Project Procrastination: CANON EF 70-200mm F/2.8 L IS USM

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

CANON EF 70-200mm F/2.8 L IS USM

AAA
The Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM was my first investment into an L lens and is one of my favourites, but also one of my least used. No need to worry this baby will not be going anywhere any time soon. It combines a very popular and useful focal length with excellent image quality, professional build quality, superb autofocus performance, a fast aperture and one of my favourite features – Canon’s valuable 3-stop Image Stabilisation. The Bokeh this lens can produce is silky smooth and dreamy. All of this made it mine and one of Canon’s most desired lenses, hence why I decided to make it my first big upgrade!

Canon EOS 20D Digital SLR; Canon EF 24-70 mm f/2.8 L USM

This is not an inexpensive piece of glass, but worth it in my opinion. So what’s not to love about it? Well the weight can be a problem, but you do get use to it after you have developed some impressive biceps! But if you are shooting all day with it no matter how big they are you do notice it. I still shoot with the Canon 20D, so the crop can sometimes make 70mm a bit tight, but on the flip side 200mm is perfect. I am guessing that when used on a full frame camera the focal length will be ideal. Bring on the 5D II. I should note that it took me some time to get used to it, with my unsteady hands and the weight my keep rate when stopped down or in low light can be a little on the low side due to the shakes, but that’s just me, so I try to use a tripod when ever I can. I have found it great for candid shots and portraits, or even for those visits to the zoo. All the images below where taken in the early days while I was still learning. Who doesn't like a day at the zoo? So it was a win/win for me. I still have a lot more learning to go before I will be able to unleash the full potential of this beauty and up my keep rate, which sadly is quite low, but when its on, its ON.