Canon's incredibly popular compact, long-range shooter has finally received the L treatment it always deserved with the recent release of the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Telephoto ($1,570) .

In September of 1995, Canon introduced a revolutionary new lens, the EF 75-300/4-5.6 IS USM. The revolutionary aspect of this lens was the incorporation of an optical image stabilizer system which allowed the lens to be hand held at shutter speeds two stops slower than could be done with a...

With the introduction of the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens, Canon has replaced one of its most popular lenses and its first image stabilized lens - the Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 IS .

A well-built, pro-spec lens boasting excellent performance

Ultra-reliable AF and IS systems

Poorer sharpness past f/16

The Canon 70-300mm f/4-5.6 L IS is a wonderful lens. It's made mostly of alloy; even its filter threads are metal.

Canon offers five different 70-300mm zoom lenses in its product lineup. Why so many? They obviously think this is a popular and practical focal length range and I happen to agree. I even own one of them myself-the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM-but the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM tested is the mac daddy...

I bought this lens years ago, but don't have the need to use it much. Reading reviews about poor focus at 300mm, I thought I would take a couple of shots. I shot this photo of a cedar fence at 20 ft at 300mm. I thought the IQ was very acceptable for this price lens.

For an amazing telephoto zoom, with terrific image quality and amazing build quality, look no further than the all around performer that is the Canon 70-300L

Amazing build quality; Stunning image quality; Fast and accurate AF; Rock solid IS

Canon doesn't provide a tripod collar with the lens; you have to buy it after

This lens is simply awesome. It checks every box in the image quality department: it is sharp, has good contrast, essentially normal distortion for such a long zoom, and very little to no chromatic aberration (that I could notice on the shots I took so far).

Sharp as hell; good contrast; hefty; quick and accurate AF; pleasing bokeh

A tad slow; comparatively heavy; sizeable; and somewhat expensive

I returned mine and got a higher-quality older lens off of eBay. I'm very happy that I did. This lens isn't very sharp at all but will fit the bill if you just need a lens and aren't too picky about the image quality.