Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM Lens

I bought this lens when I was new to photography, and it was *not* a good choice. It was inexpensive, but it has some real drawbacks. It's cheaply made. The zoom creeps out when the camera points down. The front element rotates when focusing. Poor image quality at 300mm.

If you're looking for a cheap telephoto, buy one of the "super zoom" lenses from Tamron or Sigma. Image quality will be similar, and you'll have a wider zoom range. If you want to take hand-held telephoto pictures, purchase the model of this lens that includes image stabilization.

Nonetheless, I do use this lens frequently. Pictures are acceptable for small prints, and it's light enough to carry around.