Customer Ratings & Reviews

I originally got this lens for an older canon D60 that I got for around $100. And it worked great with that camera. Then I upgraded earlier to a Canon T2I, and it works flawlessly with that camera too. I can't see how anyone can give this less than 5 stars. It's not as great as a $3,000 lens, but what do people expect? It's easy to use, and works well. The only problem I did have, was I only had this lens when I went to Disneyland with my daughter, and I had to use it when I couldn't use the zoom. (When Disney characters were holding her, I had to back up about 20' before I could take the shot) That's not great. But nobody should expect to be taking pictures that can be taken with a point and shoot or a camera phone with this lens.

This is the basic zoom lens in the canon line. I was very impressed with it. Quiet adjustment and it has an excellent clarity. I shot some players at the rays game from 28 rows above first base and could zoom right in on the left fielders. I'm very happy with this lens.

I got a great deal on this lens, but ended up taking it back and trading it for the 55-250 IS zoom after one day. It isn't a bad lens..it is just an older model and doesn't have the image stabilization feature of some of the newer Canon lenses. It took beautiful portraits. At the higher zoom levels even in late afternoon sun the flash kept trying to pop up. I could over ride the flash and hand hold the camera successfully, but the images were just a little less sharp than I wanted..plus I felt that with the newer Canon camera, the older lens wasn't taking full advantage of the camera. I also found myself having to switch to the 18-55 lens because this zoom starts at 75..inside the house it is too much zoom to do much of anything. Outside it was fine..though maybe my eye is used to about the 50-80 range so I kept needing to back up to get the composition I wanted. I also got a little tired of fighting with the flash in full daylight.. I decided to take it back and upgrade to the 55-250 zoom that has Image Stabilization. I haven't tested the new lens as much as I did this one..but I liked the 55-250 better the minute I got it onto the camera. The 55-250 isn't quite as awkward as the 70-300 and is much quicker to auto focus even in lower light. I walked outside and shot photos that were much sharper than the 70-300 without even really trying...I just had it on auto and shot. With the 70-300 I could take beautiful photos, but I was having to constantly fake out the camera to keep the flash from firing. The price difference with the camera bundle was only $50..so it seemed worth it to pay the extra money for a much better lens. Thank you to the very understanding customer service representatives that let me trade in the package for the better lens.

I was hesitant about getting this lens due to the number of poor reviews it has recieved. I figured that for $199 I could try it out and if it was as bad as I'd heard i could always return it. Well let me say, this has to be on of the best values in zoom lenses out there. I have used this for shooting my daughters basketball games, portraits, both indoor and outdoors, and some landscape. I have found it to focus fairly quickly, I have yet to find a situation where it would AF. As long as i have used appropriate shutter speeds, i have had no issues with soft images at any focal range. Most of my basketball shots have been shot at 200-300mm with very good results. If you are looking for a zoom at a good price, that will give you good images, this would be a very good choice. My advice would be to get it and check for yourself, don't be reliant on those who may or may not know what they are talking about. There are just too many who have an opinion on the internet these days, and you just don't know what their background may be. Just be careful and judge for yourself, acceptable sharpness is based on and 8 X 10 photo deemed acceptable at arms length. This lens gives you that sharpness.

When looking for a quality lense for a name brand camera, as a hobby photographer, everything usually breaks down into two groups: Lenses intended for professional or career photographers that cost more than you are willing to pay. Specialty lenses that have a more limited use but fit your budget. This Canon lense is unusual in that it is very comfortably priced (by comparison anyway) and is very versatile. Fully compressed, the 70mm length is good for portrait, nature photography and architecture shots. Extended to it's maximum length, the 300mm telephoto is very good for sports and wildlife shots. The maximum aperture of F4-5.6 is exceptional in this price range and will allow good shots in reasonably low light even without a tripod. When used with your Canon dSLR, the lense retains all the electronic focus and aperture control you want. This lense and a small wide-angle zoom are really the only lenses you could need for general hobby photography. So you can keep your gear bag compact as well. The attached example picture was taken in early morning light shortly after sunrise at the full 300mm length. No retouching has been done to it yet.

I have read the reviews for this lens and the Canon Image Stabilization with UVM which costs around $650 at the time. I mainly use this lens for my kids' outdoor sports activities (soccer, baseball, etc.) I have used it for a couple of months under a variety of light conditions from full sun to very overcast. I have been very happy with the quick focus time and picture quality. I usually use a monopod to help with image stabilization and reduce any blurry pictures. I have not encountered any problems with either. I decided to purchase this entry level lens based upon my skill level. I did not think an extra $500 for IS and UVM motor would give me $500 worth of better pictures at my current skill level. The lens is lightweight and does not get heavy while carrying it or strapped around my neck. I have not used it for any indoor photography because I have not had a need. I can not say how well it performs in lower light situations such as indoors. I am extremely happy I purchased this lens.

This lens is absolutely amazing for good shots! I was on my fishing boat and i took a crystal clear photo of my buddies with this! I would highly recommend this to any photographer that needs a long lens on a small budget

Used this to go birding. It was light weight and took great pictures for new birder!. Easily usable. ! Great addition to my other lenses i have !

I don't know what could be bad about a lens. But it was a great price and works great. Has a good range for my dslr.

This came as a kit with my camera, and I love it. I love how far this zooms, and still the pictures are so crisp and clear, like the subject was right in front of me.

This lens is awesome! I love the fact that it is a great price point for the type of lenses it is. It also allows for some more detailed shots of wild life, or for a close up of distant landscape objects. I am shootin with a 70D currently, this lens has been a great addition to the stock lens that the camera came with. I love that they were able to price match in the store. Made me buy t right then and there.

I like the lense for the price and the overall quaility of the images taken are great. We take alot of sports pictures and the zoom on this lense is perfect. The only draw back to this lense that I notice is that when you are manually adjusting the zoom it is not smooth. When you are turning the zoom it affects your shots because you have to adjust and then wait to take the picture because when you turn the zoom it moves the entire camera. It should be smooth so that you can adjust the zoom on the fly.

This is a great lense. Easy to attach to the camera, and takes great pictures.

I got this lense with my canon dslr camera in a package grouping. It is a nice lense and can be heavy when it is placed on the canon t3 camera. I would recommend using a tri-pod when using this lense. It will help from blurry pictures. Use the auto focus when you don't want to adjust it yourself, other than that go wild with the other features the camera has to help you take great pictures.

Camera is excellent. Takes great pictures. Went to Paris and the Eiffel Tower pics came out great.

I used this lens for the first time today as I drove through the mountains taking pictures of the changing leaves. This is a great lens for shooting outside in the the day time. The high maximum f-stop makes low light shooting difficult, but for mountains and daytime sporting events it is great. I'm happy to have the extra magnification to play with as I look for the best shoots.

I bought this for my wife and the price was great. The lens is easy to use and the quality of the images are superb. I would definitely recommend this lens.

This lens is utterly superb! The image quality is excellent. A slightly blurred photo is shot once and a while if I’m zoomed in to something so much and plus the fact it doesn’t encompass IS (Image Stabilization). What I don't like about it is you have to be about 4 feet away to have correct auto focus. Otherwise, this is a superior lens. If you're just starting out your hobby of photography, this would be perfect if the camera you're purchasing comes with a lens that starts around 18mm. It's really perfect to have if you're getting the Rebel XS or XSi.

The zoom the better clarity this lense is worth the price

I'm satisfied with the operation & ease of use of this lens. It is very good quality for the price.