Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L IS USM Lens

Comments about Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L IS USM Lens:

I heard many great things about this lens and thankfully they have all turned out to be true. It's incredibly sharp and renders fine details with true fidelity, not to mention its very light which makes it carrying around all day a breeze. Construction is solid and to a high standard and the image stabiliser is on another level. I'm really impressed with this lens, couldn't fault a single thing, and I've just come over from Leica. So that's saying something!

Comments about Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L IS USM Lens:

Great lens which accepts a Canon converter.Light weight and fast autufocus.

Comments about Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L IS USM Lens:

I use this lens for travel and street photography, particularly compressed perspective citysacpes and candid shots.

This lens is one of the best possible reasons for using the Canon system and represents an almost perfect combination of performance, build quality and price.

Whilst it doesn't have the light gathering capabilities of Canon's more expensive f2.8 lenses it is just as sharp, has an excellent IS capability and is considerably lighter, making it more versatile for enthusuiasts and travellers on a budget.

I use it with my 7D and it produces handheld shots I would never have thought possible.

It is a considered purchase for non professionals but it is well worth the money.

Comments about Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L IS USM Lens:

This a stunning lens and for nearly half the price of the f2.8 IS it's a bargain. Don't make the mistake and think its a poor man's f2.8. The weight makes it much more travel friendly and the results are SHARP!

Comments about Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L IS USM Lens:

This lens is exactly what I was after for the price. It isn't as heavy as other similar lenses. It is very well built and durable. It is weather proffed which is very good. It is very fast at focusing and has crisp and sharp pictures.

The only real issue, perhaps for me, is that the picture quality decreases as the light becomes less. Night photos are not as good as I wished, but in that case I should have bought the f2.8 70-200mm. Adding the 1.4 Extender III to the 70-200 f4 makes night shots even worse, if that is possible!

All in all a very good lens that is reliable and does exactly what you want during the day, night shots is a different issue perhaps consider buying the f2.8 70-200mm.

Comments about Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L IS USM Lens:

This is my fourth L lens - plainly I'm addicted to them, but before I seek treatment, let me tell you what I like about this one which I've bought to replace its non-IS sibling.

Image-Stabilization - much as I loved the non-IS version, this lens is better because it has IS. It makes the lens more useful, more versatile, much better for hand-held work. You can watch IS at work in you view-finder - you can see the difference IS makes in your photographs.

Focal-length range - while 200mm might seem a bit short for full-frame cameras, the better resolution of the full-frame combined with the superb optics of this lens make this length of zoom more than acceptable.

F/4 maximum aperture - f/4 is good on a zoom. Constant f/4 is even better. Increasing the aperture by one stop to f/2.8 costs a fortune and weighs a ton - it's not worth it for one stop because f/2.8 is not fast enough if you want lots of aperture - I'd use a prime lens for that.

Weight - this lens is not too heavy - you can have if on a camera hanging round your neck all day without feeling the strain. Could you say the same about an f/2.8 L zoom or a 300mm L zoom? I think not!

Build-quality - it's an L lens, it oozes quality, craftsmanship and engineering precision - it's a joy to use.

Auto-focus - fast and silent - what more could you ask for?

Photographs - yes, this lens helps you take more better photographs. The sharpness of the lens' optics is legendary. IS adds to that - I get better photographs and more of them with this lens. That's why I like this lens.

Comments about Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L IS USM Lens:

I Can only repeat the other comments,nothing to add

Comments about Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L IS USM Lens:

The 500D is my latest DSLR. I never fell for the kit lens but bought the Sigma EX 18-50,(for which there does not seem to be a Canon L equivalent) and added the Sigma EX 10-20 and for excursions the Sigma 18-200 OS. No complaints about these but looking for upgrading,I felt the camera would serve for the time being, and added the Canon EF 100mm macro 2.8L IS, a prime lens, and now the EF 70-200 f4 L IS, both from Warehouse Express. These are both absolute classics, sharp, precise, robust and effective. The f4 zoom is lighter than the 70-200 f2.8 and the stabiliser compensates for the smaller aperture. The sharpness allows for serious cropping. Great for out and about in the country, and for portraiture and country shows. A clear 5-star performer.

Comments about Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L IS USM Lens:

I bought this lens after testing an identical one a friend had purchased a couple of weeks previously. I was not disappointed.

I wanted a quality telephoto lens that I could take with me on walks without carrying the substantial weight of the 100-400. What I got with the 70-200 is a lens that's substantially lighter (and much more shoulder-friendly), has a constant f/4 aperture, and offers better sharpness across the frame wide open than the 100-400. Despite some focal lenghth duplication, I find the 70-200 fits in perfectly with the Canon L lenses I have: 24-105 and 100-400.

Being able to use it on both a full frame 5D MkII and an FOV crop 7D is also an advantage: I can mount it on the 5D for a true 70-200 focal range, or I can mount it on the 7D for a longer telephoto (320mm equivalent) if I'm not carrying the 100-400 at the time. Add in a 1.4x extender and you've got a lens that'll deliver an equivalent focal length of 448mm for only a slight drop in image quality over the 100-400 without the extender.

Whilst this is a beautiful lens, I can't help but feel Canon have let themselves down in charging over £100 extra for the tripod mounting collar - something that's included on most other L telephoto zooms. I did try purchasing a compatible collar from a certain well-known auction site, but the quality was noticably inferior to the Canon part, and I'd be reluctant to rely on its durability. So, if you want a tripod collar, get the Canon one. It's a hideously excessive amount of money, but it's the only one that does the job properly. Having said that, and unlike the 100-400, the lens is sufficiently light that it doesn't really *need* its own collar.

In summary, this is an excellent midrange telephoto zoom. Quality is excellent across the frame, even wide open (and only improves a little stopped down). It's much lighter than the other telephoto zooms, nearly half the price of the f/2.8 version, and works nicely with the 1.4x extender. Apart from the extortion that is the tripod collar, or if you genuinely need f/2.8, what's not to love?

Comments about Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L IS USM Lens:

I was looking to purchase a second lens to comliment my efs 17-55 2.8 is usm,(7d body) I was looking for a medium telephoto, after reading all the positive reviews I had set my heart on the Canon 2.8L IS usm 11, I was however finding it difficult to justify the price of this great lens. For half the price however the 70-200L F4 IS has been a revelation, a superb lens for any application I have yet tried, the IQ is remarkable and auto focus really rapid. the weight is almost the same as the 17-55, not a problem to handhold all day, I realise the extra stop can be useful to some, but with modern SLR's handling ISO so well these days it has not been a problem for me yet, so glad I saved £900 to put towards my next purchase.

I do think however the Canon tripod mount for this lens is way over priced, although I would not use a cheap alternative for this great lens, (I have heard of them scratching the lens barrel) was going to knock a star of the rating for that reason, but that would I think be unfair to the lens.