Digital SLR Lens Reviews / Slr camera lens

Customer Digital SLR Lens Reviews

Canon 70 200 f/4L USM EF Telephoto Lens Review
I have owned this lens for about a year and a half now and shoot with exclusively Canon lens. I have taken about 6,000 shots with this SLR camera lens, and I am very happy with the results. In fact, this lens canon ef has produced three award winning photographs in the time that I have owned it.

The lens is very sharp, lightweight, and the color contrast is excellent. As with all lenses, wide open, the sharpness does decline, but at f/5.6 or slower, this lens is a true performer and delivers tack sharp excellent images. This is not to say that the lens wide open is soft, it most certainly is not, but is not as sharp as at f/5.6 or slower. The USM motor is very quiet and fast autofocusing. When I was looking to purchase this lens, I compared it to the Canon 75-300mm IS USM. Although this lens only has a 70-200mm reach, the image quality difference more than makes up for any reach that is missing from this lens. Furthermore, the fixed aperture is a huge bonus when compared to the 75-300 IS USM. The lack of IS was not a problem for me except in exceptional cases where I was shooting in lower light conditions and at full zoom. I also considered buying the Canon 70-200 f/2.8 (non-IS) lens. However, the price difference was the biggest determining factor when choosing this lens over the more expensive but faster f/2.8 version since I did not need a faster lens for my most common photographic uses.

This lens is, in my opinion, the absolute best deal in the entire Canon lineup. For the price, the quality of this lens cannot be beat. In the sweet spot (~f/6.3), this lens is stunning. The lens is very lightweight and can easily be carried around all day without fatigue.

Furthermore, as with all Canon L series lenses, the build quality is fantastic. The lens, although not weathersealed, is still very durable and has been through several hiking trips, vacations, and biking excursions into the middle of nowhere with me. I’ve even dropped this lens four times and been caught up in a couple of nasty rainstorms with this lens, and it is still going strong. This lens has never failed me once and will remain with me for a very long time to come.

(P.S. Make sure you use your lens hood that comes with this lens. It will keep that glass safe!)