With all the optical brilliance of the larger f/2.8 aperture version, the 70-200mm f/4.0L is a zoom lens with great possibilities for portraiture and travel. All of the features of the bigger lens are present here as well, including ultra-low dispersion glass, internal focus & of course fulltime manual focusing override.
Its true! - you can be concerned about the money, you can be concerned about the max aperture, but dont doubt that this is a gobsmackingly good lense, and worth every penny...
Strength
everything
Weakness
unless you have a titanium lense mount(!?), you DO need a tripod mount - don't believe the hype
Visitors rate this review
3.15 out of 5
after 13 votes
Lightweight and sharp lens without image stabilisation. I bought it for travel and portability with my 20D. However I've just managed to use it in a concert (800ISO 1/125 f4 in RAW to change exposure) to test it out, but would much prefer a prime lens (135mm f2 or 70-200 f2.8IS) if you were doing that regularly. For outdoor travel/people and tripod mounted stuff it seems ideally suited.
Strength
- light
- sharp even at f4
- great value
- tripod collar (optional) allows for vertical composition without shifting tripod. Also allows for using the lens on a smaller tripod (if you're a traveller).
Weakness
- no tripod collar and if purchased its expensive
- no image stabilisation (but for this cost and quality, that can't be expected)
Visitors rate this review
5.00 out of 5
after 2 votes
This is not only an excellent lens for the money - it is a lens of such quality that it would hold its own against any lens of much higher cost. It is of true "L" quality at a price that most serious amateurs can afford.
The glass is beautiful. The viewing and results are crisp and bright. Nice color rendition. And truly sharp.
The mechanics of the lens are pretty straight forward. Dials and switches work smoothly and reliably. Full-time manual focus is a great feature.
An image stabilization version of this lens would really be fantastic!
Strength
- VERY light weight
- excellent build
- superb glass yielding great images
- sharp, bright, crisp
Weakness
- shelling out extra cash for a tripod mount because it's not included
- I yearn for it to be an IS lens
Visitors rate this review
3.67 out of 5
after 3 votes
Excellent value for money. Supreme optics quality with multiple aspherical elements plus a fluorite glass.
Exilarantly light, the first time you'll have it in your hands you will be shocked, it's incredible!
Focusing is just near to perfection, but not quite..it's true that at 200mm and f1:4 the focus range is really minimal... I use it with a Canon EOS 20D, which has a horrible viewfinder, but with something better you can focus manually when needed.
Autofocus is very very quick, with a 80-to-90% success in extreme conditions, like capturing birds flying close.
Not 100% weather-sealed like the high-end glasses.
Lens hood is REALLY UGGLY.
White finish is endeed too catchy (I liked it for that at the beginning, but sometimes you better not attract attention so much)
Build quality is quite low: it is practically sure that when you buy one, you will want to service it to have it cleaned and reassembled better (no big deal, just a pain...)
Visitors rate this review
2.00 out of 5
after 6 votes
4.91 of 5
