 BetterPhoto Member |
Buying a Lens I own a Canon EOS Elan II and I have the lens that came with the kit: 28-80 USM. I take a lot of wildlife shots so I want to get a telephoto zoom lens. I've been researching some of the lenses and have come across two possibilities, but I am not sure what the difference is between them. The first is Canon photo EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM (it is $219.99) and the other is canon photo EF 100-300 f/4.5-5.6 USM (it is $329.99). From just looking at the names and the prices it seems to me that by adding III the lens costs over a hundred dollars less. What exactly does this III mean? And which lens would you recommend? thanks.
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Jon Close |
The "III" is the 3rd generation of this lens. The I and II are optically the same, but with each generation Canon makes this lens a little lighter and less expensive. I prefer the EF 100-300 f/4.5-5.6 USM. It has marginally better optics and more sturdy construction. The front element of the EF 75-300 rotates with focus, which is a pain if you use a directional filter like a polarizer. The EF 100-300 has a non-rotating front element. The EF 100-300 also uses the ring-USM focusing motor found in Canon's better lenses. This is very fast and silent and allows full-time manual focus. The micro-motor USM of the EF 75-300 is fast and quiet, but it drives gears and must be switched to "MF" to manually focus. The EF 100-300 also has a distance scale that the EF 75-300 lacks.
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