Unfortunately not a lens that I own, but one I hired for about 4 days earlier in the Summer.
First thing to say is that it is heavy. Very!
If you are not used to big long lenses, then you might struggle with this lens, particularly hand holding, when you first use it.
I've the 400mm f5.6L, which is not as heavy, but has no IS, so am used to holding long lenses steady!
Ok, The lens, well much is written about this lens, but all I will say is that it is everything that is said about it. The IQ is absolutely superb. The focus speed is so quick - quicker than my 400mm, which does say something!
The IS is very effective, I hand held it down to 1/30" and got sharp images. DOF wide open is very thin, but also sharp. Stopping down only increases the sharpness slightly, so stopping down is only needed to control DOF.
The bokeh (blur) is silky smooth, rendering messy backgrounds smooth.
Obvious uses are wildlife and sports, though is short for birding.
The IS has two modes, stationary and panning. Panning doesn't have to be either vertical or horizontal - the IS system can cope with diagonals as well. (Not many people are aware of this - its true of any lens with IS Mode switches)
Examples of wildlife:
(http://www.mark.colston-online.co.uk/Wildlife/British%20Wildlife%20Centre/Owl/slides/Raw01003%20copy.jpg)
(http://www.mark.colston-online.co.uk/Wildlife/British%20Wildlife%20Centre/Foxes/slides/IMG_5973%20EOS-1D%20Mark%20III%20copy.jpg)
(http://www.mark.colston-online.co.uk/Wildlife/British%20Wildlife%20Centre/Otters/slides/Raw00605%20copy.jpg)
And some motorsport.
(http://www.mark.colston-online.co.uk/Motorsport/Mallory%20Park/MotoX%202009/slides/IMG_0708%20EOS-1D%20Mark%20III%20copy.jpg)
(http://www.mark.colston-online.co.uk/Motorsport/Mallory%20Park/Bikes%202009/slides/IMG_8473%20EOS-1D%20Mark%20III%20copy.jpg)
(http://www.mark.colston-online.co.uk/Motorsport/Mallory%20Park/Bikes%202009/slides/IMG_9648%20EOS-1D%20Mark%20III%20copy.jpg)
Now, if I'm honest, the f2.8 version of the 300mm lens is generally over the top for motorsport, if you are panning in half decent light, as you stop down to get a slower shutter speed. But for Rallying, then the 2.8 can be useful when in the forests. But even then, I suspect the f/4 version will do 90% of what is needed, especially with modern cameras high ISO abilities.
Where the f/2.8 version does excel, is to be able to take both the 1.4 and 2x extenders very well. The 2x turning the 300 into a 600 f/5.6. and keep the IQ very high - it does loose something, but not as much as other lenses. Stacking the 1.4 and 2x means its a 840mm f/8- which will still AF with a 1series body.
Some cracking shot there Mark. ;D
Stunning wildlife images,nice review ;)
Absolutely stunning shots. I especially favour the wildlife set. Nice and sharp.
Well done fella
RR
Alf
Very nice shots. Like Alf, the wildlife images do it for me.