Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM

Review Date
October 18, 2009

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Reviewed by
LeoJan , Intermediate

Price Paid
$700.00 at secondhand

Photography Experience
21+ years , Other

Summary
5 years ago I bought the EF 70-200 F2.8 IS and sold my 70-200 mm F4.0. Not really for the F2.8 but for the IS. The 70-200 F4.0 was and is a great lens, but I missed the IS. You have to work with monopod. The F2.8 IS is also an great lens but heavy, big. It is not the lens you will like to put in your bag if you are not absolute sure you will need it. I thought about getting a secondhand F4.0 for sunny daytrips. Then I saw an f4.0 IS version, with BW uv filter for 700 euro. Quite a bargain, like new. What a small light lens! Made some great pictures with it.

Strengths
Light and small 70-200 with an incredible good IS. Great quality and extraordinary results. Canon is the best at telezooms! Very versatile in comparison with primes. Balances nice on my 5D, much better then the F2.8 IS wich need an EOS1 or maybe an batterygrip.

Weaknesses
IS makes some noise, does not sound very nice. Bokeh not so beautiful as some primes. I rather have a black lens, white attracts attention.

Customer Service
Good but expensive.

Report this review >>

Review Date
March 20, 2007

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1 votes

Reviewed by
PentiumIV , Intermediate

Price Paid
$1300.00 at www.camerashop.co.il

Photography Experience
2-5 years , People

Summary
Outstaning product- lightweight, excellent image quality, great IS.
Very tough

Strengths
This is probably one of the best lenses Canon ever made. I've bought it by trading in a cheap Canon EF 75-300 USM. I enjoy using this lens every minute. It dot a whole lot of strong points:

- Excellent build quality: fully metal construction, dust sealed.

- Very fast AF (uses ring USM motor, of course:-)) Previous lens that I had (EF 75-300) had a very slow AF. Also non-rotating front element (haven't used polarizer with it yet, though....) This lens can be definitely used to shoot action.

- Outstanding stabilizer. It was possible to shoot this lens with exposures 1/20- 1/30 sec at the focal lenght of 200 mm.

- Quite compact size and light weight. This lens is just slightly larger than EF75-300 but is a whole different league!

- Excellent optical quality.

I was even able to shoot some pictures of football with this lens! On 1.6 crop DSLR this beauty becomes 116-320mm equivalent focal length- very useful, indeed for DSLR!

Highly recommended as an all-around travel telephoto zoom. Very enjoyable lens for handheld shooting in available light.

Weaknesses
Pricey, but worth it. Focal length too short to shoot football(European, aka soccer, of course :-)))

Similar Products Used
Canon EF 75-300 USM (non-IS)

Customer Service
none needed yet.

Report this review >>

Review Date
January 20, 2007

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 6 votes

Reviewed by
canunk1 , Intermediate

Price Paid
$1050.00 at Aden Camera

Photography Experience
2-5 years , Outdoor

Summary
Upgraded from the non IS version, which was also spectacular, the IS makes a world of difference. I can now shoot 1/20 sec. @ 200mm and get sharp results. Overall sharpness is as good if not better and flare and CA are better controlled.

Strengths
Light weight, very sharp, IS, lightning fast USM focusing, excellent colour and contrast

Weaknesses
Price - but worth it.
f/4 verses f/2.8 - but much lighter.

Similar Products Used
EF 24-105mm f/4 L USM

Report this review >>