Help! New EF 70-300 L wobbles

After a short affair with the EF 100-400 during which I was underwhelmed by its sharpness (maybe a bad copy?), the push/pull zoom and its old IS system, I decided to return it and get the new 70-300 L.


It arrived today. While my initial test shots are fantastic (including keepers at 300mm and 1/13s shutter indoors), the barrel that extends has a noticeable wobble. Not a major wobble, but noticeable. The few reviews out there praise the build quality and use terms like "tank" to describe it. But my tank wobbles a bit. Do I have another return in my future, or is this normal?


Thanks for your help.


Brian

I went to a canon workshop tonight and they had one there. I had been wanting to get my hands on one and this was my first opportunity. I ran it through it

I played with one at the camera store for 15 or 20 minutes. Didn

I'm sorry to hear that, Brian! No actual insights for you, but based on the reviews that are tricking out, it would seem you got a bad copy. Hopefully that's a really rare occurrence!


Personally, I'm still sort of considering this lens, even though I have the 70-200mm f/2.8<span style="color: #ff0000;"]L IS II and the 100-400mm. I plan on taking my 5DII on my upcoming trip (not the 7D) and the 70-200mm in addition to a few other lenses. I keep looking at the space the 70-200mm takes up in the bag, and wondering if I should get the new 70-300mm to bring instead. 200mm on FF just isn't that long. I have a feeling I'd use the telephoto zoom mostly outdoors, with sufficient light for the slow aperture not to be a problem. WIth the 70-300mm instead of the 70-200mm, I could probably squeeze in the 135mm f/2<span style="color: #ff0000;"]L as well. But then, I would also likely bring the 1.4x extender, which plays nice with the 70-200mm II. Hmmmmmm...

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Originally Posted by neuroanatomist

Personally, I'm still sort of considering this lens, even though I have the 70-200mm f/2.8<span style="COLOR: #ff0000"]L IS II and the 100-400mm.

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All in all, I think all you gain is a lens that is a little more compact than those two. It sure felt nice last night, small, compact, sturdy, and lite. (I say lite my perspective of lite is probably a little bit warped after carrying the 500mm around so much).


Sure it has better IQ at 300mm than you would get with the 70-200mm with the 1.4...if that matters here is a suggestion...add another 3K and buy a 300mm F2.8L[:P]

Something that I noticed also at the camera shop was that both the Kenko Pro 300 1.4x and Promaster 300 1.4x teleconverters (they look like the exact same thing; I don

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Originally Posted by dsiegel5151

Something that I noticed also at the camera shop was that both the Kenko Pro 300 1.4x and Promaster 300 1.4x teleconverters (they look like the exact same thing; I don't really know the difference between them besides the price) retained autofocus with the 70-300mm.

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Did you check the entire range of the focal length? The 70-300's widest F-stops are 4.0 at 70mm and 5.6 closer to 300mm. How did the lens +TC autofocus at 300mm?

pilooo


Background info: I went to the camera store to compare the Kenko Pro 300 1.4x teleconverter that I purchased online with that of the Canon 1.4x II teleconverter. Autofocus on the 70-300 L (store copy) worked throughout the whole range on a 60D (store copy) + Kenko Pro 300 1.4x teleconverter. Obviously this was not true for the Canon 1.4x II teleconverter. I noticed that the store also had a Promaster 300 1.4x teleconverter for about $50 less than the Kenko I just bought. This thing looked exactly like my Kenko (I assume they are made by the same company), so I tried it out and it worked the same; e.g., autofocus worked throughout the whole zoom range of the lens (this was done in the store too, so lighting wasn

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Originally Posted by piiooo

Did you check the entire range of the focal length? The 70-300's widest F-stops are 4.0 at 70mm and 5.6 closer to 300mm. How did the lens +TC autofocus at 300mm?

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The new 70-300 L is not listed as being compatable with the new III series extender.


http://www.usa.canon.com/dlc/controller?act=GetArticleAct&amp;articleID=3508


I wonder why? And I wonder if it is compatable with the older ones. I am not sure I would want to use a third party extender if Canon's won't work with them. What if there is a strctural issue that would damage the lens?

HDNitehawk: Good question. I don't know how the third party could structurally damage the lens, but I guess it is possible. Unlike the Canon, the Kenko/Promaster/Tamron (all look identical) don't have an element that enters the back portion of the lens. I've played around with a lot of teleconverters on a lot of lenses and the Kenko and Promaster work on every lens I own. My first Kenko did not make a great union with the lens (wobbled a bit), so I sent it back and the second one fit just as snug as the Canon teleconverter with the lens and camera.

Also, Brian

Well, I emailed Bryan Carnathan to ask if his copy wobbles too, and he told me that he would get back to me. He is a really nice guy. We are lucky to have this site.


Wobble notwithstanding, I still can't get over the IS and look forward to some outdoor shots tomorrow. Here's a shot (not a piece of art; just a bad conditions test shot) that I took handheld, at night indoors, ISO 1600, f/5.6 at 300mm and 1/15s shutter on my 7D. It's not perfect if you pixel peep at 100%, but 1/15s at 300mm on a crop sensor? That's pretty awesome.


I guess worst case scenario is that it goes back to B&amp;H and I order another one.


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Originally Posted by dsiegel5151

...I tried it out and it worked the same; e.g., autofocus worked throughout the whole zoom range of the lens (this was done in the store too, so lighting wasn't good by any standard). So, I bought the Promaster and sent the Kenko back (they were optically identical on my 300 f4L IS). I checked online and there are some other threads noting that some of the Kenko teleconverters retain autofocus capability on greater than f5.6 lenses without taping on the semipro and below bodies. However, I don't think this is true for all of them, so if you are interested in this combination, I would go to a store and try it out. Kind of makes me want to rent a 400 f5.6 and try the autofocus with the cheap teleconverter combination.

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Thanks a lot for the research and info.

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Originally Posted by dsiegel5151

My question is, if Kenko can make an optically decent teleconverter that works on any EF lens and retain decent autofocus at f6.3, why can't Canon?

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I think HDNiteHawk's conspiracy theory applies here as well. Third party teleconverters clearly prove that it is feasible, but such thing would be against Canon's marketing.

Brian,


I was with a friend of mine today who had bought one these lenses and remembered your post.


I tried to wiggle or wobble the barrel that extends and it did NOT wobble. It seemed to be pretty firm.


hope this helps..


Todd

Sounds like it might be a return job there Brian. That

Thanks everyone for your comments. The lens is going back to B&amp;H on Monday. After some shots today, I