Originally Posted by
MastaHanky
Interesting perspective. I am purely a hobbyist too and have no intention on ever being more than that. I hadn't really considered the 75-300 IS - I have a 75-300 non-IS that I was unimpressed with and it has been sitting around collecting dust. I didn't think the IS version would be that much of an improvement. Right now I've been using the 18-200mm as a walkaround lens and also use it for telephoto (although it's mediocre at that too). The extra reach of the 300mm is definitely a selling point.
The 75-300 non-IS lens was definitely considered to be a subpar lens. The 70-300 IS (note, 70, not 75) was a significant improvement optically over it, it's not the same lens with IS slapped on it.
That 70-300 IS L lens also looks like it has a lot of potential, although at twice the price. But it looks like they went with a similar design and improved it with the better USM motor. Probably has better IS too since it's a newer lens. Same aperature range though.