Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM Telephoto Lens

The Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lens may reach as close to optical perfection as any Canon DSLR lens made as of review time. Combine top-of-the-line build quality, lightning-fast AF and image stabilization to this optical quality and you get one of the best lenses ever made.

Handling and features The new version of Canon's 300mm f/2.8L super-telephoto professional lens sports a lighter build, a three mode 4-stop image stabiliser, a ring-type ultrasonic focusing motor with full time manual override and power focus, sub-wavelength lens coatings to minimise flare and...

Where the original Canon 300mm Æ’/2.8 IS USM was very good, Canon's refinements have made it even better. If you're looking to buy, it doesn't get any better than this, but then, you probably already guessed that.

Lenses like this are never cheap, but £5500 may just be a step too far for many. For comparison's sake, Nikon's flagship 300mm f/2.8 lens also includes a four stop image stabiliser and Nano Crystal lens coatings, but is around £1500 cheaper, retailing for a shade under £4000.

• +

  Incredibly rugged magnesium and titanium build, Lightweight for a 300mm f/2.8, Very effective IS system, Very, very sharp, Low CA, distortion and falloff, Novel locking point on tripod collar

• -

  Expensive, Tripod collar isn't removable

It would be difficult to write something truly revealing about a lens which practically has no flaws. If you can afford it and you are able to make good use of its possibilities, it is a highly recommendable purchase. You can only complain about its steep price.

• +

  Excellent build quality,, Brilliant image quality in the frame centre starting already from the maximum relative aperture,, Great image quality on the edge of the frame,, Chromatic aberration corrected perfectly,, Zero distortion,, Invisible coma,, Low astigmatism,, Vignetting invisible on the APS-C...

• -

  High price

The Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM is one of the latest telephoto and super-telephoto lenses to hit the market, or perhaps we should say to clobber it, given the size and weight of the 300mm and its even bigger 400mm brother .

I cover sports for the local paper. So far, I've used it for baseball, softball and swim meets. If you're on the first base side, keep a second body with a wider lens handy for first base. Rest of the infield is covered well with the 300mm.

This lens lives up to its reputation. Great sharpness, bokeh and fast focus. I mostly shoot it on a Canon 7D mkII and it equates to a 480mm which is great for football and soccer. This IS is great and lets me hand hold (not for long periods of time) the equipment when a tripod is not available.

• +

  Sharp, fast focus, great bokeh, extremely high quality glass

• -

  None.

I have used most canon's telephotos (300-600) and all are nothing short of amazing. Yet this lens stands up among all! It is small and coupled with extenders version III is very versatile. On a cropped sensor is perfect for racing track side and for concert shooting from soundboard.

I rented this lens for a week and tried it out at every opportunity. The iq is simply awesome. I found the lens to be uncomfortable to handhold. I would have removed the tripod mount were it possible to do so, but I could not find a way.

• +

  fast, sharp

• -

  heavy, expensive, fixed tripod mount

Though I was not happy with the price, even after getting some discounts from Optics Planet, they did not match price matching because no one had it in stock, even Optics Planet.

• +

  Clean and Chrisp, most every shot

• -

  Still a bit heavy, but not like the "Old" 300, I use to handling

Superb fastest sharpish lens around

I use it for birding and other action shots. plus small animals. Not as heavy as my 400mm fixed.

This instantly became my new FAVORITE lens, The Speed the images, the depth of field.. and just walking around with it makes every photographer DROOL! a FULL five star is rare with a lens but this beast is just that. Light weight and amazing!

I shoot photos for the local newspaper. I was looking for something a little more long range than my 70-200 2.8 IS II. And the 300 2.8 fit the bill perfectly. I have only had the chance to use it indoors so far with my 1DX Mark II, and the results have been nothing short of amazing with this.