Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
Quiet, fast focusing, good quality pictures |
| Disadvantages: |
Feels a bit light weight |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
yes |
The Canon 75-300 USM III lens is a well priced lens aimed at the enthusiast photographer, the professional is catered for with the ‘L’ range. This lens was one of the reasons that I chose a Canon autofocus camera as I had read some very favourable reviews of the lens. In use the lens focuses quickly, smoothly, quietly and accurately in all but the lowest light situations (without using flash) - where it hunts around and will lock on to the subject about half the time. The only time I have had to resort to manual
focus, via the very easy to use – if a bit small – focusing ring at the front of the lens (after flicking the tiny MF/AF switch), was for a flying display when the aircraft were in the distance. Once the lens was focused and the aircraft in the centre of the view finder, and after I found the tiny AF/MF switch without taking my eyes off the subject, the lens had no trouble keeping them in focus.
The lens produces sharp photographs, with well represented colours - although they do not seem as saturated as I get using my T90 with the Canon 70-210 FD lens. It is not a particularly long lens when set to 75mm, although it almost double in length at 300mm, but it is larger than some of the new 28-200/300 superzooms. One advantage it has over most of those lenses is that it has a smaller filter size, which makes the filters at least half the price.
I found the lens a bit light weight and ‘plasticy’ compared to my old Canon 70-210 FD lens. Changing the focal length is achieved by rotating the barrel of the lens, which rotates smoothly with very little slop in the movement. Although there is not much damping or resistance in the movement it does feel positive.
From about £150 - online prices - or about £170 in camera shops (£169.90 from Jessops) it offers good value.
