Lenses are very confusing.

[Murray Warner]

I have a question on this lens (the Canon 70-300 1:4-5.6 Lens Macro (200-300) with case)
. It says macro and then some I seen are telephoto. Lenses are very confusing. Does the red line on this one mean it is L series. Is it a good lens for what it will do. Macro is interest and so is zoom. Does it do both? Is it worth $225.00.
Here is the ad and also a picture
Canon Camera gear, to go with a Canon Ti1 body or equivalent!! - Nova Scotia Cameras For Sale - Kijiji Nova Scotia Canada.

[RichardTaylor]

I own a Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens

It is not a macro lens or an L lens.
It a consumer zoom lens.

Red rings on the end of Canon lenses do indicate that it is an L lens.
Maybe the vendor has a red ringed filter on the lens pictured.

The Canon-EF-70-300mm-f-4-5.6-IS L USM Lens looks like this.
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 L IS USM Lens Review

[sk66]

It's misleading...
That's a Sigma 70-300 for canon.

[Murray Warner]

Thanks sk66 and Richard. Ity is either a long learning curve or I am a slow learner. Every little bit of information helps. I thought canon had black lenses with a red ring or Sigma doing the same maybe the reason they when white?
Murray

[inkista]

One more note: the Sigma 70-300 isn't a "true" macro lens in the sense of giving you 1:1 magnification.

A lot of the third-party brands stick a red ring on a lens hoping to fool you into thinking it'll be like a Canon L lens. The big clue is the price tag. Most of the Canon Ls are $1000 or more (the only exceptions being the 17-40L and the 200/2.8L, which are in the $700 range).

The big clue here is simply the look of the lens. After a while you'll begin to recognize the "Canon look", but just looking for a black lens isn't going to help you much: most lenses these days are black. Sigma lenses have a matte finish on the barrels. Canons don't.

Sigma lens (the red ring means it's the motorized version for Nikon focus motorless bodies):



Canon's 70-300s:


The "L" with the red ring (Canon telephoto Ls are often white, something other folks may copy).


And the weirdo "DO" version (diffractive optics to make the lens smaller) with the green ring: