Review: Canon EF 100-300mm By
Andrew Alexander (Sunday, March 30, 2008 - 08:27 EDT)The Canon 100-300mm ƒ/4.5-5.6 USM telephoto zoom lens was originally released in 1990, and while Canon has moved on to a different cosmetic style for its newer lenses, it continues to produce this lens as one of its telephoto series.
Canon digital SLR cameras with sub-frame sensors have a ''crop factor'' of 1.6x. Thus, for this particular lens, it will exhibit an effective focal length of 160-480mm. However, the lens is an older design, created long before digital SLR cameras hit the market, thus the lens is fully compatible with full-frame sensors. The lens takes 58mm filters, and a lens hood is indicated as an optional accessory.
This lens isn't a ''constant'' lens, in that as you increase the focal length, both the minimum and maximum aperture sizes increase. The Canon 100-300mm ƒ/4.5-5.6 is available now, with an average retail price of around $270.
Review: Canon EF 100-300mm