Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III Telephoto Zoom Lens (Black)

Product overview

Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III: What to Know

We have put this last and labelled it honestly rather than leaving it out, because it is one of the most frequently bought telephoto lenses on the market and the reasons not to buy it are all in its own published specification rather than in anyone's opinion.

Three specific problems. First, Canon lists no image stabilisation. At 300mm the rule of thumb for handholding is a shutter speed around 1/300 of a second or faster, and at f/5.6 in anything less than bright sun you will not get it, so a large share of frames will be blurred by shake rather than by subject movement. Second, the focus adjustment is described as a front group rotating extension system with Micromotor. A micromotor is slow and audible, and a rotating front group means the front of the lens turns as it focuses, so a circular polariser or a graduated filter rotates out of alignment every time autofocus moves. Third, the closest focusing distance is 1.5 metres, which is 4.9 feet, so close subjects are out of reach.

The optical construction is 13 elements in 9 groups with a diagonal angle of view running from 32 degrees 11 minutes at 75mm to 8 degrees 15 minutes at 300mm, which is genuine reach. On an APS-C body 300mm frames like 480mm, which is the lens's one real attraction.

If 300mm of reach for the lowest possible price is genuinely the requirement, and the shooting is in bright daylight on static subjects, this does that job. For anything else, a stabilised 70-300 with a quieter motor costs meaningfully more and will produce far more usable frames, and we would rather tell you that than let the price decide for you.

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