Both available and low-light photography are subject matters that are easily handled by the EF 300mm f/2.8L USM, whether hand-held shooting or supporting the lens with a monopod or tripod. Either way, sharp, high contrast images under such conditions are guaranteed. Scene at Canon's booth at the Photokina World Imaging Fair Malaysia's singing duo, Summer Grace with HK's Miriam Yeung (left) Taiwanese singers, Jeff Chang and Harlem Yu (right) in a duet HK's Leon Lai belting out a hit song An extender converts a telephoto lens into super telephoto lens without affecting the ease of handling, so carrying one along effectively doubles the number of telephoto lenses you have - without the extra weight and size. Another notable characteristic of extenders is that while they increase magnification of a telephoto lens, they do not alter the minimum focusing distance. This enables excellent close-up photographs. Fitting the Extender EF 2x to the EF 300mm f/2.8L USM creates a 600mm super telephoto lens while retaining the AF function. At 240 grams, the Extender EF 2x adds little weight to the 300mm lens' 2.855 kg. Compared this to using the EF 600mm f/4L USM that weighs 6 kg, you will find the former easier for hand-held shooting. If you are shooting sports, there are certain events where the use of a monopod or tripod is not practical at all for supporting huge telephoto lens. These photos of Kuala Lumpur's three famous icons, the KL Tower, Maybank HQ and the Petronas Twin Towers were shot using the EF 300mm f/2.8L USM alone (left) and with the Extender EF 2x attached for the second photo. Both were shot, hand-held, at 8.30am during a misty day, hence the subdued and bluish atmosphere present. KL's three icons shot with the EF 300mm lens alone KL's three icons shot with the EF 300mm plus Extender EF 2x However, attaching the Extender EF 2x to the EF 300mm f/2.8L USM lens automatically reduced the effective maximum aperture by two stops, from f/2.8 to f/5.6, which is natural for all 2x extenders fitted to prime lenses. If you need a faster aperture than f/5.6 after the EF 300mm lens is attached to an extender, you can always opt for Canon's Extender EF 1.4x instead. The 1.4x extender reduces the effective aperture by one stop and increases the focal length by 1.4x. In this case, the EF 300mm f/2.8L USM is transformed into a 420mm f/4 super telephoto lens. You may lose the 600mm focal length but a 420mm still has more reach than a regular 300mm's angle-of-view. << Back to Main . 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 .