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

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For some strange reason, the idea of a 70-200 zoom was not appealing to me for a while. "Why do I need that?", I thought - "I can manage with primes." Except when I started going to events where getting closer wasnt possible, or for landscapes where I wanted more perspective compression than my 100/f2.8 could afford. I knew I didnt want to go slower than an f2.8 aperture, but primes that fast were getting into stratospheric-cost territory - as well as requiring a dedicated Pelican case to haul them around. If I didnt want to have to train a yak to carry my lenses, yet have something to cover the focal length I was used to and give a little bit more reach for those situations, the 70-200 was going to require some reconsidering. Its heavy, dont get me wrong, but this is a far easier-to-live-with lens than a 300/2.8 could ever be. With an RRS plate, it travels in my Think Tank shoulder bag with a minimum of fuss. The lens hood is the same style as the one that came on my 100L (i.e., the kind I prefer, with a confident locking action that lets you know its not being knocked off by a well-meaning passerby in a packed venue). Great tactile feel for the buttons, and weather sealing that Ive put to the test with some trips to the coast. And the age-old primes vs. zooms image quality debate? The 100L has a reputation for being no slouch in the resolution department, and I honestly cant tell a difference with the IS II. Dont think youll have to trade in your art cred or anything because youre buying a lens favored by professional PJs - anything you can do with a prime of similar aperture, you can do with this lens. Just buy it already. But you might want to do some barbell curls in the meantime.

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This is my review of the Canon EF 70-200mm F/2.8L IS II USM. The purpose of this legendary lens is to provide mid-range telephoto zoom focal lengths for multiple photographic purposes. this lens can be used for multiple forms of photography: weddings, portraits, wildlife, street, and my favorite, sports. I will start off with some technical aspects of this lens very because it warrants that respect. The Canon EF 70-200mm F/2.8L IS II USM’s focal length is the best next step up beyond your standard zoom lens, which may provide anywhere from 35-70mm. The F/2.8 aperture represents one of the widest lens openings in the marketplace currently, which can help your camera sensor by allowing more light into the lens for cleaner images. This lens weighs in about 3.2 pounds with 23 elements in 19 groups of glass (1 fluoride and 5 UD Elements inside the barrel of the lens) This lens also comes built with a variety of very highly technological functions such as: a focus limiter ranging from 1.2 meters to infinity to 2.5 meters to infinity, an auto-focus and manual focus switch system, and image stabilization modes 1 and 2. This lens also comes equipped with two focusing rings, one towards the front of the lens as the focal length ring and the other towards the back of the lens which allows you to adjust different focal lengths from 70mm to 200mm. This lens also comes equipped with a tripod collar to place both the lens and camera on a steady tripod for shooting pictures. Another special technical aspect of this lens is that you can attach both a 1.4x converter and a 2.0x converter to increase your focal length from 98mm to 280mm with the 1.4 X converter and 140mm to 400mm with a 2.0x converter on a full frame body. Now that the technical aspects are out of the way, I would like to focus on how the EF 70-200mm F/2.8L IS II USM actually performs when in use. My favorite and best uses for this lens is that it provides excellent focal length to capture shots of subjects that might be a little bit further away than from where you may be standing. While most lenses that people typically use may require that the photographer to get more up close to their subject due to limited focal length or distance, the EF 70-200mm F/2.8L IS II USM gives the photographer a lot of versatility and flexibility to capture subjects sharply and cleanly without having to get too closer to the subject. My second favorite function of this lens is that it has an ultra-fast auto-focus system. While holding down the shutter speed halfway and changing your subjects, both the lens and camera can instantly focus on your subjects in a split second with great ease. My third favorite function of this lens is that both the image stabilization and the auto-focus mechanics are very quiet. My fourth favorite function of this lens is that it is very lightweight compared to bigger telephoto and super telephoto lenses. At only 3.2 pounds, this lens is easy to hand hold enough to walk around with in your hand or attached to a strap with your camera without much of a burden at all. The superior quality, speed and versatility of the EF 70-200mm F/2.8L IS II USM makes this one of the most well respected and favorite medium telephoto zoom range lens on the market for the last 21 years with this latest version as its 5th revision.

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This lens has helped capture the majority of my most favorite and memorable photos outdoors and in. Other reviews will tell you how good this lens is technically - believe them. Yes, it can cost nearly as much as your camera but it will immediately allow you to follow and capture shots as if you were in the action. Do the research and youll see this lens is a must have for serious amateurs and professionals. The lens does weigh quite a bit...youll want to put it on a solid, full-frame camera like the 1D or 5D and up. All the options come into play... 70-200mm is very useful for a range of shots indoors and out. f2.8L and IS will allow you to still get great shots in low light. The USM is quiet, smooth and easily over-ridden for manual tweaks. You can also get more bang for your buck by adding the Canon EF 1.4X III Telephoto Extender. Even with the extender it isnt a telescope (youll want at least 400mm for the far-away nature shots) but perfect for shots from the edge of a playing field. The one negative is that this lens does attract attention...be prepared to be noticed!

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I recently purchased this lens, and photographically, it is everything that it has been built up to be. The images are tack sharp, the auto focus is phenomenal, and it is great in low light. It fits in with all of the Canon L glass in their system. What I didnt research well is how monstrously heavy this thing is. I have the 100-400 II and this lens is nearly identical in weight. My take is that if I am not shooting, I can use it as dumbbell to help build the muscle that I am going to need to tote this around. It is a 5-star piece of gear. I gave it 4 to attract enough people to read this review and understand that this lens is monstrously heavy for its focal length(s). Other than that, I love the lens. I am just going to have to get in shape to be able to carry it. I do landscapes; so for the most part, it will be used on a tripod. However, it is going to be in my backpack and contribute to my leg workout routine.

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Like every other smart photographer Im leaving DSLRs. Its all mirrorless for me now; Sony and Fuji. Im using the MC-11 and MB IV on my Sony, and the Fringer on my Fuji to adapt this lens. I dont want to discuss the performance of the adapters but rather the IQ that comes from this lens once adapted. Wow, as many others have said; Canon glass looks even better when its not on a Canon. Because I was thinking of going all native on my new bodies I had this lens up for sale on CL. Nope, once I played with it on my other bodies I had to keep this lens. Yes its a heavy beast but it feels like such a quality lens, and when you see your pictures youll be blown away. I was using this before on an 80D. Its excellent, but once again on a mirrorless body its even better. Ill be holding on to this lens for a long long time.

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Many of the reviews here are re-stating the obvious: Its a popular focal length, its heavy, its expensive, and its sharp. We all know that, right? One can go to Flickr and search for the lens and see tons of examples from a particular lens. Ill talk about my experience with it. I owned the non-IS f/2.8 and I had to sell it. I love to shoot indoors, with shutter speeds lower than 1/100s. The non-IS f/2.8 version was a very sharp lens, but I barley nail the pictures when I go 1/80s and slower. My pictures become blurry. Sometimes Id get lucky and get a sharp non-blurry image at 1/50s. I did not like that, and I wished I bought this one. So I sold my non-IS and got this one as soon as I had the money. The first thing to test when I got it wasnt the sharpness or anything like that. I needed to test the image stabilizer with my hand held shots, so I took the camera to a bar/restaurant at night and fired away. The results? Wow. I consistently get sharp images at 1/10s with stationary objects or people posing!! Check out the attached images. Theyre all shot at 1/10s or less (Except for the woman shot in daylight). The picture of the bottles is shot at 1/2s (thats half a second) and I cant notice blurriness easily. Of course, chances of blurry image depends on stability on ones hand and I noticed that with my hands, 1/10s is the slowest I am comfortable with with low chances of getting blurry pictures due to camera shake. With a lens this big, and without a tripod, its a winner for me. Bokeh is creamy and I can not see a difference between it and the non-IS version. I am very impressed with the performance of IS on this lens, and I am glad I invested money in it. I highly recommend this lens if you have the money.

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This is the my first canon L lens and one of my favorites Im a prime lens kind of guy but this lens is fantastic if I could only have one zoom this would be it. The autofocus is fast and precise produces very sharp photos and great bokeh. This lens is over built . In my opinion its one of the best canon has to offer . Its fantastic for portraits I even sold my slow 85 1.2 because in my opinion this does what that does and more , just as good bokeh but better auto focus and even though its just as heavy the 70-200 is more ergonomic.

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Nearly everything about this lens is first-rate, and I hated sending it back, but I did. It just weighed too much and was a bit too bulky for my needs. If my photography centered more on portraits, reportorial, sports, street and other closer-in subjects (including nature), I definitely would have kept it. But its a focal length Ill only use in limited circumstances, as my photography these days is mostly confined to birds/nature and landscapes. I already have a sharp 100-400mm that covers most of its reach, and a 100 f2.8 macro thats super-sharp, so this lens felt too duplicative. So I returned the 70-200/f2.8 and purchased the f4 II version, which is substantially lighter and smaller but pretty much as sharp. This makes for a great two/three-lens combo, weighing little and allowing me to get around for many outings with two mounted bodies (the 70-200/f4 on a full-frame or APS-C, and a 24-70 on the other full-frame body, with a faster 35mm/f2 or 50mm in the suitcase for special needs). Given the relatively few times Ill need the f2.8 version, I believe I made the right choice. But man, this is a killer good lens that works beautifully indoors and in dimmer light. I miss it terribly and dont want to think about this anymore.

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Just sent the whole day out with it. Trying out the various mode, etc. Ah! The clarity! Im loving the pictures! Using it has actually changed the way I take various pictures. You never really understand weights from mere numbers until you have it in your hands. But by end of first testings, I barely notice it. Focusing was fast, without a lot of hunting. Only once I noticed that it did. BUt that was a picture with a lot of shadows and contrast.And the built quality, I guess the L is for Lot of Years!

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Exactly what you would expect from a Canon L lens. Sharp. Is it grey market? Dont know, dont care at this point. It came looking brand new, smelling brand new, performing brand new. I know I bought it as used, no warantee doesnt matter anyway. I did some testing, and as of yet have not had to microadjust. Pretty versatile because its a great portrait lens, and can double for some wildlife. For wildlife its a tad short, but a teleconverter helps alot with reach (although you will lose stops, and contrast/image quality). The alternate IS mode works great. For wildlife action, the autofocus is a little slow when a shot surprises you, but when set in the right AF range, you get used to it, hasnt been a huge problem so far. Doesnt have the camera/lens junction support security of the version 3, but then its not $2000+.

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