This is my bread and butter lens; It rarely leaves my EOS1n.
I shoot mostly motorsports, and when I can get close enough, this is the one. Extremely sharp at 200mm, still pretty good at 70, but shines at the long end. The 100 mm f2 doesn't get much use these days.

None, really... Although I do wish it had another pre-set focusing range like, say 75 ft to infinity. This is hardly a weakness, though.

Can't beat the thing if you need the zoom range and speed. At or near 200 mm and around f8, images have a "glow" to them in good light. Just awesome.

Customer Service

Have never needed Cannon's customer service since 1989 when I got my first Eos 630.

Similar Products Used:

Tamron 80-200 f2.8 (Old MF)

Great optical quality!!
Built like a tank

Heavy! White color and the size could attract a lot of people. Zoom ring turns a bit rougher than Nikkor.

Optically better than Nikon from my experience, though I don't know how good the new AF-S version is. Even at typical price for this lens, it is worth every penny. Now, I wonder if Canon would out with the IS version. . .

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

Nikkor 80-200 AF-D ED-IF with tripod collar

Very sharp, Great contrast, Excellent build quality, Fast smooth autofocus, full capatiability with TC's as well as 500D

Not "IS" yet. Bummer

As good as it gets. This is a must have if your serious about your equipment. If you use the 500D filter this lens will give you a very effective macro lens. Very versatile. Expect this to become even more affordable when Canon finally announces the IS Version

Customer Service

Not needed

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 80-200 AFS

- Sharp Image
- Fast focus (thanks to USM)
- Good for outdoor sports (with 1.4X or 2.0X) and portrait

- A bit heavy
- You got to remove the lens before removing the tripod mount.

A bit heavy. You won't regret to have this lens, although a bit expensive....quality of pic is perfect, low contrast. This is one of the best "L" lens I have.

Customer Service

Excellent, I found a little spot on the lens and got replacement from Canon after two days.

Similar Products Used:

EF17-35 f2.8L
Ef28-70 f2.8L
EF28-105 USM IS
EF100-400L IS
Sigma 70-200 f2.8 EX APO

All the Good stuff as far as sharpness contrast quality...

Heavy

Why would someone buy this lens? thats all i wanna know. I just started relizing that this was one of my stupid lens choices i've made believe it or not. Never buy a telephoto zoom lens with f2.8 just ask yourself why f2.8? I personaly have rather bought a 70-200mm f4 for around $400. I'll explain you why. If you're picking out the f2.8 instead of the f4.0 for the depth of field reasons there are no differences, with a 100 mm range you can't tell the difference between f2.8 or f4.0, If you wanna pick this lens to give you more flexibility with light, guess what it makes no difference, because you are not going to get sharp pictures with this lens helt at less that 1/250 sec. min. cause of its weight. why not stick the f4.0 and shoot it at f4.0 1/90 a sec. handheld?... I hope i made myself clear. don't waste your money on these type of lenses, expensive doesn't always mean good. My FD lens thats the same zoom range with f4.0 produces much sharper and more contrasty crisp pictures than this. Before you make an investment like this, go rent f2.8's and f4.0's and test it yourself, somebody has to be stupid enough to buy this lens and pay 4 times as much and on top of it carry a tripod with him just for him to use this lens lol good luck!

Similar Products Used:

None

* USM - VERY FAST
* SHARPNESS - AMAZING FOR PORTRAITS AND GENERAL USE
* OPTICAL QUALITY - INCREDIBLE
* VERY WELL BUILT - LIKE A TANK. USED IN THE BEST NEWSPAPERS AROUND THE WORLD
* WORKS VERY WELL WITH TC - VERSATILITY

*HEAVY ?!?
*WHITE?!?
*PRICE?!?

FANTASTIC LENS... THATS IS ALL FOLKS.

Customer Service

- - - - -

Similar Products Used:

CANON EF 28-80 F3.5-5.6, 100mm f2.8 Macro USM, TOKINA 70-210 f3.5-5.6,

Heft, I love the weight!!! Unlike some wimps! If you don't like the weight....and think it is way too much to bare, buy some.....thing..... made by sigma, tamron, tokina......

Much imrroved over the old 80-200 f2.8 L lens. I enjoy the ability of using the Canon teleconverters.....I gave my tamron teleconverters away.....much happier now. I love the extra 10mm on the short end, and the 1.5m close focus distance compared to the 80-200mm L's 1.8m. I notice it when shooting journalism work /events and stuff.This lens is nice and quiet too. This is a real plus for doing candid shooting. The lens is also improved over the 80-200 L in the longer focal lengths but,

I think that my old 80-200 L was a little bit sharper overall. I don't care so much for the peddle type lens hood but that's what you get for 10mm wider. It doesn't stand face down as securely as the 80-200 L did. I have to be careful when changing film not to knock it over. The tri-pod collar is sort of cheesy over the one on the 80-200L....but it works fine.

Canon made some major improvements when upgrading this lens. I like that it is white. It does get noticed more than what I had before and it does help to keep the barrel cool as where the black barrel lenses will get hot and cause distortion which can be seen side by side while enlarging the negs. Unlike some of the previous reviews, I LOVE the weight!! It feels good and solid in my hands. I don't have trouble with hand holding it with my 1n and E1 booster down to a 1/30th at the long end. I can hold it fairly well and I'm no "Hulk" either. Also, the reason for buying this lens over the new 70-200 f4L lens is because of the speed of the one stop which I get. I didn't waste my money buying it. I NEED the extra stop for action stopping and extra focus point sensitivity. I didn't get it for getting a little more background blur but rather so that I could make shots shot at 1/30th sharper than those shot at 1/15th. This is the reason why us photojournalists shoot with fast lenses. This lens is well made. My 80-200 L had more metal in the construction but, I feel safer when dropping the 70-200mm because of the amount and type of shock absorbtion the lens can handle with carbon fiber parts as opposed to a rigid metal barrel which can cause internal elements to shift or worse yet....shatter.

I hope that Canon will come out with an I.S. version of this lens.

After owning it for a while, I NOW see why so many photographers LOVE this lens....which is now true of me too!

Customer Service

Canon Professional Service is top! I would suggest to NOT buy any extended warranties from the camera shops selling them. I had way too much trouble dealing with their worthless service which I paid up front for years earlier.

Similar Products Used:

Canon 80-200mm f2.8 L, Nikon 80-200mm f2.8....non tri-pod collar, Minolta 80-200mm f2.8 HS, Tamron 70-210 f2.8...Minolta Maxxum mount.

This is for the out-of-production 80-200 2.8L. There is nowhere else for me to review it. Strengths: sharp and beautiful images. Great subject isolation, attractive background blur. Very natural looking photos.

No weaknesses per se. No USM, no full-time manual, and has an Arcform focusing motor that makes a little zzzzzt sound. It focuses pretty quickly though.

If you want a 2.8 zoom in the 70/80 to 200mm range, the 80-200 2.8L is worth considering. I traded a bunch of equipment, plus forked over $175 for mine, and it was worth it. These lenses are d*** near indestructable in normal use. Mine has dings and scratched paint, but operates perfectly. It is heavy, and that is a drag. I don't use it as much as I should, because it seems like such overkill in day to day shooting situations. It is large and imposing, and people notice you when you are shooting with it. This can alter the subject's behavior and it is impossible to be discrete when shooting with this lens. But, the picture quality is great, and the responses I get from my photos taken with this lens are always, "ooooh, ahhhh!" This is a lens that holds up well optically against both the Canon 70-200 2.8L and the third party competition, and will hold its market value too. The AF speed is fine, and it isn't noisy really. It makes a zzzzzzzt sound, but the focusing action is decisive and accurate. I highly recommend this lens, if you can find one for $600-700 in good shape.

Customer Service

not used

Similar Products Used:

75-300 IS zoom

Tank-like construction. Near silent, instantaneous AF
Reeks of "pro"

Heavy? Gimme a break...I bench 275.
Even used, the price hurts

For the last 3 years I've been shooting my son's high school band at marching competitions. Being a fairly large band, however, they invariably perform at night, and I promised myself a faster lens for his last season. Although I could have purchased Sigma's offering in this class (a new one) for less than I payed for this used, this one came up at KEH for less than four figures so I took a chance.

What a freaking lens!! I've been reading about it on this site and others for months, and it certainly lives up to the hype. I didn't realize AF zooms could be this quiet. The 2.8 aperture allows me shutter speeds that I had previously only dreamed about.

Used, beat up a bit, and w/o tripod ring or lens hood, it still me cost more than Sigma's 70-200 2.8 HSM, but it you get bitten by the "white" bug, there is no substitute. If like me you're only a casual photographer, it's certainly more lens than you'll probably ever need. BUT I'd still highly recommend it. My duds still outnumber my keepers, but when I'm shooting this beast, I at least feel like a pro.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 170-500, Vivitar 100-400. Sigma 28-200

You can read all about the sharpness and contrast in the other posts...they are really telling the truth. The lense is really well sealed so that dust can't get inside.

It is expensive and heavy but see comments below.

This is a fantastic lense and worth every penny spent. I only shoot for fun but still paid the money for the quality; I'm picky about the sharpness of things that are 'suppose to be sharp'. After reading reviews of everything that fits the Canon AF, I became convinced that this was the lense I wanted.

The lense is heavy. I don't mind the weight in terms of carrying the camera but I have found that holding the camera steady during the first couple of days was a real chore but it is getting easier and it certainly makes holding other lenses a breeze.

I debated for some time between this lense and the 70-200mm f/4L. I picked the f/2.8 because I had the money and nobody locally had the f/4 in stock for me to mount on the camera to see how it felt and worked.

After looking closely at the second and third rolls of film (after I managed to control the camera shake) I'm really glad I got the lense. Would I have been as happy with the f/4? Don't know...I expect yes but I would always wonder if I did the right thing. Besides..I had the money.

I use this lense with my RebelG. The combination works but I have tried the lense on an Elan 7 and the focus seems quicker. I see a new EOS body in my future....

Customer Service

Never needed them yet.

Similar Products Used:

EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5,
EF 35-80mm f/4.5-5.6