Top critical review
2.0 out of 5 starsI expected the impossible and was disappointed
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2011
Well, I decided to give this lens a try. The enormous zoom range, a USM that promises quick and silent zooming (and generally better build quality in the Canon lineup), a very compact and light lens: This could be a dream package. Obviously, I didn't expect the same picture quality I get from a mid-market prime lens or a zoom professional lens. But the picture quality I got was so abysmal, I couldn't think of much use for this lens and returned it.
With the aperture open, the picture quality is useless. I could live with geometric distortion, but the chromatic aberration and some irregular fringing are so extreme that one thinks the camera is on LSD. With the aperture clamped down, the picture gets better, but the lens gets so slow it's useless without a tripod unless one is in full sunlight, and in full sunlight with its harsh edges flare becomes an issue.
I don't want to be too harsh on this poor lens. The same promise well-executed (the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM) costs eight times as much and weighs twice as much, and even there picture quality is an issue and the aperture doesn't open wide. The EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM solves that problem, but costs ten times as much, weights three times as much, is too heavy to shoot comfortably free-handed for longer sessions, looks professional enough to attract the attention of every security guard and thief nearby, and offers only two thirds the focal range. What Canon promises with this lens, a fairly extreme tele zoom for $200 with smooth focusing, is probably impossible to achieve with current technology.
I would recommend going for a prime lens instead. If Canon really wanted to do something good for beginners wanting a tele, they'd make an entry-level 150mm prime for around this price. Since they don't, I'd recommend the EF 100mm f/2 USM or, if you want to splurge, the EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM. The picture quality will be worlds better. (Both of these still don't have IS, but IS together with wide apertures and long focal lengths is expensive and bulky because the aperture is so big, and I'd prefer a wide aperture over IS if I can't have both.)
I you don't want to spend that sort of money, get the best lens you can with your camera and crop--you probably won't lose more detail by cropping than by using a tele that just doesn't work, and cropping is free. Let's say your one and only lens is the 50mm f/1.8--clearly the best choice if one can only have one lens that is to cost less than $350. With a modern 18MP camera (e.g., T2i), cropping to 200mm effective focal length will still leave you about 1.1MP, shot with the sweet spot in the center of an excellent lens, and that's enough for displaying it on a screen or a print at normal sizes.
