Revision of EF 300mm f/2.8 L USM

[Tim_Chong]

Hi guys,

Is it true that there are 3 revision of this fine lens?

Rgds,

Tim

[Craig_Walters]

I know of only 2 revisions of the 300mm f/2.8 for the EF mount, the IS being one version and the non IS being the other.

-Craig-

[Tim_Chong]

Craig: I meant the non IS... from my observation, I can tell those revision, the original rev 1's tripod mount has no inlet

[PaulBoothroyd]

I only know of two revisions on the original non-IS 300/2.8L. The earlier one has a squarer, chunkier tripod mount.

[Paul_Buckley]

It's pretty hard to tell how many versions there are of any Canon lens especially if there are no external changes. They change the inside parts every once in a while so take care if you have an older lens, Canon might have the parts to fix it, or they might not. That was the main reason why I sold my original 300 2.8 (1992) and bought a new one a couple years ago. CPS repair would tell me they were trying to track down this part or that part.

I know there's a thread here about how to tell a Canon lenes age somewhere on this forum.

[Mike_Kunitani]

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/C...ens-Aging.aspx

[PaulBoothroyd]

Knew about that but it doesn't help with the revisions which have been made in some lenses without them being designated by Canon. We have for eg. the 75-300 USM in MkI, MkII and MkIII variants but the pre-IS 300/2.8L was revised at some point in production without Canon giving it a MkII designation.
Perhaps the serial number gives a clue but Canon don't seem to follow a pattern with these either.

Merry Christmas all.