Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM on APS-C camera (7D)...
EF 300mm f/4L with EF 1.4X II teleconverter on APS-C camera....
EF 300mm f/4L IS USM on full frame camera (5D Mark II)...
Enlarged detail from above...
EF 300mm f/4L IS USM with EF 1.4X II teleconverter on full frame camera (5D Mark II)....
Enlarged detail from above image...
The Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM is an old model, first introduced in the mid or late 1990s I think... But it's still in production and still a great lens. The lens alone is right around 3 lb. and the Canon 1.4X only adds another half lb.... so it's all pretty easily hand held. It has fast autofocus and image stabilization to help with handheld shots (all the above except the mule deer were hand held... for that I used a monopod).
The 300mm f/4L is pretty darned sharp, even with a 1.4X teleconverter. The 400mm f/5.6L lens alone is probably sharper than the 300mm with 1.4X... It's a great lens, but the EF 400mm f/5.6L USM doesn't have image stabilization. I also prefer that the 300mm and a 1.4X teleconverter give me two different and useful focal lengths to work with: 300mm with the lens alone and the 420mm combo.
The 300mm f/4L IS USM also is one of the closest focusing of the Canon lenses longer than 200mm. It gets to almost 1/3 life size without any assistance, but can be made even closer focusing with macro extension tubes. (In comparison, many of the far more expensive super telephotos only manage 1/4, 1/5 life size or less.) This image of a spider is slighlty cropped, but was shot with 300mm f/4L IS without any added extension tubes (hand held, on APS-C 7D camera)....
I've used the 300mm f/4L extensively for sports and wildlife. It has a few very minor quirks. For example, notice the purple or magenta higlight in the hawk's eye above. That's common in specular highlights with this particular lens. It's super easy to fix, if wanted, in post-processing. I didnt bother fixing it in this image because I don't feel it detracts in any way.
As an older design, the 300mm f/4L also uses a more "primitive" form of image stabilization. It doesn't give quite as much "assistance" as some of the newer ones... maybe two to three stops worth (newer can give up to four stops). Still, the IS is very helpful. More importantly, the type of IS system this lens uses needs to be turned off by the user IF the lens is fully locked down on a tripod or being used in any other way where there's no movement for the IS to correct. When there's absolutely no movement, the IS in this lens can go into sort of a feedback loop where it's actually creating movement and can cause shake blur in images. So it needs to be turned off at the switch on the lens (most other Canon IS lenses self-detect and turn off IS automatically). Using this lens hand held and occasionally on a monopod or a "loose" gimbal on a tripod, I can't recall ever turing the IS off.
Overall, I like the 300mm f/4L enough that I bought a second one! My oldest one is down with some problems with it's IS system. That older lens was used extensively for many years, so I'm not surprised it needs some service work.
More recently I got the Canon EF 100-400mm L IS USM "II" and have been working with that zoom a lot for similar purposes. It is a bit bigger and heavier than the 300mm f/4. It's also a larger diameter which I find tires my hand holding it a lot faster during extended shooting sessions. As a result I'm more likely to use this zoom on a tripod.... Something I rarely have done with the 300mm lens. I've often shot with the 300mm hand held for 4, 6 or 8 hours, with just an occasional break.
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Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif., USA
"Walk softly and carry a big lens."
GEAR: 5DII, 7DII (x2), 7D(x2) some other cameras, various lenses & accessories
FLICKR & ZENFOLIO
