Roll the clock back to April 1999, before the advent of mainstream digital SLRs, and Canon launched the EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III for its EOS 35mm film cameras. Way back then, the Mk III was an ‘improvement’ over the Mk II, which was launched four years earlier, but failed to impress me.
The basic version had a sluggish, noisy and basic electric autofocus motor. There was no full-time manual focus override and the focus ring as well as the front element rotated during autofocus, which impaired handling. There was also no optical image stabilization, no weather-seals, a cheap-feeling build and you had to buy the hood separately as an ‘optional extra’. There was also a slightly more up-market USM (UltraSonic Motor) version but autofocus was still slow and had the same handling disappointments.
