Quick, Quiet, with Image Stabilization

Author's Rating:

Pros: Somewhat smaller Quick and Quiet focusing Image Stabilizing is great.

Cons: Bit heavier than hyped "May be short, but wide as applesauce jar."

The Bottom Line: 
Compare sizes in store to see if the 'smaller' form is worth the extra cost over a non-DO lens. But, go for IS, whichever lens you get.

Author's Review
Simple. I like it.

I wanted to replace my Tamron 70-300. The Tamron was OK, and I had gotten it because for a while the Canon 70-300 USM lenses weren't available. My problem was, the Tamron didn't focus quick enough.

I wanted to be able to quickly point to a bird in flight and try to grab it. Now, with this new Canon lens I can. Of course, nothings perfect when trying to capture a bird flying by, but it's pretty good.

I'm no super geek expert. Not gonna talk about aperatures and abberations and anal-osities. I just like to pick up my Canon Rebel XT, and shoot. Always hand-held. And the IS (image stabilizing) is perfect for this. I've been getting some pretty good shots at speeds I should get blur from. Like 1/100 @ 300mm. Will I say 'super' sharp? No. But, very good considering hand-held, with low lighting (had to use ISO 1600), and the Deer and her two fawns just didn't want to wait for better lighting. :)

Downside
Well, it's not as small as it seems. Or as light as reported. Part of the reason I got the DO was for the smaller size, and the ads make it 'look' small, but it's only about an inch shorter than my Tamron 70-300. Which it makes up for by being wider. So Wide that the base of the camera is even with the lens diameter. And, you 'feel' the heft. It's not a ton, but you know it's there.

I still like it beside the small downsides. Sure, it might not be as good as the L series. And, it's more expensive than perhaps a similar L series lens. But, I don't want one of those big white lenses. I like to blend in with the crowd. It's bad enough most people are now used to small cameras, and here I come with one of 'dem dere big ol' cameras wit dem fancy lenzes. Add a white lens and hooo boy, we've got ourselves a papparazzi fella.