When I tested both the EF 75-300mm MM and USM versions, I didn't get curious looks from others. More so that the camera used was sometimes the EOS 300 or the EOS 50, compared to my regular EOS-1N and L-series EF lenses. The USM allows the lens to have a fast AF response, making it quick enough for candid photography, even for moving subjects, like these two photos below of the rider (camera used was EOS 50) and the group of students taking a break from their study tour of the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. A moped-bike rider captured with the lens at 200mm setting Students taking a break (300mm) The Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM is one of three similar EF optics (being the Micro Motor and Image Stabilizer versions) that offers both the entry-level and middle-range EOS users the choice of owning an affordable telephoto zoom as their second lens since most of them are likely to have purchased their respective models in kit form with either an EF 28-80mm or an EF 35-80mm lens as the standard offering. And the optical quality of the lens is excellent as well, free of chromatic aberrations, astigmatism and coma (comet-like highlights), enabling high quality pictures with superb sharpness, color balance and contrast. Lens development technology has improved so much that Canon is able to reduce the weight and overall size of zoom lenses having 75-300mm focal lengths to today's compact models. Compare the EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III, III USM and IS zoom lenses (480, 480 and 650 grammes respectively) to that of Canon's manual focus FD 85-300mm f/4.5, which tip the scale at 1,630 grammes, and you will notice the significant reduction in size and weight of the modern optics. Any disadvantage of the EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM lens? With variable maximum apertures of f/4 (at 75mm) and f/5.6 (300mm), there are times where you will not be able to shoot handheld available light pictures with this lens when the camera is loaded with an ISO 100 film. Of course, switching to ISO 200 or 400 film will solve the problem but in most cases, you are very likely to stock only ISO 100 film in your camera bag. Text and photos by Philip Chong. Copyright 2000 by Canon Marketing (M) Sdn Bhd << Back to Main . 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 .