Bob

[Carl in Louisiana]

Congrats on the new lens Carl. You will love it. The FL is just prefect for almost anything.

Thanks Bobo,
I really look forward to getting out with it.

[Carl in Louisiana]

Hi Carl.

Your thread got my attention. First because I too have this lens and I recently had gout. Ouch!!

I bought this lens over a year ago for a March trip to Maui. I was hoping to capture some shots of the whales from my walks on the beach. This was more than a challenge as although the whales are numerous at this time of year, you have to be at the right time, I mean within minutes, to catch a whale surfacing close enough to get a shot. My whale shots, even with this lens, was like a "where's waldo" picture. Anyways, I have not used this lens since. You have inspired me to take it out and give it a try with other subjects.

Thanks.

Dr Bob

Thanks Dr Bob,
Ouch, glad your doing better. Gout and back trouble with sciatic nerve pain fall in the same category to me. You cannot explain how bad it is to someone that has never experienced it. I am sorry for those that have had either one, or both.
I hope you have a good time with the lens on this go round.