CANON 75-300 LENS
This is a lens often discarded for its poor quality. And it is true that it does not produce sharp images. A look at the MTF curve can reinforce the fact. However, I think that a beginner could consider buying this. I have owned one for 3 years but I no longer feel like using this anymore.
Feature Summary:
1. Zoom lens with focal length 75-300 as the name says
2. Autofocus
3. Compatible with Canon EOS cameras
4. Speed: f-4:5.6
5. Minimum focusing distance: 1.5m
Who Should Consider: This lens could suit the needs of a buyer with following profile.
1. If you are a beginner to photography or an amateur who has not shot much and you have an inclination for the subjects like birds and wildlife
2. You are short of budget, but keen to learn and understand bird and wildlife photography.
3. You have a compatible SLR camera and a bit of leftover money, and you think you can shoot a few things here and there that is beyond the reach of a wide angle lens – subjects like flowers, large mammals when you go on a wildlife safari etc.
The lens is definitely not suitable for experienced photographers who need good quality images.
Output Quality: As I have observed, the output is terrible at 300mm. I have had bad experiences when shooting far off mountain peaks with this lens. But obviously this is not a suitable lens for such subjects. I also have many soft images of birds at far off taken at 300mm. But nearby objects shot with shorter focal length sometime come out surprisingly well. I have passed some bird pictures taken at very close distance(3 meters) without a need to apply unsharp mask. See the image below.
The biggest problem with the lens is Chromatic Aberrations. I have lost many good images owing to this problem. You can almost be sure about images turning out with purple fringing if you are shooting something with sky as the background. See image below.
All said and done, it is still a decent lens for a learner to start with. A beginner can buy this lens without much thinking, shoot for a few months(or years if you don't shoot much) until you gain some expertise and experience. But don't hang on to this lens for long.
Feature Summary:
1. Zoom lens with focal length 75-300 as the name says
2. Autofocus
3. Compatible with Canon EOS cameras
4. Speed: f-4:5.6
5. Minimum focusing distance: 1.5m
Who Should Consider: This lens could suit the needs of a buyer with following profile.
1. If you are a beginner to photography or an amateur who has not shot much and you have an inclination for the subjects like birds and wildlife
2. You are short of budget, but keen to learn and understand bird and wildlife photography.
3. You have a compatible SLR camera and a bit of leftover money, and you think you can shoot a few things here and there that is beyond the reach of a wide angle lens – subjects like flowers, large mammals when you go on a wildlife safari etc.
The lens is definitely not suitable for experienced photographers who need good quality images.
Output Quality: As I have observed, the output is terrible at 300mm. I have had bad experiences when shooting far off mountain peaks with this lens. But obviously this is not a suitable lens for such subjects. I also have many soft images of birds at far off taken at 300mm. But nearby objects shot with shorter focal length sometime come out surprisingly well. I have passed some bird pictures taken at very close distance(3 meters) without a need to apply unsharp mask. See the image below.
The biggest problem with the lens is Chromatic Aberrations. I have lost many good images owing to this problem. You can almost be sure about images turning out with purple fringing if you are shooting something with sky as the background. See image below.
All said and done, it is still a decent lens for a learner to start with. A beginner can buy this lens without much thinking, shoot for a few months(or years if you don't shoot much) until you gain some expertise and experience. But don't hang on to this lens for long.
posted by Arun at 2:43 PM
3 Comments:
I have the IS version of that lens and yes, it's not the best in the world but my budget is limited so that's what I went for.
At the Red Bull Air Race recently I shot a number of photos that I was happy with. No CA, but it was overcast and dull. Maybe I was actually lucky then?
You forgot to mention one thing - when zoomed this lens is useless at focusing quickly. It hunts for an age before getting it right. I turned off the AF and shot on manual for most of the show because it was faster!
What zoom lens would you suggest as an alternative, given a similar budget?
I havent really seen or heard about any lenses coming at this price range. So I think the next options will cost twice or even more - like a 70-200 L glass and a teleconverter, or 100-400L. I am accumulating money for sometime to put my hands on one of these.
I found the focussing alright though I have never tried aircrafts. Have occasionally managed to get flight shots of birds. See http://www.paintedstork.com/digiblog/2005/06/faster-af-with-canon-eos-350d.html
MTF charts good heavens,youre a measurebator.
Sheesh.Lose the jargon and make better pictures.
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