First Light: Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM
So this is what all the commotion about Canon "L" lenses is about!
Canon EOS 300D | EF 300mm f/4 | 1/640 @ f/6.3 (0ev) ISO 200
Canon EOS 300D | EF 300mm f/4 | 1/800 @ f/7.1 (-1.0ev) ISO 200
Canon EOS 300D | EF 300mm f/4 | 1/360 @ f/16 (0ev) ISO 200
Canon EOS 300D | EF 300mm f/4 | 1/1000 @ f/4 (0ev) ISO 200
Note that these shots were not taken with the 40D - that's on its way to Canon Factory Service to fix a faulty main dial (don't get me started on that). Instead, I threw the new lens on my 300D to give it a quick shakedown and I'm very impressed with the results. The wasp photo was quickly shot in straight Program mode without any thought of camers settings, it happened so fast that I didn't have time to do any bracketed exposures or even dial in aperture or shutter speed; it was point-click. The squirrel, lake and branch shots were bracketed in Av mode - the latter at f/4 to get a feel for the depth of field and bokeh. (I always wanted to use the word "bokeh" in a sentence, makes me sound smart...)
I exchanged the Tokina AT-X 80-400mm AF D zoom for the EF 300mm f/4L IS three days after I received the Tokina. Call it buyer's remorse, second-guessing, whatever - I really didn't find the 80-44mm to have the same build quality as the AT-X 100mm f/2.8 Pro D, the focusing ring had just too much play in it for my comfort, the switches were stiff, focusing slow and noisy. It certainly felt a lot more solid than my old Tamron 100-300mm zoom and is probably a great value at $650 for an all-purpose long zoom. The indoor test shots looked nice. However, in the end I decided that a long focal length prime was really what I wanted all along and was just kidding myself into thinking that a zoom would be good enough. I would have hung onto the Tokina a little longer to give it a thorough workout outdoors, but B&H was scheduled to close for a week and I didn't want to wait. So exit 80-400mm zoom on Monday, enter 300mm prime on Tuesday.
It took me about 5 minutes to confirm that I made the right decision in upgrading to the "L". The feel of it is... substantial. I don't know how else to describe it. Not heavy, but a seriously solid lens - more so than any other I've used. The IS works as I've come to expect from using my other IS lens (the EF 28-135mm IS). It just exudes quality. The built-in lens hood and included carry case are added bonuses. I'm anxious to get the 40D back so I can really ride this thing hard; the 300D takes pretty pictures and certainly has served me well for 4 years, but after using the 40D for a few weeks I have become spoiled, not so much by the extra megapixels but by the creature comforts such as live histogram, fast continuous shooting, even faster buffering, and just plain better ergonomics.
Canon EOS 300D | EF 300mm f/4 | 1/640 @ f/6.3 (0ev) ISO 200
Canon EOS 300D | EF 300mm f/4 | 1/800 @ f/7.1 (-1.0ev) ISO 200
Canon EOS 300D | EF 300mm f/4 | 1/360 @ f/16 (0ev) ISO 200
Canon EOS 300D | EF 300mm f/4 | 1/1000 @ f/4 (0ev) ISO 200
Note that these shots were not taken with the 40D - that's on its way to Canon Factory Service to fix a faulty main dial (don't get me started on that). Instead, I threw the new lens on my 300D to give it a quick shakedown and I'm very impressed with the results. The wasp photo was quickly shot in straight Program mode without any thought of camers settings, it happened so fast that I didn't have time to do any bracketed exposures or even dial in aperture or shutter speed; it was point-click. The squirrel, lake and branch shots were bracketed in Av mode - the latter at f/4 to get a feel for the depth of field and bokeh. (I always wanted to use the word "bokeh" in a sentence, makes me sound smart...)
I exchanged the Tokina AT-X 80-400mm AF D zoom for the EF 300mm f/4L IS three days after I received the Tokina. Call it buyer's remorse, second-guessing, whatever - I really didn't find the 80-44mm to have the same build quality as the AT-X 100mm f/2.8 Pro D, the focusing ring had just too much play in it for my comfort, the switches were stiff, focusing slow and noisy. It certainly felt a lot more solid than my old Tamron 100-300mm zoom and is probably a great value at $650 for an all-purpose long zoom. The indoor test shots looked nice. However, in the end I decided that a long focal length prime was really what I wanted all along and was just kidding myself into thinking that a zoom would be good enough. I would have hung onto the Tokina a little longer to give it a thorough workout outdoors, but B&H was scheduled to close for a week and I didn't want to wait. So exit 80-400mm zoom on Monday, enter 300mm prime on Tuesday.
It took me about 5 minutes to confirm that I made the right decision in upgrading to the "L". The feel of it is... substantial. I don't know how else to describe it. Not heavy, but a seriously solid lens - more so than any other I've used. The IS works as I've come to expect from using my other IS lens (the EF 28-135mm IS). It just exudes quality. The built-in lens hood and included carry case are added bonuses. I'm anxious to get the 40D back so I can really ride this thing hard; the 300D takes pretty pictures and certainly has served me well for 4 years, but after using the 40D for a few weeks I have become spoiled, not so much by the extra megapixels but by the creature comforts such as live histogram, fast continuous shooting, even faster buffering, and just plain better ergonomics.
posted by Paul @ 8:52 PM
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