The EF 300mm lens refers to a family of telephoto prime lenses made by Canon, five of which have been sold to the general public and one of which was only made on special order. The lenses have an EF type mount which fits the Canon EOS line of cameras.
When used on a digital EOS body with a field of view compensation factor of 1.3x, such as the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, it provides a narrow field of view, equivalent to a 390 mm lens mounted on a 35mm frame body. With a 1.6x body such as the Canon EOS 650D, it provides a narrower field of view, equivalent to a 480 mm lens mounted on a 35mm frame body.
This lens is most commonly used by sports and wildlife photographers, but is short enough to be use for extreme close-up portraits. Because of its rather high native magnification, it can be used for some macro type photography. [1]
The EF 300mm is a L series lens. This lens is constructed with a metal body and mount, and with plastic extremities and switches. Features of this lens are: a wide rubber focus ring that is dampened, a distance window, the ability to limit the focus range, and an image stabilizer (on the IS versions). The maximum aperture of f/2.8 or f/4 gives this lens the ability to create shallow depth of field effects, while the eight- or nine-blade diaphragm produces smooth background blur. The optical construction of this lens contains 15 lens elements, including two UD (Ultra low dispersion) lens elements for the f4 IS USM (for other configurations see chart). This lens uses an inner focusing system, powered by a ring type USM motor. The front of the lens does not rotate nor extend when focusing. This lens is compatible with the Canon Extender EF teleconverters. [2] [3] [4]
Attribute | f/2.8L USM | f/2.8L IS USM | f/2.8L IS II USM [5] [6] | f/4L USM | f/4L IS USM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Image | |||||
Key features | |||||
Full-frame compatible | Yes | ||||
Image stabilizer | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
Ring USM | Yes | ||||
L-series | Yes | ||||
Diffractive Optics | No | ||||
Macro | No | ||||
Technical data | |||||
Aperture (max-min) | f/2.8-f/32 | f/4-f/32 | |||
Construction | 8 groups / 10 elements | 13 groups / 17 elements | 12 groups / 16 elements | 7 groups / 8 elements | 11 groups / 15 elements |
# of diaphragm blades | 8 | 9 | 8 | ||
Closest focusing distance | 3 m | 2.5 m | 2 m | 2.5 m | 1.5 m |
Max. magnification | 0.11× | 0.13× | 0.18× | 0.13× | 0.24× |
Horizontal viewing angle | 6° 50' | ||||
Vertical viewing angle | 4° 35' | ||||
Diagonal viewing angle | 8° 15' | ||||
Physical data | |||||
Weight | 2.855 kg | 2.550 kg | 2.400 kg | 1.165 kg | 1.190 kg |
Maximum diameter | 128 mm | 90 mm | |||
Length | 252 mm | 248 mm | 221 mm | ||
Filter diameter | 48 mm drop-in | 52 mm drop-in | 77 mm | ||
Retail information | |||||
Release date | November 1987 | July 1999 | August 2010 | December 1991 | March 1997 |
Currently in production? | No | No [7] | No | No [8] | |
MSRP $ | $3,499 | $4,879 | $6,099 | $1,199 | $1,349 |
In addition to the above lenses, Canon made an even faster lens, the EF PE 300mm f/1.8, specifically for photo finishes in horse races. According to one racing photographer, Canon made only four of these lenses, making it even less common than the famously rare EF 1200mm lens. Not only is this lens exceptionally rare, very little information about it is available online; [9] the company's online Canon Camera Museum does not list this lens.
The EF lens mount is the standard lens mount on the Canon EOS family of SLR film and digital cameras. EF stands for "Electro-Focus": automatic focusing on EF lenses is handled by a dedicated electric motor built into the lens. Mechanically, it is a bayonet-style mount, and all communication between camera and lens takes place through electrical contacts; there are no mechanical levers or plungers. The mount was first introduced in 1987.
The Canon EF-S lens mount is a derivative of the EF lens mount created for a subset of Canon digital single-lens reflex cameras with APS-C sized image sensors. It was released in 2003. Cameras with the EF-S mount are backward compatible with the EF lenses and, as such, have a flange focal distance of 44.0 mm. Such cameras, however, have more clearance, allowing lens elements to be closer to the sensor than in the EF mount. Only Canon cameras released after 2003 with APS-C sized sensors support the EF-S mount.
The EF 70–200mm lenses are a group of telephoto zoom full-frame lenses made by Canon. The lenses have an EF mount to work with the EOS line of cameras.
The EF 1200 mm f/5.6 L USM is a super-telephoto prime lens that was made by Canon Inc. It uses an EF mount, and is compatible with the Canon EOS camera range. It has a focal length of 1200 mm and so on a digital body with a sensor size of 22.5 mm × 15 mm, such as a Canon EOS 40D or 450D, it provides a 35 mm field of view equivalent to that of a 1920 mm lens. With a body with a sensor size of 28.8 mm × 19.2 mm, such as a Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, the field of view is equivalent to that of a 1560 mm lens.
The EF 50mm lenses are a group of normal prime lenses made by Canon that share the same focal length. These lenses are based on the classic double-Gauss lens, with the f/1.8 being a standard six-element double-Gauss with an air gap and powers between element 2 and 3 and its faster cousins adding additional elements. The 50mm focal length, when used with a 35mm film or full-frame sensor, has been widely considered to match the perspective seen by the human eye.
The Canon EF 35mm lenses are a family of wide angle prime lenses with EF mount made by Canon Inc. The family also includes one EF-S lens that only mounts on Canon bodies with APS-C sensors.
The Canon EF-S 10–22mm f/3.5–4.5 USM lens is a wide to ultra-wide angle zoom lens for Canon digital single-lens reflex cameras with a Canon EF-S lens mount. The field of view has a 35 mm equivalent focal length of 16–35mm, which is analogous to the EF 16–35mm f/2.8L on a full-frame camera. The 10–22mm is an internal focusing lens. Of the 13 elements, one is of Canon's Super Ultra-Low Dispersion glass and three are aspherical elements.
The EF 85mm lenses are a group of medium telephoto prime lenses made by Canon Inc. that share the same focal length. These lenses have an EF type mount that fits the Canon EOS line of cameras.
The Canon EF 100 mm lenses are used for Canon DSLR cameras. There are four different types of EF 100 mm lens for Canon. Certain lenses are best for macro photos, whereas other lenses are good for taking pictures of subjects from a distance.
The EF 500mm lenses are a group of super-telephoto prime lenses made by Canon that share the same focal length.
The Canon EF 400mm are seven super-telephoto lenses made by Canon. These lenses have an EF mount that work with the EOS line of cameras. These lenses are widely used by sports and wildlife photographers.
The EF 200mm USM lens is an L-series prime telephoto lens made by Canon Inc. for the EOS line of cameras. Four 200 mm primes were made: f/1.8, two f/2.8, and the most recent f/2.0.
Canon Inc. has produced seven different 24mm lenses for its Canon EF and EF-S lens mounts. Three have been discontinued after updated replacements were announced.
The EF 28mm lenses are a group of prime lenses made by Canon that share the same focal length.
The Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens is Canon's first EF-S macro lens, and also the company's first prime lens made specifically for the EF-S mount. Introduced in 2005, it was the only EF-S prime lens until the announcement of the EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM in September 2014; a second EF-S macro lens, the EF-S 35mm f/2.8 Macro IS STM, was added to the lens lineup in April 2017. As an EF-S lens, it can only be used on cameras with a 1.6x crop factor and is the equivalent of a 96mm lens mounted on a 35mm format camera. As such this lens also can be a good choice for portrait photography.
The Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM lens is a super-telephoto lens by Canon Inc., released at a manufacturer's suggested retail price of US$11,999.00 and now selling at an MSRP of $12,999.00.
The EF 28–300mm f/3.5–5.6L IS USM lens is a superzoom lens made by Canon Inc.
The Canon EF-S 15–85mm f/3.5–5.6 IS USM is a standard zoom lens for Canon digital single-lens reflex cameras with an EF-S lens mount. The field of view has a 35 mm equivalent focal length of 24–136mm. The EF-S mount was specifically designed for APS-C cameras.
The EF 35–350mm f/3.5–5.6L USM lens is a discontinued telephoto zoom lens manufactured by Canon.
The Canon RF lens mount is an interchangeable-lens mount developed by Canon for its full-frame mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras, and featured first by the EOS R, followed by the EOS RP. The RF mount was announced in September 2018. In May 2022, Canon announced APS-C EOS R cameras and RF-S lenses designed for these cameras.