Canon Zoom telephoto EF 75-300 mm f/4-5.6 III telelphoto zoom lens, good for bird photography?

Question

It's in my price range and my current lens is 28-80mm. where's the cheapest place to buy it? and theres also another one with a USM, what is a USM auto focus lens?

Answer 1

Well, in your price range, it is. The USM is supposed to be silent (good for not scaring birds who can hear about 100 times better then you and I) and faster to focus.

See http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Canon-Lenses/Canon-Wildlife-Lens.aspx where many lenses way over your budget will be suggested.

See http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-75-300mm-f-4-5.6-III-USM-Lens-Review.aspx for a review. He calls teh build quality "mediocre," but you are spending less than $200 on the lens. You should not expect it to stand up to years of rigorous use. In fact, the review goes on to pretty much trash the lens, but don't forget - you are trying to spend less than $250.

The reviewer than goes on to recommend the same Zoom Telephoto EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM Autofocus Lens that fhotoace suggested, but it costs over $1,000 so you would hope it would be better!

If you can save a few beans before you buy, maybe you can look at the 70-300 lenses. Not cheap...

The Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS Image Stabilizer USM Autofocus sells for $550 and is not too well reviewed, either.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-70-300mm-f-4-5.6-IS-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

See also the Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS Image Stabilizer USM Autofocus Lens for $1,143.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-70-300mm-f-4.5-5.6-DO-IS-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

I bought the Nikon "consumer" 70-300 lens and I resognize its shortcomings. It's less than razor sharp and there are some chromatic aberation/fringing issues, but I am just not ready to shell out another $1,500 for a lens.

See http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=935084007&size=o for an example of what I mean. This is taken at 122 mm.

This is taken at 200 mm. http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/487852172/

Maybe something zooning to 200 mm would do you just fine for now.

fhotoace suggested the Canon 55-200 in your price range. See this review:

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-55-200mm-f-4.5-5.6-II-USM-Review.aspx

It is also termed less than perfect and the review ends up recommending the same over-$1,000 70-200 lens instead.

I don't see anything from Sigma, Tamron or Tokina to suggest that apppeals to me more that the Canon 70-300.

Personally, I think it would be worth trying out the 70-30 focal length for under $200.

Answer 2

If the EF 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6 III USM is in your price range ($180-190 on B&H) then you have pretty much answered your own question.

The NON USM version retails for $150-160 (Imported vs US warranty). See link for all versions.

How good are the lens? They are the BEST $150-190 lens you can get. They don't hold a candle to the $1500 lens or even the $3000 lens but then if you are willing to pay $190 you should not be expecting $3000 quality.

But if your budget is maxed out at $190 then there is nothing you can do (you can always rent lenses when you go on trips). Will you be able to get "National Geographic quality" pics of birds, very unlikely but its still a great place to start.

Someone mentioned the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM ($550) this is actually a good lens. Its got 3rd gen image stabilization (IS) and its has better optical quality over the 75-300 III. But if you can shell out $550, you can also buy the EF 70-200mm f/4L (great lens) and when you can afford it, get a 1.4x TC ($285) and you will have 280mm f/5.6 that is still better optically than the 300mm f/5.6 that you get with a 75-300mm III.

Answer 3

I have this lens as it came with my camera package I got on Ebay and it is very good.

For birds? You probably will be fairly disappointed. It's a very nice telephoto lens, very VERY nice, but it works well on medium-large objects. Don't expect to be 100 feet away and get a clear shot of something as small as a bird; 50 feet is still very far and you won't get detail. It's far better zoom than you're currently using and to me it's far worth it as I do a lot of wildlife photography (deer, rabbits, etc) and people candids. I do some birds but as I said, you have to be quite close if you want them detailed.

Walmart stores have them for cheaper than I've seen online.

Answer 4

You might want to search on ebay or at KEH or B&H or Adorama for a 400mm fixed focal length lens in your mount. Yes you'll have to use manual focus but a fixed focal length lens can be faster, even at the same effective aperture. How? Fewer elements which equals better light transmission.

It might be wise to add a good quality monopod to help steady the lens. A tripod can be a bit unwieldy if you're moving around a lot.