Dave
I shoot mostly family events and softball games, specifically candids, so this lens is ideal for me. ---[ CONS ]--- [1] Soft at 28mm wide open. (major) My biggest complaint is its consistently soft at 28mm and f/3.5. Too soft for my taste. The shots look "dreamy". I often forget to zoom out a little or drop the aperture when shooting wide angle and end up disappointed in the results. Ive seen it on the 20D, 5D2, and 7D so its not the camera. Its a bummer because the wide angle is often what I want on a crop factor camera. [2] Weight. (major) Your arm will probably hurt after shooting for a few hours, especially with its push/pull it gets long so your arm is extended holding all that weight. There hasnt been a person yet I let try the lens that didnt immediately say "wow, thats heavy". I read that in the reviews and thought "na, I can handle it". Nope. I must admit I had to take breaks. Its painful to shoot video with extended arms as you look at the video back/screen. Its not for the timid. [3] Cost. (average) $2k+ for a non "fast" lens? Come on canon - make us a 28-300mm f/2.8L! :-) *BUT* ultimately you get what you pay for; Im constantly impressed with the image quality this lens can produce and 300mm is a really fun focal length. [4] Length. (average) Fully extended its awkward to hold at times. Especially at first when you attempt to fine tune the range but eventually I got the hang of it. [5] Slow low-light AF. (average) It hunts in doors, especially at the higher zoom. But to be fair its got quite alot of range to cover. Its quick enuff in the 28-70 range. I do find I cant shoot sports at dusk or indoors with very good results; its not a 70-200mm f/2.8 L replacement for this case. [6] Push/Pull (minor). I wasnt a big fan at first but love it now. Its the right mechanism to control so much range. It allows you to get the zoom VERY quickly. Again, great for candids. [7] Fast range fall off (minor). Id say 50% of the physical range is 28-90 and the last 50% is 90-300. It falls off especially fast from 200-300. I find it hard to get anything in between. It slams to the 300 and its a bit of a trick (at first) to pull it back a little. 300 is so much zoom I find myself often in too close and then needing to fiddle to back off a bit, loosing a second or so which might loose the shot. [8] Min focal distance is a tad too long (minor). I find myself having to physically back away from people when shooting 28mm. I guess Im spoiled by the 24-70. ---[ NEUTRAL ]--- [1] Not inconspicuous. The lens is white and massive so just about everyone will notice you. The pro is people will take you seriously and it can be fun to talk shop. The con is that its harder to blend in so it makes getting some of those more candid shots more difficult. ---[ PROS ]--- [1] Image quality. Is as good as my 24-70mm f/2.8L. Sharpness, color, contrast, etc. Its definitely an L-series. Im consistently impressed at the results coming from this lens. [2] Range. The big feature for this particular lens is that Im ready to shoot anything and I neednt change lenses. The ability to shoot close then zoom in on the action and then back out is a great sense of freedom youve just got to experience if you like to shoot events! Its the do anything lens. [3] Fast AF. AF is L-series fast outdoors with sufficent light. [4] Image stabilization. The IS on this lens is absolutely amazing. At 300mm its like someone grabbed the lens to help stablize it. Indoors its actually amazing as well. At 70mm with my f/2.8L I might have had 1/60 shutter and I may only get 1/20 with the 28-300 BUT with the IS the shot isnt blurry (with a steady hand). Ironically Im seeing less blurry shots indoors than with my 24-70 which doesnt have IS. [5] Bokeh. The blurred backdrop at 300mm is stunning. Its very pro looking. True its not as smooth as the 70-200 f/2.8L but its stunning anyway. [6] Fun. This lens is just fun to shoot! I find myself shooting twice as many shots than with the 24-70mm. The range unlocks so many more shoots I just couldnt get before. [7] Tightening ring. A nice touch; very useful. [8] Rugged. The upside of its weight is its built like a tank so I neednt worry about banging this $2k+ piece of glass against something or scratching it. [9] Switch placement. BTW, I dont find the placement of the switches to be a problem like some other reviews. I think they must be close because you cant put them on the barrel since it moves - unlike the 70-200. [10] Natural candids. An awesome serendipity is that 300mm is enough range that Im seeing very natural looking candids. Im far enuff away from people that Im not in their space so they relax. With the 24-70 Id have to get close enough that itd change their expression slightly. Even if Im zoomed way in at 300mm and my subject sees me Im still physically far enough away that they dont feel threatened (but if they only knew!) :-) This creates *PRICELESS* shots in my opinion. It definitely has that paparazzi quality. Its this last quality that makes the cons worth it to me. Bottomline: I can deal with the cons for the pros. You get what you pay for. Nice work canon! :-) .dsj.