Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM Lens (Renewed)

Pros:This is my first telephoto lens (on a Canon EOS Rebel T8i) and it is just excellent; I'm really glad I forked out the money for this lens. It's been incredibly easy and fun to use as a neophyte nature photographer, and it's gotten me some of my favorite photos to date. I've learned a lot about photography from using it and I feel like I still have more to learn. Its image stabilization is really incredible and its auto-focus is pretty responsive. I may someday get a longer lens, but this is definitely the best first telephoto I could have purchased.Cons:I wish the manual focus ring was a little tighter, and way closer to the mount. When trying to dial in the focus on a subject like, say the moon, it's SO easy dial right past the desired focus and have to backtrack. The slightest touch will knock your focus way off and the ring is an awkward length away from the camera base where your hand would rather be for such fine adjustments.Otherwise, there's not much to dislike about this lens. It's large, sturdy, and has a nice heft, but it's not too heavy to hold in the field.Thoughts for novices like me who are considering this lens:I must say, I was and am still often disappointed by it's reach. I just thought I would be able to get closer to things with this lens than I can and, while this is not any kind of product/design flaw, it's just a mismatch between my own expectations and reality. Experienced photographers might read this and think "well yeah, duh" but I expected a 300mm lens to be able to let me clearly see the feathers on a crane about 50 feet away. Instead that crane will be pretty small in the frame. and all of that is ok, it's just an expectations adjustment.So for example: at full extension (300mm), the moon doesn't even fill 10% of the frame. You will still be able to see excellent detail in such a photo of the moon, but not as much as you might hope.Another example: my hummingbird photo was taken at full-zoom and about 10 feet away from the subject and I cropped away about 60% of the photo to get to what you see. It's a great photo, but if you're new to photography you might have expected that to be taken without much cropping.Again, I'm SO glad I got this lens into my kit, and I strongly recommend it for other beginners with an interest in nature photography. I have taken excellent portraits with this lens too, it's just not my main interest.

The lens works as expected. Light and sharp.

This lens is a very wonderful substitute for the far more expensive L series lens. The image stabilization is amazing when using the camera handheld. The small digital readout on the lens is crisp and makes life quite easy when figuring range and focus.

Using on a T8i, which took my favorite camera to a next level. This lens is easy to figure out. So fast. Auto focus is amazing for the price range! Glad I waited to get this.

I already owned the 'lesser' 70 - 300mm Canon lens. Have snapped thousands of sports photos - outdoors, and in plenty of light. It's a great lens for the price. This is the first time I've bought a lens that directly replaces one I've already owned. I read many reviews and finally pulled the trigger. No contest. This lens has a larger aperature (better performance in low light), the zoom action is smooth. The sample photo was taken handheld on a moving boat. Spectacular.This is not a prime lens. But is well worth the difference from the bottom level model.

Lens works great in outdoor bright lighting. Auto Focuses fast and does what I need for outdoor sports and wildlife photography. Doesn’t do well indoor or low light situations.

My grandson enjoys using this lens.

I've been looking at this gem for a while. Was looking for something to cover my 100 to 400 mm range with out breaking the bank for my crop sensor. The AF is fast, the zoom ring is a little tight, but that will get loose with time. it's super light when compared to other offerings, this zoom will suprise you. If you can find anymore.