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EF 70-200mm f/4L USM

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Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM


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Rating
Reviewed by: 

freeranger777

( Intermediate)

Review Date
October 1, 2008

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
2.75 of 5,
4 votes

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Review 1 of 135

Price Paid:  $274.00 from eBay

Summary:

Out of all the lenses I own this lens is by far the best. I own a Canon 17-40 F4L and a Canon 300 F4L IS which cost an arm and a leg, but niether compare to the 70-200 F4L for sharpness and colour. Like others have said I am constantly amazed at the pictures I get with this lense. If you need a lense in this focal range then I recommend this one.

Strengths:

Clarity, colour rendering, AF speed and size.

Weaknesses:

No tripod coller (I got a low price copy from ebay).

Similar Products Used:

Canon EF 17-40 F4L USM
Canon EF 300mm F4L IS
Canon EF 50mm F1.8 II
Canon EOS 40D

Customer Service:

Not used



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Rating
Reviewed by: Gary Lee
 (Intermediate)

Review Date
May 13, 2008

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

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Review 2 of 135

Price Paid:  $0.00 from B&H

Summary:

THIS IS A GREAT LENS! I have owned a number of zoom lens over the years, but none of them have been sharper or have had better color than this lens. I have used it with film and digital cameras and have been very happy with it. All that I can add to what has already been said about this great lens is: BUY IT! One more thing, B&H is the greatest, I have lost count of how many times I have ordered from them, and have always been happy that I did!

Strengths:

Sharp, light, reasonabl priced

Weaknesses:

No tripod collar included.

Similar Products Used:

Canon 17-40L -Canon 70-210- Canon 18-55 -Sigma 28-135- Sigma 50-500HSM

Customer Service:

NONE-NEEDED



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Rating
Reviewed by: Heykenny
 (Intermediate)

Review Date
September 10, 2007

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5,
2 votes

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Review 3 of 135

Price Paid:  $650.00

Summary:

well, I'm not usually the kind of person who would write a review, because it's unusual for my to feel so strongly about a product. I thought about going into great detail about technical things like focus speed,sharpness, contrast e.t.c. blah blah blah... but i think it's better if i just cut to the chase... I've had quite a few lenses... a few Canons and a stack of third party ... my opinion is.. if you are shopping for a lens in this focal length;buy this lens... if you currently have a lens in this range from another company;sell your lens and buy this one.. or at the very least,borrow-rent-buy after checking the return policy and see if you don't feel the same way I do

Strengths:

everything

Weaknesses:

I wasted money on other lenses before stepping up to "L" series

Customer Service:

haven't needed it



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Rating
Reviewed by: 

reflections

( Expert)

Review Date
August 31, 2007

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

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Review 4 of 135

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:

This is by far my favorite Lens. I've had this lens for a couple of years and am still amazed by the images that come out of it. This lens is extremely sharp even at F4. I've compared this lens to my new Canon 24-105 L, Canon 28-80L, Canon 100-300L, Tokina 300mm F4, and Canon 135 S/F. I found the 70-200 to be the sharpest and have the fastest Auto focus. I was hoping the the 24-105 would have the same extremely fast auto focus and sharpness at F4 as this lens but it doesn't. I was a little disappointed since the 24-105 cost almost twice as much as the 70-200L. The 24-105 isn't bad it just feels like it is a notch below the 70-200L.

I love the light weight of the 70-200L. This lens feels very solid in your hands but doesn't break your neck carrying it all day like the 70-200 F2.8 would.

Strengths:

Fast auto focus
Super sharp even at F4

Weaknesses:

Doesn't come with tripod ring
I wish it had a little more reach like 70-300 instead of 70-200
Had to send it into canon with my 10D to have calibrated together because of back focusing issue. Canon did not cover the cost to calibrate the combo even though it is a know problem with the 10D because the 10D was out of its 1 year warranty this cost $200.

Similar Products Used:

Canon 1D, D30, 10D, 30D
Canon 28-80L, 24-105L, 28mm, 50mm, 135mm, 100-300L
Tamron 28-300, 28-75
Tokina 12-24mm, 300mm

Customer Service:

Canon service took a couple of weeks when I had to have the 10D and 70-200 Calibrated to work with each other and cost me $200. the combo worked great when it came back but seemed kind of high since it was there problem.



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Rating
Reviewed by: C R Hickman
 (Intermediate)

Review Date
May 12, 2007

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
3.67 of 5,
3 votes

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Review 5 of 135

Price Paid:  $560.00 from B&H

Summary:

I recently made the switch over to Canon and began with a 30d, a 17-40mm f4 L and this 70-200mm f4L. I was not that impressed with the 17-40mm f4 but am extremely impressed with the 70-200mm f4. For example, I have taken several shot of horses in the fields around where I live and the sharpness is outstanding with the coats of the horses so real, even after zooming in on my computer, that you can almost feel the texture. Out of focus "bokeh" is soft and pleasing. The operation of the lens is silky smooth and virtually silent. This is "L" glass and completely up to expectations. I decided to sell the 17-40mm as I cannot get used to its softness and am replacing it with the highly rated Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 Macro which I await with great anticipation. It seems that Sigma are producing some high quality glass these days and should no longer be looked upon as a cheap alternative to the often questionable quality of the Canon and Nikon brand names. When I had my Nikon D70 my favourite lens was a cheapie Sigma 55-200mm f4-5.6. I sometimes wonder if I should have bought the same lens again for my Canon instead of the 70-200mm f4L--no its not quite that good.

Strengths:

Build quality, smooth operation and tac sharp optics.

Weaknesses:

Its a little long.

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 55-200mm f4-5.6, Nikon 70-210mm f4

Customer Service:

Not used it yet.



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