Rating: 
Summary: JUST BUY IT, YOU'LL LOVE IT!!
Review: I agonized reading all of the reviews, Canon 70-300 IS, Sigma, Canon L. I finally went down to a local camera shop and took pictures with the various lenses. I took the pictures home, and WOW - the L line really is worth the $. The focus of this lense is incredible, and the pictures are bright and vivid. Only this lense was able to focus on a close up shot of a brown fabric. Seeing the threads was unbelievable.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect lens if you have a bit extra to spend
Review: I bought this lens about 5 months ago and have been utterly amazed at the quality of the pictures and how quickly it can capture pictures in all environments -- light and dark. I use it with my 300D and it is excellent for everything from sport shots to wildlife and flower shots. The color it captures just can't be compared to any other lens -- everything the other reviewers wrote about the quality of L lens shots is true and does set you up for an expensive addiction. Also, it is heavy but compared to the 28mm - 200 mm L it is much lighter but just remember that a day walking about with this on your neck will have you a bit sore. You will be very happy once you start shooting with this lens, even happier if you buy a Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens to fill in the gap for closer shots and night shooting without a tripod!
Rating:
Summary: Great Lens
Review: I have only had this lens for a couple of days, and have been very satisfied with it. Not only are the pictures sharp and vivid, the lens is built like a tank.
I use this lens on a Canon Digital Rebel, and this lens is light years better than the EF-S 18-55mm kit lens.
Well worth the price as it even includes a lens pouch and hood, which would cost you about $50 if you had to buy them separately
You can see some examples at johnsfilm.com
Rating:
Summary: FLAWLESS -SIMPLY THE BEST DEAL ON A LENS EVER
Review: I have the 300D - Digital Rebel. I went with the standard EF lenses when I purchased it, but wanted to upgrade. I did some looking and shooting with the 70-200 f/2.8 - which is awesome - but simply far too cumbersome for me to consider. At half the weight and less than half the price - this lens is a no brainer. If you shoot mostly handheld like me - get this one - not the 2.8. That one may be faster - but you'll be shakier holding that monster of a lens up. The quality and speed(AF) of this lens over the consumer models is amazing. I truly am impressed and very happy with this purchase. The money I saved over the 2.8 allowed me to pick up a 50mm f/1.4 prime too and have some money left over. You will not regret this purchase. Buy this lens!
Rating:
Summary: On fantastic lense for sports photography
Review: I love this lens! Every year, I shoot a two-day 4-on-4 flag football tournament. With this lens, I consistently capture better photos than the other photographers with longer lenses. At f/4, it's fast enough to give you all the flexability in the world. Since it's a constant aperature throughout the length of the zoom range, your focus remains almost constant, so that you can cheat and get away with changing the zoom after you've got a focus lock.While it's true that this lense will never "grow up to be" the f/2.8 70-200, at half the wieght and half the cost, it's worth it if you're looking at lugging around your camera for hours on end. ...P>One Warning: If you've never shot with a Canon Professional lens ('L' series lenses), you're in for a real treat. You'll have a very difficult time justifying buying anything for your Canon's in the future that's not an 'L' lens, and that can get VERY expensive.
Rating:
Summary: On fantastic lense for sports photography
Review: I love this lens! Every year, I shoot a two-day 4-on-4 flag football tournament. With this lens, I consistently capture better photos than the other photographers with longer lenses. At f/4, it's fast enough to give you all the flexability in the world. Since it's a constant aperature throughout the length of the zoom range, your focus remains almost constant, so that you can cheat and get away with changing the zoom after you've got a focus lock. While it's true that this lense will never "grow up to be" the f/2.8 70-200, at half the wieght and half the cost, it's worth it if you're looking at lugging around your camera for hours on end. ...P>One Warning: If you've never shot with a Canon Professional lens ('L' series lenses), you're in for a real treat. You'll have a very difficult time justifying buying anything for your Canon's in the future that's not an 'L' lens, and that can get VERY expensive.
Rating:
Summary: Big, but sharp
Review: I was at the local camera shop when I saw this lens being put in the "used" case. I asked to see it and noticed the L designation, so I checked it out on my 10D. I immediately noticed the sharpness of the photos and speed with which it focused, and traded in my less-than-stellar Canon 28-135 and $200 to snap up this lens. I especially like the fact that the lens is fully enclosed and rugged, for those times when I shoot out in the desert. I've been using this lens for about six months now, mainly for naturally lit portraits.
It is a big, heavy lens, so don't think you'll be too discrete when shooting with it.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible quality at a reasonable price
Review: In my opinion, this Canon lens provides the best value in Canon's entire line up of "L" glass (lenses). If you have never used an L lens before, this will open your eyes to what you have been missing. Very fast focusing, very sharp images, very little chromatic abberation, and consistent quality through the entire zoom and aperature range. One note; with a widest aperature of f/4 and a long focal length, you will not be able to take indoor photos without excellent lighting or a flash. I've tried to take photos of ice hockey, where the rinks are notoriously poorly lit, and had very little success. Even with a tripod it is a challenge to maintain a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the action of a kids game (yes, even with ISO at 800). But in good lighting or outdoors in the daytime, this lense rocks. Great sports photos. Great nature photos. This lense is extremely versatile. I have even used it with flash indoors for portrait photography. There is not too much to mention on the negative side. Its size and color do make it stand out a bit in public, and people may thing you are a professional photographer. I've also noted that the depth-of-field with a wide open aperature, especially at f4, is very narrow. As long as you've been careful to focus on your subject, the background will be blurry. But focus on something other than your subject and you may find your subject to be blurry. All in all, this is one great lens that will let you take very sharp photos. And it is a bargain price compared to its f/2.8 and f/2.8IS sibliings.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible quality at a reasonable price
Review: In my opinion, this Canon lens provides the best value in Canon's entire line up of "L" glass (lenses). If you have never used an L lens before, this will open your eyes to what you have been missing. Very fast focusing, very sharp images, very little chromatic abberation, and consistent quality through the entire zoom and aperature range. One note; with a widest aperature of f/4 and a long focal length, you will not be able to take indoor photos without excellent lighting or a flash. I've tried to take photos of ice hockey, where the rinks are notoriously poorly lit, and had very little success. Even with a tripod it is a challenge to maintain a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the action of a kids game (yes, even with ISO at 800). But in good lighting or outdoors in the daytime, this lense rocks. Great sports photos. Great nature photos. This lense is extremely versatile. I have even used it with flash indoors for portrait photography. There is not too much to mention on the negative side. Its size and color do make it stand out a bit in public, and people may thing you are a professional photographer. I've also noted that the depth-of-field with a wide open aperature, especially at f4, is very narrow. As long as you've been careful to focus on your subject, the background will be blurry. But focus on something other than your subject and you may find your subject to be blurry. All in all, this is one great lens that will let you take very sharp photos. And it is a bargain price compared to its f/2.8 and f/2.8IS sibliings.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible quality at a reasonable price
Review: In my opinion, this Canon lens provides the best value in Canon's entire line up of "L" glass (lenses). If you have never used an L lens before, this will open your eyes to what you have been missing. Very fast focusing, very sharp images, very little chromatic abberation, and consistent quality through the entire zoom and aperature range. One note; with a widest aperature of f/4 and a long focal length, you will not be able to take indoor photos without excellent lighting or a flash. I've tried to take photos of ice hockey, where the rinks are notoriously poorly lit, and had very little success. Even with a tripod it is a challenge to maintain a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the action of a kids game (yes, even with ISO at 800). But in good lighting or outdoors in the daytime, this lense rocks. Great sports photos. Great nature photos. This lense is extremely versatile. I have even used it with flash indoors for portrait photography. There is not too much to mention on the negative side. Its size and color do make it stand out a bit in public, and people may thing you are a professional photographer. I've also noted that the depth-of-field with a wide open aperature, especially at f4, is very narrow. As long as you've been careful to focus on your subject, the background will be blurry. But focus on something other than your subject and you may find your subject to be blurry. All in all, this is one great lens that will let you take very sharp photos. And it is a bargain price compared to its f/2.8 and f/2.8IS sibliings.
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