Canon EF 70-300 mm DO IS- Shipping Date=?

[bv photography]

Does anyone know when Canon plans to ship the new EF 70-300 mm DO IS

lens to the dealers? Thanks!

[mark u]

Chuck Westfall of Canon announced on robgalbraith.com that US shipments won't happen till June.

[bv photography]

Thanks...

[bobatkins]

Mark - do you know when Cuck said that? First Canon said March, then Chuck said the end of April. Has it now slipped to June?

[mark u]

In fact, I've now seen that he said it could slip to July (in the 10D forum on robgalbraith). They're obviously having some sort of production problem, whether it be just scheduling amid demand for other things, or finding that mass production isn't turning out good DO lenses and having to redo them.

[bobatkins]

Doesn't look like a DO problem, since delivery on the 28-300L lens has also slipped by the same amount and it doesn't use DO. Maybe they're waiting for the dollar to strengthen against the yen!

[mark u]

I've seen it advertised by a couple of stores in the UK at prices ranging from £899 to $1,049 inc VAT (17.5%, refundable for exports), but no indication that there is any stock behind that. The cheaper price works out as about $1,380 net of VAT before shipping and any import taxes. A German site is claiming "7-10 days" availability at a price of 1,158.54 Euros inc. German 16% VAT.

 

There was a piece about this lens in an AP supplement - describing the plastic/air sandwich for the DO elements (now there IS a Canon lens with moulded plastic elements! - the gratings are produced by moulding), and reporting on a discussion with Mr.Ikeda, Canon's GM for lens production. Mr. Ikeda was apparently claiming that the lens produces images of L quality, and is extrememly well corrected for CA. I'll wait for independent reviews, and the Euro to fall back to 80 cents before considering this lens.

[jim_larson1]

Maybe they are starting to realise that people are not lining up in droves to buy these slightly overpriced lenses?

[andrew robertson]

Mark, Canon uses resin in both DO elements and the molded resin elements.

 

It isn't just ordinary plastic, as I read some interview where it was chosen for its optical

qualities and hardness. It's frighteningly expensive.

[mark u]

Andrew - I have no problems with plastic being used for lens elements (or bodies either), although I can imagine there will be others who are skeptical. Obviously, it is an optical plastic, since part of the function is to replace high refractive index elements. I agree with Jim that this lens seems to be overpriced. The price could be justified perhaps if it were a replacement for the 100-400 L, or it was an f/4 lens. Otherwise, it's a minority who will find the size advantage sufficiently compelling to buy this lens. The 400 DO never really seemed to catch on, so it will be interesting to see whether Canon now have a DO lens that truly excels optically. At least it appears from the MTF charts that it has been optimised for 300mm, and it should be a good cut above Canon's 75-300 offerings. Personally,I think Canon would have done better to add IS to the 70-200 f/4, which should be possible for a price of around $900, or they should have produced an f/4 x-300 zoom (giving 420mm at f/5.6 with a 1.4xTC), or a 100-400 DO.

[al_dunwood]

The green stripe means nothing... just compare MTF charts: new 70-300 DO IS vs 70-200/4L, the 70-200/4L is a clear winner!!!

I'm not sure Canon will sell many 70-300 DO IS, it's way too expensive and optically inferior to L glass... Sorry