[dandan]

These were taken with the 70 300 DO at a Hovercraft European Grand Prix on the fens,

[morlandroger]

OK folks. I am now the owner of 70-300 IS. What a lot of money I saved. 75-300 going up on E-Bay.

[silkstone]

I hope you like it, Roger, especially since I recommended it!

[selven]

Interesting to read about experience with the 70-300 DO. I have found it a tricky lens, with variable results on a Canon 400D compared with ... wait for it ... the Canon G9. At 200mm focal length and 100 or 200 ISO the G9 sings in the midtones and shadowsm with a dull performance by the DO lens on the 400D sensor. But in the highlights with a lighter exposure, the DO lens shows more detail than the G9 and less noise.

I wonder if that is because the DO is (at least by reputation) a lower contrast lens?

The other query on the DO lens is that the zoom slips very easily to 300mm without your noticing, unless you lock it on 70mm. Using my 70-200 L f4 yesterday for the first time in a few months, I found handling much easier with a lens that doesn't grow with focal length.

[silkstone]

It's a bit difficult to compare the G9 and the 400D unless you shoot in RAW - the JPG defaults are likely to be different, with the G9 having higher saturation and contrast. Having said that, the G-series is very good (although I wish they'd kept the flip-and-tilt screen) and I'd expect the results to rival those from a DSLR in most respects except noise levels.

Zoom creep can be a nuisance, and sometimes it varies between different copies of the same lens.