Reviewed by Ben Lee, http://dslrlensesonline.com editor.

canon 300mm 2.8The Canon 300mm 2.8 is quite simply a superb lens – read on to find out why you should add it to your arsenal.

Image quality – Rating: ★★★★★
Build quality – Rating: ★★★★½
Ease of use – Rating: ★★★★½
Lens features – Rating: ★★★★★
Value for money – Rating: ★★★★☆


The Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS USM Telephoto Lens for Canon SLR Cameras is a very high quality, low aperture telephoto lens that is particularly ideal for nature and sport photography. Is it the best quality Canon lens ever made? Just about.

This lens has superb image sharpness particularly wide open meaning you don’t need to shoot at f/8 to see a noticeable improvement. Of course, this means that the image quality is superb throughout.

The extremely low aperture and long focal length (as well as 8-blade aperture ring) enable you to produce images that have outstanding background blur (or bokeh) – you know, the archetypal deer shot in its natural habitat that you see in magazines like National Geographic.

This lens really ticks all of the boxes though. Color and contrast reproduction are superb and distortion is negligible. The auto focus is painlessly easy to operate and super fast in its focusing ability – even for a Canon L series lens.

At a glance..
  • EF mount; telephoto lens
  • Ultra-low Dispersion glass with Fluorite elements; inner focusing ring; full-time manual focus; image stabilizer
  • 300mm focal length
  • f/2.8 maximum aperture
  • Ring UltraSonic Motor (USM)
  • Model: 2531A002
  • Lens Type: Telephoto lens
  • Mounting Type: Canon EF
  • Minimum focal length: 300 millimeters
  • Minimum Focal Range: 8 feet
  • Maximum Aperture Range: F/2.8
  • Camera Magnify Power: 0.13
  • Lens System Special Functions: Tele
  • Focus Type: auto-focus, manual-focus
  • Real Angle Of View: 8.3
  • Weight: 5.7 pounds
  • Item Display Diameter: 5 inches
  • Length: 10 inches

Another interesting feature of the Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 are interchangeable focus distance settings and the ability to preset them for specific situations.

Focusing distance can be set to either 2.5m to 6.4m, 6.4m to infinity or 2.5m to infinity and limiting the focus range can improve focus lock time and accuracy.

Furthermore if you are revisiting a scene for example or know what your rough focusing distance is going to be before you shoot you have the ability to set that also.

The Good
  • absolutely superb image quality across all apertures and focal lengths
  • negligible distortion, chromatic aberration, light fall off
  • fast and accurate auto focus
  • preset focus distance function
  • secondary IS (image stabilization) mode – see below
  • works well with the Canon 1.4x and 2x extenders - (while IS is retained in both instances, the 1.4x extender introduces some barrel distortion and corner softness in full frame bodies, the 2x can introduce all of these plus some contrast fall off) but it is still a highly workable setup
The Bad
  • expensive
  • heavy – especially if you are used to zoom or wide angle lenses. However I have to point out that the 300mm f/2.8s is one of the lightest telephoto lenses thanks in part to its magnesium alloy construction

Now about the secondary image stabilization mode  - the lens can actually sense that is it mounted on a tripod because of minute amounts of vibrations that occur when mounted compared to hand holding.

Canon 300mm f2.8 sample picture

Canon 300mm f2.8 sample picture

If you are going to use a tripod the majority of the time (which you should), leave the IS turned on and the lens will automatically account for secondary sources of vibrations like mirror slap, tripod vibration and shutter vibration.

Obviously the size, weight and cost of this lens means it simply commands to be looked after well. It is highly recommended that you employ some sort of tripod support, not to mention a extremely sturdy tripod and tripod head.

Gimbal-type tripod mounts significantly reduce the risk of the tripod becoming too top heavy and sending the lens plummeting to the ground. Monopods are also good for shooting wildlife or sports photography from the sidelines.

So what do I think about the Canon 300mm f2.8? I think that it is a highly versatile lens that, on the outside, does not appear to do much more than give you 300mm at f/2.8. For some people this might be enough but for others looking to somehow justify the cost of attaining this lens they may be looking for some extra motivation.

Luckily that comes in the form of changeable focusing distances, secondary image stabilization and a happy marriage with 1.4x and to a lesser extent 2x extenders. Not to mention that the 300mm f/2.8 is more than ideal for sports, wildlife, portrait and even landscape photography making it highly versatile and reliable.

Overall Rating: ★★★★½

My advice would be that if you are going to buy this lens, at least invest in a strong tripod head (such as the Wimberley head range) to preserve that supreme image quality you have invested so much in.

It goes without saying that if you look after this lens it will give you many, many awesome shots for years to come that other lenses would, simply put, not even be able to produce.

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Related posts:

  1. Canon EF-S 55-250mm IS Lens – Is It Right For You Or Worth The Money?
  2. Canon 24-105mm Review – Why Does Everyone Loves This L Series Lens?
  3. Canon 17-55mm f2.8 IS USM Lens – A Super Fast, High Quality Non L Series Lens

Filed under: Canon DSLR Lenses

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