I bought a lens today . . . My 300mm f2.8 IS USM ii !!!!!! (Edit : How it goes And some photographs as they come)

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Happy new year everyone ! . . . Okay so back to Talk Equipment : While out taking the photos just above and more of the same after a while in the wind and rain my camera kept 'going to sleep' - It had a 67% charged battery and the 300ii lens attached with all the gizmos switched on. I can't decide if it is an old battery that just didn't like the cold or if the weather caused a glitch (rain strong wind and hailstones). I simply turned the camera power switch off then on again to restore power. I went for a drive and then blasted the lens and camera with the car interior heater vents and a second outing went without a hitch !

I do have a new highest capacity Canon LP-E6NH battery so I'll use this as my nasty weather battery in the future !
 
I went for a drive today and spotted this car in a car park so naturally I parked up and asked if I could take a photo or two . . . so here is the first one hot off the laptop just now . . . melikey ! (Note I physically could not walk backwards any further - I just got the whole car in shot . . . 300mm prime f/2.8 ISO100 1/1600s no flash lol !

[NOTE: A bit of 'clone' editing done to remove rain spots that looked like white dots and a 'kill' of the blue hue of the sky and sea on the paintwork]

https://flic.kr/p/2pr8w1a
View: https://www.flickr.com/photos/195125710@N06/53449277321/
 
These photos are Section C class Welsh Ponies of cob type I have been informed. I photographed them at sunset on Sunday 7th Jan (2024) at 1722hrs on common land that is a hill known as Cefn Bryn here on the Gower Peninsula (a part of Swansea). 300mm f2.8 ii @ f5.6 1/50s ISO 100.

The second photo is sharpish on the mane of the right side horse but not my best - they were all moving about as they met each other.
I have over 150 likes and comments on social media !

https://flic.kr/p/2prq3fA
View: https://www.flickr.com/photos/199211916@N06/53452500870/


https://flic.kr/p/2prnUn6
View: https://www.flickr.com/photos/199211916@N06/53452084111/
 
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Well never ! . . . I have bought a couple of different strength and brand ND filters and they fit the 52mm drop in holder and also fit the lens . . . One needed filing down to fit without getting jammed in the lens . . . Okay so all is well until I realised some of my non ND photos were not bite-your-hand-off sharp, Oh nooo ??? - On checking everything I see I put the gelatine filter holder back in the lens not the Canon clear filter in it's 52mm holder. A good experience as it gives me confidence in the sharpness of the Canon clear filter and my ability to see when things are awry !
 
A lovely photo of some great classic British vehicles at a car show today. 300mm ii @f11.0 1/125s handheld iso400.

2Y3A5303 by Stephen, on Flickr
 
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This came out nicely from the car show today . . . 300mm ii f2.8 1/500s iso100 handheld.

zz USM 2Y3A5256 by Stephen, on Flickr
 
I'll post this to the "I spotted a tog" thread too . . . 300mm f2.8 ii @f5.6 1/125s iso100 handheld.

zzz USM 2Y3A5275 by Stephen, on Flickr
 
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My first deer capture . . . Canon 300mm f2.8 AF IS USM ii @ f2.8 + Canon teleconverter 1.4x iii : So it's 420mm f4.0 @ f4.5 1/500s iso400 handheld.

Margam deer 07 07 2024 by Stephen, on Flickr
 
Ever since I was taking pictures properly, my dream lens was a 300mm f/2.8 and it was at the time the Tamron SP manual focus lens. Many many years later I achieved my dream and bought a Nikon AF-S 300mm f/2.8G VR and I loved it. Stunningly sharp lens and sort of light enough to hand hold when panning shooting motorsport which is my main passion. I did regret selling it a short while ago but my next "dream" lens was acquired with a 400mm f/2.8E FL which I will never sell unless one day I'm in a position to by the Z mount version. I'm sure you are enjoying your purchase and getting stunning results too.
 
Hadge said:
Ever since I was taking pictures properly, my dream lens was a 300mm f/2.8 and it was at the time the Tamron SP manual focus lens. Many many years later I achieved my dream and bought a Nikon AF-S 300mm f/2.8G VR and I loved it. Stunningly sharp lens and sort of light enough to hand hold when panning shooting motorsport which is my main passion. I did regret selling it a short while ago but my next "dream" lens was acquired with a 400mm f/2.8E FL which I will never sell unless one day I'm in a position to by the Z mount version. I'm sure you are enjoying your purchase and getting stunning results too.
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I have your next dream lens bought from this very site at the begining of the year...and no, I'm not selling it! :banana:

20240712_102808.jpg
 
Graham W said:
I have your next dream lens bought from this very site at the begining of the year...and no, I'm not selling it! :banana:

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I just realised I didn't make the post clear but my signature shows, I already own the FL 400mm f/2.8E along with the 500mm f/4E FL. The 400mm lives on my Z9 and it's without doubt the sharpest lens I've ever owned. And yes, it's not for sale.
 
Well lads I am glad to have joined such a brill 'telephoto club'. All our lenses go from spectacular to gob-smacking. I hope I can do mine justice!
 
Quite an effort today . . . 0630am wake-up to travel through fog and tight lanes 1 1/2 cars wide and then park on some grassy common land bank then walk up a goodly steep hill and then find an interesting point to take photos from. |Here are some of those photos.

Canon EF300mm f/2.8L IS II USM +1.4x III @ ƒ/6.3 420.0 mm 1/640s iso100. Handheld.
2Y3A6890 by Stephen_Photographs02, on Flickr

Canon EF300mm f/2.8L IS II USM +1.4x III @ ƒ/4 420mm 1/1000s iso50. Handheld.
just a simple crop to 16:9 2Y3A6562 by Stephen_Photographs02, on Flickr

Canon EF300mm f/2.8L IS II USM +1.4x III @ ƒ/4 420mm 1/2000s iso100. Handheld.
First cyclist up Cefn Bryn by The King Arthur No19 2Y3A6403 by Stephen_Photographs02, on Flickr
 
I am not sure now how big the EF 300 is compared with my 400 do mk 2 on an R3 and before that 1Dx2 body with a 500ii. I can put my current lens on the R3 and put it in the think tank airport limo. With this smaller lens, I can also stuff in clothing as the combo doesn’t fill the space. It might be worth a look and check out the dimensions cf your combo.
 
Chipper said:
I am not sure now how big the EF 300 is compared with my 400 do mk 2 on an R3 and before that 1Dx2 body with a 500ii. I can put my current lens on the R3 and put it in the think tank airport limo. With this smaller lens, I can also stuff in clothing as the combo doesn’t fill the space. It might be worth a look and check out the dimensions cf your combo.
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Hi, yeah I had been pondering how to carry my 300 2.8 but for now I store/transport it in a Nikon CL-L1 lens pouch (see just up a bit in post #51), but I have not considered anything more than carrying it on the camera body when walking to a place. I should consider something better so I 'll look into your suggestion - thanks !
 
Aww, I just gave a photograph away from the 14/July/2024. . . to the woman's professional Swansea Ironman 70.3 winner . . . Nikki Bartlett :


Crop Mod G DPP 2Y3A6462 by Stephen, on Flickr
 
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A feeding Spider taken with my 300mm f2.8 : ƒ/5.6 1/400s iso400 handheld in sunlight IS AF on. SOOC.

2Y3A7262 by Stephen, on Flickr
 
Currently uming and aring (if that’s how you say it) over getting one of these. I still have and loved for many years my 300 f4L - just not sure the 2.8 version will get enough use and be flexible enough to complement my 100-500 - although I do long for a brighter lens and a really nice DoF
 
A_S said:
Currently uming and aring (if that’s how you say it) over getting one of these. I still have and loved for many years my 300 f4L - just not sure the 2.8 version will get enough use and be flexible enough to complement my 100-500 - although I do long for a brighter lens and a really nice DoF
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Does the 300 f4 get much use? If was brighter, how much more use would it get?
 
TimHughes said:
Does the 300 f4 get much use? If was brighter, how much more use would it get?
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It gets used in dark conditions yes but not often these days if I am honest.

Planning on doing more circuit stuff than rallying though and a 300 2.8 (or the 4) would work for that
 
Probably if you get you won’t regret and adapt shooting to use it. So if it makes financial sense, go for it? I won’t be selling mine any time soon…
 
I often leave mine on 2.8 and enjoy the low iso and high shutter speeds. I have ND fillers for it and a polariser too - f2.8 and loose two stops, no worries there. I love it because there isn't really a situation I can't use it for. I am not Arnold Schwarzenegger but I can use it hand-held for hours and hours (I always have the lens hood on and use the carry strap for the lens, not the camera body one). And it doesn't drain my camera battery noticeably at all either. The image rendering and quality is simply superb. Just after I paid top dollar for mine the prices dropped by nearly a grand, but for the prices of a fancy holiday or two I'll have this forever. Lastly I had a selection to choose from the MPB website . . . I collated all the serial numbers and sent them to Canon to get the year of manufacture and the country there were made for. I had one lens that should be in Canada and of the rest I bought the one made in 2017 (newest of the selection) according to the serial number. This IS ii is the better of the 300 2.8's by far, even better than the 400 2.8 according to some MTF charts. I have seen on two Youtube videos these internals are in the RF versions now. Irrespective I'm not selling mine either!

(Oh, and I use the Manfrotto 394 Rapid Connect Adaptor + 410PL Plate (SH36851) pictured for all my cameras and this 300mm . . . a solid audible and tactile click and it's in - tighten for more appropriate security).

Manfrotto 394 Rapid Connect Adaptor + 410PL Plate (SH36851).jpg
 
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The 300m f2.8mm are fantastic lenses. I liked the output of the one I had a few years back but I never liked the weight of the 300 f2.8 or 200-400 f4 (Im talking Nikon lenses). After a short time with mirrorless on Sony and Canon I've ended back with Nikon, mainly due to the 400mm f4.5 Z lens and the Z8.

I'm really starting to love the 400mm f4.5 Z lens. I'm starting to get some good sharpness and out of focus areas. Its of course not as good as a 300mm f2.8 (bokeh king), but overall if you shoot Nikon it seems to be a great compromise between cost, weight, size and image quality compared to the 400mm f2.8 Z lens or even the 300mm f2.8 F mount lens options.

A couple I took this morning:


Fallow Deer Doe by Rob Cain, on Flickr


Red Deer Stag Bellowing by Rob Cain, on Flickr
 
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