 Craig Salmond |
Canon Lens I have been looking at lenses to buy for a Canon 20D that I haven't purchased yet. I found two lenses made by Canon that have the same zoom, (70mm-300mm) and relatively close aperatures, (4, 4.5) but the price difference is amazing ($415 and $1150). Can anyone tell me what the main difference is? Also, there are the beige colored lenses made by Canon and they are even more expensive. I know they have larger aperatures, but are there any other differences between these lenses?
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Jon Close |
The $415 lens is the EF 75-300 f/4-5.6 IS USM. This lens is essentially the $200 EF 75-300 USM, but with the added feature of Image Stabilization. It is a good value, but... It has a rotating front element (a pain when used with a polarizer filter). The micro-USM which, while quick and quiet, uses a conventional gear train to move the (large/heavy) front focus elements, and does not communicate focus distance data to the camera body. The Image Stabilization works well (and is reason enough to buy this lens), but is the 1st generation - good for 2 stops slower shutter speed than without, but it does not have a panning mode and generally needs to be turned off when used on a tripod (see link). The $1150 lens is the EF 70-300 f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM. Most of this lens's expense is due to the special DO (Diffractive Optics) lens elements that allow it to be made much smaller than is possible with conventional elements. It is also noticably sharper than the less expensive model. The IS is the latest generation that is effective up to 3 stops slower shutter speeds, has a panning mode, and is tripod-sensing so that it can be used that way. It has ring-USM which is fast/silent and does not use gears, enabling FTM (full time manual focus) without having to use the AF/MF switch, and provides focus distance data to the E-TTL II flash program with the latest EOS bodies. The front element does not rotate, it includes a focus distance scale, and a little nicer build and finish. The beige or white lenses from Canon are their L-series telephotos. Besides relatively large apertures they also tend to use more exotic/expensive lense elements (Ultra-low dispersion glass or Fluorite crystal elements), very rugged build for professional use/abuse, and many have dust/weather proofing as well.
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Craig Salmond |
Thanks, Jon! Thats exactly what I need to know. This is a kind of superficial question, but does Canon make the L-series lenses in a black finish? The extra two pounds seems to be quite big a difference, but I've never held a camera/lens combo that heavy before. The camera I have now (Sony F828) weighs only 1.8 pounds, so that's only half of what the lens itself weighs. Thanks again for you help!
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Jon Close |
The lens color is not optional on the Canon L lenses. The L primes up to the the EF 200 f/2.8L USM, and the wide angle to normal zooms, are black. The L telezooms and primes 300mm and longer are white. Feel free to paint them black or camouflage if you wish. ;) Re - size and weight, larger formats require larger lenses. The 2/3" sensor of the F828 is only 8.8mm x 6.6mm, about 1/15th the area of the 35mm film frame (36mm x 24mm) that the EOS lenses are designed for.
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