Lenses:

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L USM

Class:: Zoom Telephoto
Part number:: 2569A004
Introduced:: 1995

Similar Lenses

Canon	EF	75-300mm	f/4.0-5.6					$159.95	Details
Canon	EF	75-300mm	f/4.0-5.6				USM	$189.95	Details
Canon	EF	55-200mm	f/4.5-5.6				USM	$209.95	Details
Canon	EF	70-300mm	f/4.0-5.6			IS	USM	$559.95	Details
Canon	EF	70-200mm	f/4.0	L			USM	$584.95	Details
Canon	EF	70-200mm	f/2.8	L			USM	$1,139.95	Details
Canon	EF	70-300mm	f/4.5-5.6		DO	IS	USM	$1,149.95	Details
Canon	EF	70-200mm	f/4.0	L		IS	USM	$1,249.00	Details
Canon	EF	70-200mm	f/2.8	L		IS	USM	$1,699.95	Details
Canon	EF	85mm	f/1.2	L			USM	$1,999.95	Details

Thoughts

This lens is extremely sharp, extremely fast, and covers very useful telephoto focal lengths. It introduced the world-renowned Canon 70-200 L series of lenses, and has earned a great deal of respect.

This lens is very popular to use with Canon’s 1.4x and 2.0x telecoverters, making it a 100-280 f/4 or a 140-400 f/5.6 respectively. Unlike slower L-zooms, the f/2.8 will autofocus on all Canon cameras, even with extenders in place.

This lens, like the rest of the 70-200 family, is internal focusing, internal zooming, and has a non-rotating front element. The lens does not change shape at all during operation, which allows it to be built exceedingly tough. Unlike the IS version, this lens is not weather-sealed.

Note that the 70-200 f/2.8 weighs 2.9 pounds, compared to the 1.6 pounds of the 70-200 f/4.

Bottom Line

This is an excellent and fast telephoto zoom. However, prospective buyers should seriously weigh this against the 70-200 f/2.8 IS. The image stabilizer adds about 30% to the cost, but gives the ability to hand-hold in eight times less light.