Worthless piece of junk

Author's Rating:

Pros: Compact lens....nothing else

Cons: Useless beyond 200 mm, heavy, useless image quality, very expensive

The Bottom Line: 
Worthless lens, too expensive, poor image quality, poor construction, heavy, lens creep when pointed upwards

Author's Review
I read all the reviews and looked at the pictures submitted and then decided to buy this lens. I was going on a three week safari from Cape Town thru Namibia, Botswana and ending in Victoria Falls. I passed through Etosha and Chobe National Parks on the way. I took 3700 photos in total and 200 to 300 were at full 300 mm zoom. When I got back and looked at these images, I was so disappointed and disgusted they are ALL without EXCEPTION, out of focus and are totally useless. Now many of you will say it's my fault I should have had the lens checked out or calibrated before I went. Well, I took the lens and the camera to my local Canon service center in Irvine, California and they said the focusing was off and they made some adjustments. I took hundreds of shots ranging from 70 to 200 /- mm and these pictures are sharp and in focus, but when you start going towards the 300 mm mark, the focus deteriorates rapidly. This lens is basically useless at or anywhere near the 300 mm mark. This lens in my opinion is a total waste of money. I wasted my money on this lens and I wasted my trip with hundreds of useless images of far off animals. Who in their right minds would pay $1200 for a 70 to 200 lens, because this is all you're getting. This lens is a total piece of crap. Its "design" and it's "superior quality" are an absolute fiasco. When you extend the lens and point the lens upwards to shoot something in the sky, the lens creeps back down to 70mm. There is no locking mechanism to keep the lens extended at a certain point. Didn't Canon think that we would want to take a photo pointing upwards without holding the lens all the time. Try taking a shot of the moon at night...!!! This is a total waste of money. A two year old kid with two Crayola Crayons could draw a picture better and sharper than what this worthless piece of crap lens will take. SAVE YOUR MONEY DON'T WASTE IT ON THIS LENS...!!!! I have complained to Canon already about this useless lens and they refuse to refund my money. So you have been warned...look at a different manufacturer for a decent lens, because Canon won't stand behind their worthless products, once they have made a fool out of you and made you purchase one of their products.