![]() I’ve created two galleries of sample images that I took while reviewing these lenses. My overall impression after testing is that the L lens definitely has a better AF system, much more useful IS system (especially useful given its extra weight), and resulted in more sharp clear shots that I’d call keepers for personal use (i.e., showing to mom). ![]() As expected, the L lens with the new IS had 3 times as many sharp and in-focus shots as the DO, despite the fact that I took 25% more shots with the DO during my testing. I intentionally stayed in manual and kept my shutter speeds low (most often between 1/60 sec to 1/200 sec) while testing these lenses just to see in practical use how many hits versus misses I’d get. This IS system gives you a lot of flexibility and couldn’t be more useful on a lens that can do 300mm. The other major difference I noticed is that the new L lens has the amazing glass and wonderful IS system that I raved about in the new 70-200mm at the Olympics ( here). The net result of this is I found myself having to go to manual focus sometimes (as in the shot above) when the lens couldn’t acquire a focus but seemed “close enough” (guess it wasn’t). ( NOTE: For those who are new to DSLR’s and don’t understand what I’m saying, this means that if you are closer than the MFD when you push the button to take a picture the camera won’t focus so you can’t take the shot – 8 inches is a lot to have to step back before the DO will work). In fact, I found the DO to be very annoying to use indoors with people because of this issue. The DO lens has a MFD of 55.1” and the L has a MFD of 47.2”, which makes a HUGE difference indoors. Right off the bat I noticed a significant difference between the two lenses – minimal focus distance (MFD). The DO’s MFD will make bad words come out of your mouth While some may be quick to note that the DO lens can only do f/4.5 whereas the L can do f/4, honestly I don’t find that to be a significant issue in my real world testing. Speaking of IS, here’s a great web site to learn more about Canon’s Image Stabilization. Now Canon officially says that the DO has 3 stop IS and the L has 4 stops, as was the case with the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM, those 4 stops are a hell of a lot more than 4 in real world scenarios (especially when compared to older “4” stop lenses). The only other numbers that are super important for me are the previously mentioned filter thread sizes, and the IS stop performance. They both feel like what you’d expect a lens costing over $1000 USD to feel like – substantial. Weight-wise the L definitely feels more substantial, but I wouldn’t call either lens heavy or light. The next issue is weight where the L comes in at 2.31 lbs (1050g) versus 1.6 lbs (720g) for the DO – that’s a pretty big difference, but honestly if you are having troubles handling a 2 lbs lens, then you probably should go back to a point and shoot or skip both of these lenses as they are both not very heavy in my book. The question becomes is the $270’s more you’ll pay for the L worth it? Well, before we have that discussion another factor comes in – the cost of filters which you may already own for the DO as it is the same filter size as the popular 50mm f/1.4 which means that if you go up to the L you may find yourself having to buy more than just the lens. The L is 67mm but the DO is only 58mm, both of which introduce a problem for me as I don’t have any polarizers in that size! :-pĪll Lens Images – Copyright © Ron Martinsen – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Comparing the NumbersĪs of the time of this writing, the L lens sells for $1599 and the DO lens sells for $1329. Here’s another shot with the lens caps on which shows another major difference. Diffractive Optics (DO) lenses are supposed to more lightweight and compact than their non-DO counterparts so I didn’t expect them to be so close in size. Naturally what you find in these images is that the L lens is a bit larger, but not as much as I thought it would be. The EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM is on the left and the new EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM is on the right: When you hover over the text of each label it will show that version (you may need to wait a few seconds the first time for the image to download). This article is filled with 5 different side-by-side comparison shots that I took of my test lenses on loan from B&H, but the ones I think people will be most interested can be found below. As I reported from the Expo ( here), the new EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM seemed to show signs of something special, but it was pre-release so I couldn’t be sure. I’ve never been super impressed with most of Canon’s 70-300mm lens offerings, but when I was at Canon’s Expo in New York in September 2010, I had a chance to see there was some hope for such a versatile lens. All Lens Images – Copyright © Ron Martinsen – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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