Canon EF 300mm 4L IS USM Lens

The 300mm f/4 lens is an all time favourite lens, due to its compact size and light weight. It is a lens which is easy to handle and use.

This Lens is controlled by a 16 bit microcomputer that minimizes blurred images with its Image Stabilization due to camera shake. A special mode intelligently compensates for up & down movement, providing sharp, stable images when panning.

A lens such as this is very suitable as a super telephoto lens when travelling due to its compactness. I love a lens such as this for general telephoto work and find it excellent for birds in flight, also it is a wonderful lens for larger birds, however for smaller birds I prefer a slightly longer lens. I have used a 300mm f/4 lens for many years for my bird and nature photography.

Keep in mind that this lens will work very well with the 1.4x extender and also with the 2.0x extender. When used with a 1.4x extender the lens becomes a 420mm f/5.6 lens and with the 2x extender it becomes a 600mm f/8 lens, which may still be quite acceptable for photography in good lighting conditions.

Canon have a large range of different focal length super telephoto lenses available as follows:

• EF 300mm f/4L IS USM Lens - An excellent compact telephoto for travelling sports and wildlife.
• EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lens - An exceptionally good general purpose lens for low light photography.
• EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens – A compact and light f/4 lens for nature and sports where a low aperture is not required.
• EF 400mm f/4L DO IS USM Lens - A great sports and nature photography lens.
• EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lens – This lens is the ultimate low aperture F/2.8 lens for nature and sports.
• EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM Lens - A superb lens for both nature (birds) and sports photography.
• EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM Lens – Superb super telophoto for sports and small birds.
• EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM Lens - The ultimate long super telephoto for sports and small birds.

There are many image samples from this lens on the Flickr site.

Specifications

• Focal Length,  300 mm,
• Aperture Maximum, f/4,
• Aperture minimum, f/32,
• Camera Mount Type,  Canon EF,
• Format Compatibility, 35mm Film, Full Frame Digital Sensor,
• Compatible with Canon APS-C,
• Angle of View 8°,
• Minimum Focus Distance, 4.92′, 1.50 metres,
• Magnification, 0.24 times,
• Maximum Reproduction Ratio, 1:4.1,
• 11 Groups, 15 Elements,
• Diaphragm Blades, 8,
• Ultrasonic focusing motor (USM),
• Rear focusing design,
• High speed autofocusing,
• Fulltime manual focus override,
• UD elements to eliminate secondary spectrum chromatic aberrations,
• Two-stage image stabilization, dual axis camera shake correction or vertical axis only for panning,
• Image Stabilization, Yes,
• Autofocus, Yes,
• Tripod Collar, Yes,
• Filter Thread, 77 mm,
• Dimensions (DxL), 3.5 x 8.7″, 8.89 x 22.10 cm,
• Weight, 2.62 lb, 1.19 kg.