Canon EF 70-300mm f/4‑5.6 IS II USM

£425/$500

A major revamp for this lens

Canon’s first 70300mm IS USM had a mediocre stabiliser and a pedestrian, noisy autofocus system based on an ultrasonic micro-motor,

not ring-type ultrasonic. The Mk II features upgraded optics, a new four-stop stabiliser and a revolutionary Nano USM autofocus system, which is very rapid for stills, yet enables smooth focus transitions during movie capture, similar to a stepping motor system.

Another novel feature is the LCD info screen on the barrel. The adjacent mode switch enables you to cycle through display modes for focus distance and depth of field, effective focal length on an APS-C format camera, and the current level of vibration. The plastic hood costs £80 in the UK, but a more reasonable $45 in the USA.

Performance

The Mk II delivers much better image quality than its predecessor. Sharpness is very impressive across the whole frame, throughout nearly all of the zoom range, although corner-sharpness drops away at 70mm. Colour fringing is well-controlled, and resistance to ghosting and flare is good.