Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM Review

April 5, 2011 | Matt Grayson |

Buy a EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens (Image Stabilization)

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Buy a EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens (f/4.5 to 5.6)

Lowest Price: $1,225.00

Sharpness Cont... 3

Sharpness at 135mm

Sharpness tests for this review were carried out using a real-world subject rather than a test chart. The Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM lens was attached to a Canon EOS 5D MkII for this test and mounted on a Manfrotto tripod. A short two second self timer was used to reduce vibration as well as the mirror lock up mode. Photographs were taken indoors in ambient light so any changes in colour or exposure are due to that.

The full frame at 135mm

As the lens approaches the centre of the focal range, sharpness becomes more stable throughout the aperture range. While f/11 is still the sharpest setting, the rest of the range gives good results as well. In fact at the centre of the frame, I can barely see a difference at all while the edges do show some variation.