The 70-200mm f2.8 IS L series lens has long been one of the most popular if not the most popular lenses since it was introduced several years ago. When it comes to high quality optics it doesn’t get much better than this lens within the telephoto range.
Despite this lens being one of the best on the market there are surprisingly few canon 70 200 IS reviews available online so we decided to put the lens to the test and report back the results.
70-200mm f2.8 IS Build Quality
This lens is really built like a brick in order to help is stand years of abuse from the professionals that use this on a virtually daily basis. the 70-200 is almost standard issue for most professional events/press photographers so Canon have ensured the build quality is up to the job.
The solid metal barrel means that this lens weighs in at just under 1.5kg making it the heaviest of all lenses in this focal range. Initially if you are not used to high end zoom lenses (particularly of this quality) the weight can seem alarmingly heavy however you soon get used to it and carrying it around all day will not seem an unwanted labor as soon as you see the quality of images it produces.
In addition to the solid build quality, this lens has weather proof seals meaning that you need not fear the odd spot of rain again, the same goes for dusty conditions. In short this lens is designed to take years of abuse from professionals that use these lenses on a daily basis in a larg variety of conditions.
As you’d expect all zoom and focusing is internal to the barrel does not extend when performing either of these two actions.
In the box with this lens you’ll find a nice protective case for the lens as well as a lens hood and metal tripod mount. One thing you should do as soon as you buy this lens is invest in a decent 77mm filter to put on the front. The protection a filter provides to such an expensive lens really makes it a no brainer.
Performance
This lens’s performance and optical quality is what makes it a favorite with the professionals. Even while shooting wide open at f2.8 the images are sharp, even in the corners. When shooting at around f4 and above the sharpness increases and is as good as you’ll get from most prime lenses.
The 70-200 Is Stunningly Sharp
The reason for the huge success of this lens is it’s flexibility. Not only is the image quality, constant f2.8 aperture and build quality great but the 70-200 focal range make it perfect for so many different uses. Wedding photographers love it as it can easily double as both a portrait lens while also being great for catching candid moments at the reception while the f2.8 combined with the Image Stabilization means it can handle the low light indoor shooting required at most weddings.
Both wildlife and sports event photographers love the range of this lens and again the fast aperture and IS system allow for lightening quick shutter speeds essential to getting sharp shots of moving subjects be they birds or football players.
Both the colors and contrast replicated by the lens remain true to the subjects and nasty side effects such as lens vignetting and chromatic aberration are kept to a minimum. The lenses 8 blade aperture provides a nice rounded bokeh that results in some wonderfully blurred backgrounds – particularly at wider apertures.
As you expect with an L series lens the focus system (USM) is extremely fast and quiet and performs well even in poor light conditions. When using the auto focus mode you can always over ride it to manual by simply adjusting the focus ring which along with the zoom ring is smooth and made of black rubber.
The minimum focus distance is 1.5m so you need to keep your distance from your subject – generally not a problem when the focal range is 70-200mm! In addition there is a switch on the barrel that sets the minimum focusing distance to 2.5m to allow even faster focusing when shooting more distant subjects.
Image Stabilization – Is it worth it?
This piece of technology from Canon is well worth paying for if you are thinking about buying the Non IS version of the 70-200 2.8 lens. When switched on the IS allows you to shoot hand held in lighting conditions a full 3 stops lower than you would otherwise be able to. This means that shooting hand held at 200mm at speeds as slow as 130 of a second will still produce sharp results. Without the IS turned on you’d need a shutter speed of about 1/250 to get a sharp image – very impressive stuff indeed. We found the IS to work as well (if not better) than stated in the promotional material.
In addition to the standard Image Stabilization mode their is also a second mode that is designed for panning shots – such as while shooting motor sport events. The mode helps to keep the focus on your moving image sharp – a very nice addition though not essential to everyone’s needs.
The only downside to the IS system on this lens is that it increases the battery drain as the IS requires extra power (this is the same on all Canon IS lenses). In reality this is not an issue as if you are paying the money for this lens then you likely already have a spare battery or two kicking around in your bag so just make sure they are charged up if you’ll be using the IS on the 70-200 a lot.
70-200mm f2.8 IS Summary
The Canon 70-200mm f2.8 L IS is certainly not a cheap lens however there are a number of good reasons why this is perhaps the most used of Canon’s lenses amongst professional photographers and keen hobbyists.
The incredibly flexible focal range will be ample for anything from portraits to football games. At the same time the IS system and constant f2.8 aperture means low light shooting and/or action shooting is not a problem. Finally the truly superb optical performance of this lens means it give the primes more than a run for their money too.
In our opinion if you are looking for a zoom in the 70-200mm range then don’t buy another lens. While both the f4 and the f2.8 non IS version are considerably cheaper we feel it would be a crime not to spend the extra money and go for the f2.8 IS version, even if it means waiting an extra 6 months while you save for the extra money. Once you buy this lens you’ll never need another lens in this focal range ever again.
Check out the latest prices for the 70-200mm f2.8 IS lens on Amazon.
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