Review: Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM

The Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM zoom is a highly-specified lens with some great technologies to help shoot sports, wildlife, and travel. The image stabilization (IS) technology reduces camera shake by up to four stops, which means you can use a slower shutter speed while still achieving a sharp shot—useful for shooting sports action held-held, without any support, for example. The zoom range gives you a 70mm end, which could be used for shooting portraits, right up to a 300mm end, which will help you to make far-off subjects larger in the frame.

This zoom incorporates what Canon calls Nano Ultrasonic Motor (USM) technology, which combines the speed of ring-type USM with the smooth and quiet focusing seen in Stepping Motor (STM) lenses. Inside the Nano-USM unit are an elastic metal body, ceramic voltage element and a drive unit. The adjustment and application of voltage to the ceramic element control the direction and speed of the drive unit. The result is smooth focusing with fine speed control.

Inside the lens is a nine-bladed circular aperture, which helps you to separate your subject and create beautiful bokeh. This is especially useful for isolating animals or sportspeople from their backgrounds to make them stand out in the frame. The zoom also incorporates specialized UD lens elements—these use ultra-low dispersion glass, which has a low refractive index—designed to help to reduce chromatic aberration, while also making sure you get high-quality images throughout the entire zoom range of the lens.

On the top of this zoom lens, you’ll find a digital Lens Information Display, which enables you to quickly view key shooting info such as aperture, distance and depth-of-field. The digital Lens Information Display is useful when shooting movies in Live View and also for viewing key shooting info at a glance.

The Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM zoom lens weighs 710g [25oz] and measures just 14.5cm [5.7in] in length when it is retreating into a non-zooming position. Overall, unless you want to go really wide at a focal length under 35mm, the 70-300mm zoom will comfortably cover the vast majority of shooting situations. You could also use it as a longer option in a dual zoom lens combo, perhaps alongside a 24-70mm zoom, in your kit bag.