The Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 and image stableiziation

[BigJake93]

Hey yall im looking at the Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 as a starter lens for nature photograghy and maybe a decent travel lens. I would love to here any feed back on this lens and also if imige stableization is a must or not at least at fist. Its like a two or three hundred dollar differices and im tryin to stay cheap but also want an alright lens.

[ScottyP]

Hi Jake,

The IS is nice but lack of IS is not the big drawback of the 75-300. The reviews say it has poor image quality. The Digital Picture website reviews it and says that if image quality is important to you, don't get the 75-300. 

The 70-300 is not all that much more money and gets a much more favorable review. 

Compare image quality side by side for yourself. Go to The Digital Picture, go to the image quality comparison in the tools section.  Put one lens on the left and one on the right.  Be sure you have the same focal length and f/stop selected for both lenses to keep it fair. 

Good luck.

[BigJake93]

thank you scott ill have to take a look at the 70-300.

[TTMartin]

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@BigJake93 wrote:

Hey yall im looking at the Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 as a starter lens for nature photograghy and maybe a decent travel lens. I would love to here any feed back on this lens and also if imige stableization is a must or not at least at fist. Its like a two or three hundred dollar differices and im tryin to stay cheap but also want an alright lens.

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Consider the EF-S 55-250 IS STM, it has outstanding image quality. It is priced right too.

[ScottyP]

The 55-250 is good too. A bit cheaper than the 70-300 too. 

[Waddizzle]

"Hey yall im looking at the Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 as a starter lens for nature photograghy and maybe a decent travel lens. " 

That is a little long for a "travel" lens, especially with an APS-C camera body, but I guess it depends upon where you're traveling.  The suggested 55-250mm STM lens is a good one, but still long for my idea of a "travel" lens.  I would think a lens with a much wider angle at the bottom of the zoom range fits my idea of a "travel" lens, like the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens.  In fact, I bought an EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM just to capture shots as I walked around in cities.

[EDIT]  Image stabilization is nice, but it is not an absolute requirement.  Fast shutter speed and a wide aperture can do a lot make up for a lack of IS in a lens.  In fact, some of Canon's best, and most popular, zoom "L" lenses lack IS. 

[ScottyP]

What lenses do you already have?

[BigJake93]

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@ScottyP wrote:

What lenses do you already have?

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I have the 18-55mm and a 50mm 1.8 prime

[ebiggs1]

"I have the 18-55mm and a 50mm 1.8 prime"

Then the Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III Lens will be just fine.

[TTMartin]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

"I have the 18-55mm and a 50mm 1.8 prime"

Then the Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III Lens will be just fine.

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Fine compared to what?

Compared to the EF-S 55-250 IS STM ($130 refurbished from Canon with a 1 year warranty), the EF 75-300 has no image stabilization, and has much worse image quality. 

The EF 75-300 has such marginal image quality you are better off being limited to the 250mm of the STM lens and cropping, you'll still end up with better IQ.