CANON EF 70-300MM F4-5.6 IS II USM
For good performance and some intriguing mod cons at a sensible price, this is the smart-money buy for an own-brand Canon lens
Canon’s original EF 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM is still available if you shop around, but it’s a poor buy at the price, with old-generation three-stop stabilisation, sluggish autofocus and poor handling. At the other end of the scale, Canon’s L-series lens is an excellent performer, but few of us would consider paying £1,230/$1,350 for a 70-300mm zoom. The recently launched IS II USM aims for an ideal compromise.
Launched in 2016, the Mk II has revamped optics, a new-generation four-stop image stabiliser and revolutionary Nano USM autofocus, which is blazing-fast for stills yet gives smooth and virtually silent focus transitions for movie capture. A key handling improvement over the original lens is that the front element and focus ring don’t rotate during autofocus, and manual override of autofocus is added via an electronically coupled focus ring.
There’s no conventional focus distance scale but the lens features a neat LCD screen with several display options. A push-button 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.
There’s a clear improvement in image quality over the preceding lens. Sharpness across the whole frame is impressive throughout almost the entire zoom range, although corner sharpness drops off at 70mm. Colour fringing and distortions are fairly minimal, and resistance to ghosting and flare is good. The lens itself is good value, but the hood is sold separately and is outrageously expensive in the UK, at £80. It’s a more reasonable $45 in the States.