topic Re: Buying 300mm without IS. Is this gonna be a problem? in Gear Guide

Buying 300mm without IS. Is this gonna be a problem?

kriyapedo — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 20:40:17 GMT

Hey, I found a good deal on a old EF 300mm lens, but it does not have IS. I currently have a Canon R10. Is this Gonna be a Big problem for me? I do shoot a lot of handheld today

I might Get R6 MK2 in a couple of years..

Thanks in advance.

Re: Buying 300mm workout IS

shadowsports — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 20:38:28 GMT

Greetings ,

Canon made several iterations of the EF300 mm. Which are you referring to specifically? If you're not sure, you can look at the front of the lens.

Age and condition can play a factor, as well as the adapter that you use. I recommend Canon brand adapters only. Some older EF lenses are not able to meet all of the communication requirements mirrorless body's. This doesn't mean they won't work but they may not focus as fast, track as well or be able to support maximum frame rates offered by a newer body.

Depending on your needs, these are things you may want to take into consideration.

Re: Buying 300mm without IS. Is this gonna be a problem?

March411 — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 21:36:02 GMT

kriyapedo, the only thing I would add to shadowsports thoughts is that the R10 does not have In-Body Image Stabilization (IBIS). Without any type of lens or body stabilization it will be a little more challenging to achieve sharp images, you will need a steady hand, tripod or shoot at higher overall shutter speeds.

Re: Buying 300mm without IS. Is this gonna be a problem?

deebatman316 — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 21:39:51 GMT

Hi @kriyapedo welcome to the forums. The lens you’re looking at was released in 1987. It’s also Canon’s very first lens to feature Ring Type USM. Note this lens uses Focus By Wire technology. If the AF motor fails it becomes an expensive paperweight. It won’t support all of the features of your camera such as eye AF or 12 fps shooting in stills mode. A family friend of mine still uses this lens today adapted on EOS R7. He’s found some features just don’t work well. Or limitations come up like no Full Time Manual Focus override being available with the camera set to Servo AF. The focus ring is ignored when the camera is set to any other focus mode than One Shot AF. Also a setting will have to be changed in the camera menu. These setting are called “Lens Electronic MF” and “Electronic Full Time MF”. By default it’s set to DISABLE meaning the focus ring doesn’t work with the camera set to AF. The focus ring works with the lens set to MF as long as the camera is powered up and the metering system is active. This is because the focus ring is electronic. Is this the lens pictured below.

Re: Buying 300mm without IS. Is this gonna be a problem?

wq9nsc — Sat, 03 Jan 2026 01:52:34 GMT

Whether lack of IS is a major issue depends upon what type of photography you plan on doing. A 300 f2.8 is a great sports lens and for that type of photography you will typically be using a shutter speed fast enough to make IS unnecessary. But if you are planning on using it at slower shutter speeds (anything much under 1/500 will be getting into the "gray" area for potential camera shake blur with the APS-C size sensor), then you will start to miss IS.

I shoot primarily sports and have several of the Canon "great white" primes (200 f2, 300 and 400 f2.8, all with IS) and I leave it off because I am using shutter speeds well beyond where camera shake is a concern.

So give the Canon community more information on your intended use and the members here can provide better guidance.

Rodger

Re: Buying 300mm without IS. Is this gonna be a problem?

jrhoffman75 — Sat, 03 Jan 2026 14:02:49 GMT

@kriyapedo wrote:

Hey, I found a good deal on a old EF 300mm lens, but it does not have IS. I currently have a Canon R10. Is this Gonna be a Big problem for me? I do shoot a lot of handheld today

I might Get R6 MK2 in a couple of years..

Thanks in advance.

This lens was released well before mirrorless cameras were available. No DSLRs had IS. Folks had to use tripod for low shutter speed situations or high enough shutter speed such that camera shake is not an issue.

Same will hold true for non-IBIS mirrorless cameras.