This is an L-Series lens, which is Canon’s family of higher end lenses, but reports I’ve seen, and my own results, show that it is not as sharp as other L-Series lenses. However, on a day with good light, it does take great photos that can be printed at 13×19-inches or larger. And it definitely takes much higher quality images than the Canon 75-300mm lens, so I would recommend the 100-400 as the best lens for getting started in bird photography. If you’re like me, you’ll keep this lens for a long time and get lots of use out of it for bird photography, travel, and dayhiking. If and when you graduate to a longer prime lens for bird photography, you’ll still want the 100-400mm around to use as your backup lens, or for mounting on your spare body for bird flight shots and close action shots.