A comparison between basic parameters of the tested Canon and its direct rivals is presented in a form of the following chart. These lenses constitute a quite tight-knit group and their parameters are similar. All of them feature 16-17 elements, their physical dimensions and weight don’t differ much. The Canon sticks out with its minimum focusing distance, which is 1.2 meters (but it’s the same value as featured by the Sony) and the f/4.0 aperture at its shorter end of range of focal lengths (but once again a similar value feature the Sigma and the Tamron).
In the photo below the Canon EF 70–300 mm f/4–5.6 IS II USM is positioned between two other Canon lenses – the EF 100 mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM and the EF 35 mm f/2.0 IS USM model.
The tested lens starts with a metal mount surrounding contacts embedded in a black ring. On that ring you can see an inscription: „CANON INC.” and „MADE IN MALAYSIA”. The rear element of the lens is 31 mm in diameter; it doesn’t move and is situated on the same level as the contacts. That way the device remains sealed from the mount side and dirt and dust won’t invade the interior for sure.
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On the proper barrel of the lens, made of black plastic, first you see a red dot, making an alignment with a camera easier. Then there is the company logo and above an LCD monochromatic window. The LCD shows not only a distance scale but also a depth of field scale depending on aperture and focal lengths used. On the right side of the window are the name and basic parameters of the lens, along with the LOCK switch which blocks the lens’s position at 70 mm. Still, even without using that switch, the lens doesn’t have any zoom creep tendencies.
On the left side of the display you find a MODE button controlling the display itself (by using it you can choose between the distance scale, depth of field mode, a focal length mode or a mode indicating the range of vibrations). Then you see the AF/MF switch which enables you to choose the focusing mechanism mode and the STABILIZER ON/OFF switch for optical stabilization control.
A zoom ring, as wide as 68 mm, is the biggest part of the lens. It is covered by rubber ribbing and below there are focal length marks at 70, 100, 135, 200 and 300 mm. The ring moves evenly and is properly damped.
A manual focus ring is the next part of the lens. It is a focus-by-wire construction, 18 mm wide and completely covered by rubber ribs. Running through the whole distance scale needs a turn through an angle of over 270 degrees if you move the ring slowly; that value decreases to about 90 degrees if you turn it very quickly.
The front element system extends on a uniform tube. After passing to the 300 mm focal length the dimension of the lens increases by almost 7 cm. The front element is 51 mm in diameter and surrounded by an inscription with the name and parameters of the lens, plus a filter thread, 67 mm in diameter, which doesn’t move, and a hood mount.
The optical construction of the tested lens consists of 17 elements positioned in 12 groups. One of these was made of low dispersion UD glass. Inside there’s also a round aperture with nine diaphragm blades which can be closed down to a value ranging from f/32 to f/45, depending on the focal length you employ.
Buyers get just two caps in the box.
Optical stabilization
In order to check the efficiency of the optical stabilization unit we took several dozen photos at 300 mm with the stabilization switched on and off and exposure times ranging from 1/320 to 1/3 of a second. Then we calculated the percentage of blurred photos for every time of exposure. The appropriate graph, showing that percentage, correlative with the exposure time expressed in EV (and the 0 EV point corresponds to 1/250 of a second), is presented below.
The graph shows that the maximum distance between both curves reaches about 4 EV and such is, in our opinion, the efficiency of the new Canon lens’s stabilization. It is a very good result, worth our praise.
