Canon EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM review

The Canon EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM is less of a ‘travel lens’, more of a juggernaut

Canon EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM
(Image: © Canon)

Digital Camera World Verdict

So-called ‘superzoom’ lenses are generally very travel-friendly options, with a compact and lightweight build that makes them ideal for anything and everything from city walkabouts and countryside treks, to jetting around the world. This Canon has a fairly typical zoom range for a full-frame compatible superzoom, but the focus is on rock-solid build quality and performance, with no concession to trimming the size and weight. It’s a lot pricier to buy as well.

Pros

  • +

    Supersized zoom range

  • +

    Solid build and performance

  • +

    Tripod mounting ring included

Cons

  • -

    Comparatively big and heavy

  • -

    Expensive to buy

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The Canon EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM is the company’s only Canon superzoom lens for full-frame rather than APS-C format DSLRs, and it’s a real heavyweight. Indeed, it’s about three times heavier than superzoom lenses, at 1,670g. As such, it looks and feels much more like a chunky telephoto lens and comes complete with Canon’s trademark off-white paint job and a tripod mounting ring. Launched back in 2004, it also matches the first edition of Canon’s EF 100-400mm IS USM lens in having a trombone-style push-pull zoom mechanism, rather than a more usual twist-action zoom ring, and comes complete with an adjustable friction damper.

Specifications

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Matthew Richards

Matthew Richards is a photographer and journalist who has spent years using and reviewing all manner of photo gear. He is Digital Camera World's principal lens reviewer – and has tested more primes and zooms than most people have had hot dinners! 

His expertise with equipment doesn’t end there, though. He is also an encyclopedia  when it comes to all manner of cameras, camera holsters and bags, flashguns, tripods and heads, printers, papers and inks, and just about anything imaging-related. 

In an earlier life he was a broadcast engineer at the BBC, as well as a former editor of PC Guide.