Opinions please

[osmonty]

Hi,
I have a canon 400d/Rebel xti. I am after some opinions on this lens please Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM Lens as I am thinking of buying one.
Thank you

 

[DVC Jen]

fantastic lens. These were all taken with it.

 

[boBQuincy]

Great lens!

 

[Miss Kelly]

Great photographs everyone!

May I ask a question? Do you have the IS version? This lens is sorta next on my list (after the 100mm) and I'm not sure if I should get it with or without the IS. Thanks.

 

[boBQuincy]

I bought mine long before the IS version was released. I almost always use a camera support, my three images were taken using an ultra-light monopod.

 

[osmonty]

Hi

Wow, thank you for the wonderful photos.

Can I ask what the lens is like in lowlight situations? I see above that it's ok, but is there much tweaking on those photos?

Have you printed out any photos, if so what were the results like?

Thanks again for the replies.

 

[boBQuincy]

The lens is good in low light, the focus is fast and accurate. For low light it absolutely needs some form of camera support. IS would help a lot if you don't plan to use a support.

Neither IS nor support will help with a moving subject. In the "Disney Dreams" image you can see Mickey's and Minnie's hands are blurred due to motion. The only thing that will help with this is the f/2.8 lens.

I tread lightly on most of my images, these have little processing. Prints look about as expected, very sharp if you can hold the camera still. This is a very sharp lens and any image problems are likely to be from movement, not from the lens itself.

 

[osmonty]

Thank you so much, to be honest with you I didn't notice the hands being slightly blurred, the photo is great.

I am very interested in this lens, but still can't say that it's the one.

Do you use this lens alot? or do you find you alternate between lenses?

Thanks again.

 

[pdarrah]

Don't meet to hijack this, but any thoughts on the new 55-250 lens canon is releasing? This is a somewhat similar range to what the OP is asking about (but not an L lens!). I believe the full description is Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS. I just read about this the other day and am now wondering if I should wait for it to come out before I get a telephoto lens for my new XTi. I just got the camera for my birthday in January and really want to get something other than the kit lens! I can't really afford the L lenses and had been looking at other brands, but then I heard about this new one from canon...

pdarrah

 

[jann1033]

i love this lens...it's my favorite by far and i would use it all the time except sometimes i can't back up enough to get what i want( like a football field away ) if money is not an object i'd get the f2.8 just for the aperture...but since it's 1/2 the price it's a great lens( i think on fredmirand might be viewed a little better than the f2.8 even)
the gorilla one was on a tripod with a tamron 1.4 teleconverter...which probably degrades it a little but i laughed when i saw the hand prints on the wall in the photo. the lens is sharper than my corrected vision vision
the lion is minus the tripod and converter and my hands are not all that steady...but you can see how his mane is in need of a combing
it's really nice for closeup as well...while not a true macro you have to stand 4 ft away from the subject which is actually good for some things like bugs, butterflies etc.

 

[boBQuincy]

It's hard to say about Canon's 55-250 but I have their 55-200 which is probably similar. It's a good lens, better than the price or the reviews would indicate, but it's not comparable to the L series.
Wide open there is a big difference, the difference is less when stopped down but still noticeable. The difference in $$$ is *very* noticeable!

This was with the 55-200 @ f/13:

 

[DVC Jen]

Mine is not the IS version. As far as tweaking - very little. Mostly some minor sharpening (which i do with every photo since I shoot raw) and some cropping.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

if money is not an object i'd get the f2.8 just for the aperture

Keep in mind that the f/2.8 is much larger and heavier. If money is no object, you should get one of each just be covered.

 

[jann1033]

Keep in mind that the f/2.8 is much larger and heavier. If money is no object, you should get one of each just be covered.

come to think of it, if money is no object that 1200mm would be nice to have and hire a Sherpa

 

[osmonty]

Many thanks for all the replies, I have made my mind up to go for the lens.