Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

This lens is the best in terms of both image and build quality, and it is worth every penny. With my copy, Images at f/2.8 are remarkably sharp with vibrant colors. Stopping down to f/4 improves the images a little, but not by a whole lot from my experience. Bokeh at f/2.8 is stunningly smooth and pleasant. This lens can throw a distracting background entirely out of focus when used correctly.

My primary motivation for purchasing this lens was for photographing my cousins' youth hockey games. Prior to this lens, I was using an EF-S 55-250 f/4-5.6 IS. Hockey rink lighting is often very dim, and that makes for a tough time with a slow lens with that. With that lens, I was only able to freeze motion if I used an ISO setting of 1250 and above.

Using THIS lens, I am able to obtain acceptable results using ISO 400-800, which results in a pretty good reduction in noise on my 40D. The results have thoroughly impressed my aunt and uncle, who enjoy having the clear, vibrant images of their kids that only a pro lens like this can deliver.

There are only two issues that I can think of that people might have with this lens, and there's nothing here that isn't covered in other reviews. The first is the weight: This is a heavy lens. Personally, I find the added weight to be a benefit because it helps me steady my hands and, lets face it, if you spend this much on a lens you want it to feel expensive. The second is the obvious fact that this is a big, white lens with a flashy red ring. You will get noticed. The attention you get could be good or bad depending on how you feel about it, but it will be difficult to avoid in any case. You will, however, be the envy of anyone using anything less than this.

The good far outweighs the "bad".

If you can afford it, go for it. You definitely wont be sorry.

Great lens.
Great price.
Shipping was slower than expected but not a problem.
The Canon lens box was placed inside a shipping box without any cushioning (foam peanuts for example) at all.
It wasn't damaged as far as I can tell, but this is more to the creidt of Canon than the vendor.
I wasn't very pleased with this.

If you wish to purchase an item from this vendor - best to ask first, how they will package it for you.

as an newbie, this lense got me a new found faith on my canon 50d. it was never easier to frame great pro-looking shots. even without filters, my shots are so perfect can't believe i took em. picture quality is superb especially in short to medium range. i bought this lense together with a canon 2x adapter and it seems like i've got everything i needed to shoot anything. cost is just about right considering the make of the lense itself and it's hidden tricks. my only catch is the weight. bit hard for small wrist to aim and maintain composition when taking a shot. great lens !

It is a really great lens. When I take photos, I adjust which distance to be focused and exactly the objects at this distance become an image and all the more distant become a background. And I can chose which to be the image and which to be background. Grate photos of flying birds today! it is really expensive but no doubt I am glad that I chose it.

When I read the news of Canon releasing a new Mark II version of this lens the first thought that came to my mind was why? Has Canon lost its mind? Why would you mess around with a lens that has become a staple of nearly every professional Canon user in the world? Since this lens was released in September of 2001 it has earned a reputation as being one of the most rugged and sharpest lenses of its kind. Professional photographer and photo equipment reviewer Ken Rockwell, for example, borrowed this lens from a friend to test who had dropped it off an elephant to the cobblestones nine feet below while shooting in India. Even with that event in its history Ken gave it a stunningly positive review! Many of the most famous photos taken in the last nine years were taken with this lens, including many of the photos that appear in Canon's own sales brochures. In the lens life cycle, if such a thing exists, this lens is hardly an old timer at nine years old. With its proven powerful robust image stabilizer, legendarily sharpness, and tank-like build, one cannot help wonder what the motivation for fixing something that's not broke is. I think the real motivation was keeping "pace" with Nikon and raising prices.

Canon is seen more and more as falling behind its nemesis Nikon. With the recent release of Nikon's VR II vibration reduction which supposedly can work up to four stops, Canon had to fire back with a "new" version of the image stabilizer on its own lenses. Thus IS II was born. Needless to say, the new Nikon 70-200 lens retails for over $2300 on Amazon as opposed to this "old" Canon lens which sells for about $1700. It's expected that new Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II will retail for at least $2300 if not more. Is the new lens really worth $600 more than the old lens still being sold? I own this "old" model now for about six months and the only way I can see improvement is if somehow Canon could recreate this same lens, ruggedness and all, at half the weight. Now that would be something worth paying $600 or more for! In reality, the new model will actually weigh 20 grams more than the "old" model. So much for progress!

I have shot indoor and outdoor shots both hand held and with my Bogen automatic mono-pod with this lens. In both cases the results have been nothing short of amazing. Clear sharp images almost every time with magnificent color and superb brokeh (blur quality). The image stabilization is first rate and runs hard and strong. Don't be fooled into saving money buying the other versions of this lens. If you ever expect to be free from using a flash and get great results in reasonable natural lighting, this is the lens to buy. If you can't afford to buy this lens then save up for it. If you compromise you may be sorry later.

I believe that any changes Canon has made to the new lens will largely be undetectable by professional and amateur photographers alike. The only exception to this is the added weight, increased price, and the very slight ability of the new model to focus closer (about 8"). It's also hard to see how the current powerful image stabilization could be made much better. At some point it all becomes a matter of subject movement and no stabilization system can deal with that other than using higher shutter speeds. That said, the more important question to ask is whether Canon produced a "better" lens at all? Currently we have no test reviews to look at and it is entirely possible that the new lens may actually under perform this "old model". We just don't know at the moment. For my money I would grab this "old" model while you can. Not only is there hardly any risk, but in all likely-hood the after market value of this lens may soon rise.