Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM Lens

Product Rating
4.91 of 5
130 reviews

Price Range
$570 - $974

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Product Description

Summary

It was a tough choice between this lens and the EF 70-200 F/2.8 USM. Since I already have a Nikon 80-200 f/2.8 AFS I opted for the lighter Canon F/4 lens. The first one I bought came off of E-Bay new with the tripod mount. Unfortunately I had this lens for less than 18 hours before some scumbag stole it out of my car, so I didn't get to use it much. About 2 weeks later I recieved a replacement, again from E-Bay but this one with out the tripod mount. While it is light and easily hand held the lack of a tripod mount is the only major drawback to this lens that I found. (Ok, maybe it could use IS but then the price would almost double I'm sure) Now to the good part. This lens (and the EF 17-40 f/4) are easily the sharpest lenses I have ever used. I recently shot some rally racers and in motor mode I peeled off at least 120 shots in a 5 min period and every last one was tack sharp with beautiful contrast and probably the most attractive Bokeh I have ever seen, subtle so as to be looking at an out of focus background that your eye would naturally perceive. I love everything about this lens. It's light enough that you can hang it around your neck all day without ever feeling the need for a neck brace. It is one of only 7 Canon lenses that incorporate flourite glass which gives the best CA correction available. I tried to get purple fringing on the 20D and it was virtually impossible to see any. Wanna be a pro on the cheap? Then this lens is for you. Pros do you want a lens that is easy to travel with which, and I go out on limb here but..., is sharper than your big f/2.8 then this lens is also for you. two words... buy it!

Strength

Sharp, sharp, sharp. Did I mention it's sharp? Light weight Great Contrast Awesome Bokeh

Weakness

C'mon Canon cough up for a tripod mount it is an "L" lens after all BTW $120 extra

Summary

I am very excited to own this first L lens. I am currently working as a freelance wedding photographer but im sort of short on budget. My lens arsenal is dominated by SIGMA brand which is known for its low price. I really2 wanted a Canon L lens. And this is my first step entering the "BIG L" realm. Price is considerably cheap. But for the same price you would have got a 70-200 f2.8 SIGMA. which is of course one full stop faster. But after thinking over and over again, i picked this lens. Why? One full stop actually bothered my at first but I know that I can always compensate it with increasing ISO number. Problem solved. And you might say, what about the noise? Well, Im using noise ninja to remove it. Simple but useful! But, I took sometime trying a friend's SIGMA 70-200 f2.8.. It is actually a great lens. Black, heavy, bulky, but pretty damn fast with its f2.8. Its weight is 1.3kg. Can you carry it around for long? I dont think so. The Canon 70-200 f/4 L's weight is only 705gram. (almost half of the sigma). Im also thinking about the re-sell value. It is obvious that the L lenses have better resell value compared to Sigma lenses. .... And then YES, i bought it new from ebay... Quickly i ran a test on it. It was not a comprehensive test but it gave me the overview of the overall performance. And you know what? This lens is MAGIC! auto focus is quick and precise(faster than the sigma). The USM makes it silence. The sigma also has HSM but compared to this one, sigma's HSM is much much louder. Picture quality. I tried it at fully open at f/4 and the images didn't show any softness. Just sharp sharp sharp. The pictures from sigma are not bad but seriously not as sharp as the ones from CANON L. Build quality is nice. Even though it is not very heavy. The body is made of metal..White in colour of course. (nice nice). This lens does make heads turned to you :) This lens doesnt have weather protection but it doesnt bother me since i am a wedding photographer who always work in controlled environments. I am very much satisfied with this lens. But if i had more money, i would have bought the 70-200 f2.8 L USM. I cant wait to shoot my next client using this lens.. Conclusion : If you are reading this review, and you are now thinking of buying this lens or the SIGMA 70-200 f2.8. Dont think! Buy this lens and be satisfied!

Strength

-Price relatively cheap. -Good build quality. -Light weight. -SHARP, SHARP , and SHARP!!! this is the most important thing isn't it. -Nice bokeh at 200mm

Weakness

F4...is relatively slow. I wish they had put IS in it. No tripod collar provided. Thats all.

Summary

This is the worlds best canon zoom lens for the time being.period.i have tried them all from both sigma and canon ; its sharp its light weight its perfect colour its clear it has good rendition and no distortion,its has great great bokeh.its the best and i my agree its my favorite;although its small and other pro photogs laugh at me they are so quiet when my competitors see my prints or pics a the local news paper where i work. i can even make steady and sharp pics at sport events! its MY TOOL. thank you canon. leave it as it is,dont make it IS or so on..just put better coating on the surfaces and nothing else!!

Strength

all-IF IT WAS A woman(no offence!) it would be perfect;strong made,with clean white smile,slim and well trimmed easy to carry,always light as well,well dressed in white and a red stripe.with black front or bottom(bottom HUH??)i mean im happy..!!

Weakness

none

Summary

Just got my hands on this wonderful lens and what a cool chunk of glass it is. I have been reading about Canon's "L" lenses for quite some time now.It seems as though the buzz is "you got to have em for any kind of professional applications". Making the transition from medium format to digital has been a great experience, with certain challenges. I started out with a consumer zoom and found that I was missing something..."LIKE CLARITY"....."Just a small issue". "All kidding aside". The consumer zoom was a disappointment in image and build quality. The lens is the eye of the camera and it stands to reason that the better the quality of glass, the better the quality of image. The Canon EF 70-200mm F/4 is a fantastic piece of glass for the money. At around $550.00 it's an absolute steal. I have found the picture quality and build to be outstanding. I remember reading a review that stated,"watch out you might cut yourself with this lens" the images are so sharp. I can sure atest to that as well. The bokeh (background blur) is beautiful. It looks so sweet to zoom in on a head shot and watch the background just fall out of focus. This a "GREAT" portrait lens. Auto focusing is fast and quiet and it just flat performs like a pro lens. Color and contrast is another area where the 70-200mm shines. The first shots I took were test shots to compare the lens to my Canon consumer zoom. Contrast and sharpness was a large improvement while color was relatively close.I found it was a significant enough difference to set my sights towards more "L" glass. I have decided to compliment the 70-200mm F/4 with a Canon EF 17-40mm F/4. This seems to be a good combination that would cover portrait length telephoto and wide angle zoom. I have also heard raves the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4, it appears to be a good option for the low light pics. The combination of the three would cover all the bases it seems. In conclusion, the 70-200mm f/4 is a great value for a a pro series lens. Canon had the right idea making this lens an affordable option to the "L" lens line up. This lens comes highly recommended.

Strength

Build quality, clarity of details, quality glass and outstanding value makes a winner on any Canon EOS camera

Weakness

None

Summary

The Canon 70-200 f4 L is one of the best lenses I've ever used. It has a very high level of sharpness and contrast, even compared with any fixed focal length. For tripod work I recommend the tripod collar. I bought this lens to replace Canon's 100-300 f4.5-5.6 USM, Which suffered in image quality as you zoomed out.

Strength

-Impressive image quality at any focal length -Good construction -Large zoom & focus rings -fast focus ( although not as fast as the 100-300 usm) -Compact and lightweight

Weakness

-Odd filter size