Canon Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM - Reviews by PhotoCamel Members

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Canon Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM

Reviews	Views	Date of last review
5	1418	Mon September 21, 2009

Recommended By	Average Price	Average Rating
80% of reviewers	$1,900.00	10.0

supersize

Description:	Incorporating Canon’s second generation Image Stabilization technology, this telephoto zoom responds in as little as 0.5 seconds, while providing up to three stops of correction for camera shake. Its AF system has been refined for better response time and tracking speed. And even the new 8-blade circular aperture offers a more pleasing out-of-focus image. Constructed to pro standards, this fast zoom is also highly resistant to dust and moisture, too.
Keywords:	Canon, Lens, 70-200mm, Canon EF 70-200mm
Find the lowest price for the :	Find the lowest price for the Canon Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM

Author

Worm324

Photocamel Master

Registered: December 2006
Location: NY, USA
Posts: 9530

Review Date: Tue October 7, 2008

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: $1,600.00 | Rating: 10

Pros:	Incredible sharp, Killer Bokeh, Fast focus, IS awesome!
Cons:	Heavy

I give this lens a 10 Because it is by far my favorite Lens. Worth every penny of the $1600 or so I spent and really introduced me into what quality glass really means.

The build quality is incredible and the sharpness is the best I have seen. I've heard there are soft versions out there, but mine must be a good 1 if that is the case.

The focus time is really fast and when I'm using the 40D in rapid fire mode I get very accurate sharp shots 1 after another. Of course I miss a few here and there, but it's probably more user error than anything.

The Bokeh and color/ contrast of this lens is another aspect that really shines in my opinion. at 200mm f/2.8 It's just brilliant and unmatched by anything I have used. Granted my experience with good glass is limited.

The Lens is very heavy, but all that weight is justified by the huge chunks of glass inside and the build quality. I dropped mine from about 3 feet while it inside it's case and nothing happened to it. I almost had a heart attack, but the lens survived

Here is a few sample shots to drive my point home on this killer lens.

These 2 shots have very minimal editing to them. Just a tad bit of sharpening in Photoshop and some color adjustments.

Best,
Jay

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Jason

Comments and suggestions always appreciated

-Canon: 5D MkII, EF 17-40L, EF 24-105L IS, EF 70-200L f/2.8 IS, EF 50 f/1.8, 580exII

Blog
JasonHermannPhotography.com

xpdoug

Alpaca

Registered: October 2008
Location: Ottawa, Canada
Posts: 4

Review Date: Fri October 10, 2008

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: $2,200.00 | Rating: 10

Pros:	Quick autofocus, very sharp, good sports lens
Cons:	heavy

Love this lens. I use it for minor league hockey. The quick autofocus is a real winner.

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A dedicated Canon user:
30D, 40D, 24-70mm f2.8L, 70-200mm f2.8L IS

rjgleason
Alpaca

Registered: September 2005
Posts: 7

Review Date: Wed October 22, 2008

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 0

Pros:
Cons:

Great for Sports, especially in low light, shooting wide open. It is always with me at football games as I carry this and usually my 200 1.8 or 300 2.8.

Try it as well for portraits...... suberb!

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Bob Gleason
www.rjgleason.com

2x1DMIII, 1DsMIII, 1DMIIN, 40D, 5D, all Canon Lenses from 15mm to 400mm 2.8 (and a Canon 200mm 1.

.... a couple of Leicas & Lenses

rjalex
Alpaca

Registered: November 2007
Posts: 30

Review Date: Sat September 12, 2009

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 10

Pros:	Sealed lens, superb AF, great IS, very good images
Cons:	Very heavy, very noticeable.

This is the lens I usually carry on all of the times. Other getting me tired after a few hours lugging it (I do not carry a necstrap but use the tripod mount as the holding bit) it is the lens I have which is more versatile. The others lenses I have are mostly primes (the 50mm 1.4 for indoors and situations in which I want to be discreet, the 100mm macro for studio and macro shots) or the very wide 10-22 which I use for special situations mostly in dramatic landscapes. This big fat white lens covers all the rest very well. The fact that it's sealed is important for me after filling up the 100mm macro of sand in the Namib desert which made an horrible pepper grinder sound each time I focused it thereafter !
Put money aside for one year and then went for it as my XMas gift to myself (B&W with a good offer).
Recommended.
Aw forgot to mention a last topic. For the good and the bad you CANNOT walk around with this lens and go unnoticed. You get a lot of annoying "wow you must be a pro, it's soooo huge" invariably from balding middle aged potbellied men and never ever from the chicks you would like to catch a conversation with

Also of course if you go around places which are unsafe (crime etc.) you have something that will depict you as a priority target. I once tried to walk into a concert for free posing as a pro but the very unimpressed security guy asked for my press ID and I had to mumble I got it back in the car and never went back

So yes I have thought about painting it black and sawing a few inches off it !

JDArt

Camel Breath

Registered: August 2005
Location: Far out, man
Posts: 15710

Review Date: Mon September 21, 2009

Would you recommend the product? No | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 0

Pros:	Sharp
Cons:	Weight, placement of IS button

I'm one of the odd birds that did not like the 70-200 2.8 IS lens at all. I believe it was designed as a sports and portrait lens for full-frame cameras, although people sometimes buy it as a nature lens. On a 1.6x sensor it's either too long (for portrait work) or not long enough (nature). Plus it's very heavy, and the IS button is very poorly placed such that it is too easy to inadvertently engage/disengage it.

In short, I'm glad to be without that lens. I prefer the prime telephotos.

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