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Review Summary
2025-05-10T06:09:44
I got this lens at a steal, and I LOVE it! Beautiful work comes out of this lens, I use it on an RF mount with an adapter, every now and then it doesn't communicate but turning the camera on and off works.
Kimberly D.
2012-05-13T21:00:00
A lens that can be depended upon. When attached to my 5D I am confident any shortcomings are a result of the person holding the camera.
Caribou
2012-01-15T19:00:00
I purchased this lens primarily for weddings and ended up using it on a regular basis for portraits, sports action and wildlife shoots as well. The only 1 negative I found about it is that it's a hefty lens - that's it. If you've got the bank, you should own this lens.
LEILANI A.
2012-01-01T19:00:00
Canon 5D AND THIS LENS (CANON EF 70-200MM F/2.8L IS USM IMAGE STABILIZER AUTOFOCUS TELEPHOTO ZOOM LENS - USA )STAY TOGETHER !!!!!! THIS IS THE BEST SETUP WE COULD HAVE FOR THAT DISTANCE......
CHARLES S.
2011-12-26T19:00:00
I shoot high school football games. And lens is great to capture the action.
JESUS V.
2011-09-04T21:00:00
This is my money lens, a must have for serious photographers.
Harry W.
2011-09-03T21:00:00
I bought the lens primarily to shoot soccer; the large aperture really helps to isolate the subject against the cluttered backgrounds at games. IS is off for sports, but it works really well for stationary objects, such as at zoos or taking portraits (or zoo portraits). I usually do not stop down when I need a narrow DoF, if you have f/2.8, you should be able to use it--I find image quality to be quite good wide open. Generally not long enough for wildlife "in the wild." Sharp, well-performing, great investment. If I'd have had the money I would have gotten the MK II version, but this works quite nicely for my needs. I find it to be a little soft at the long end at times.
THOMAS L.
2011-09-03T21:00:00
Heavy, but awsome as I got this just as the markII hit the market. I lives up to it's reputation as a great lens!
James C.
2011-09-03T21:00:00
Outstanding complement to the 24-70.
humgums
2011-09-03T21:00:00
The lens is bulky and heavy, but it has image stabilization for still or action shots. The potential zoom range is awesome. [...]Not an everyday lens, but well worth having for special applications--it really extends one's range!
Gramercytom's
2010-07-29T21:00:00
tired of borrowing this lens for kids sports and other activities. well worth the investment.
JOE C.
2010-06-05T21:00:00
Makes a complete kit with the 24-70L
humgums
2010-05-28T21:00:00
I have not had this lens for very long. I'm very tiny 5' and about 112 lbs. This lens is heavy to me, 4.4lbs. I carry it in my arms like a baby when I'm out shooting, otherwise it is in my camera backpack. (not heavy then) I can understand the reason for the heaviness, I/S, and good glass lens. I don't have a problem with that. I'm happy that the lens hood came with it, and love the little carrying bag that it came in. No complaints from me, I love it! I love the picture quality, this is my very first L lens. I leave it in my camera (Canon T2i 550D Rebel) . I also have a xsi 450D Rebel, I use this one to interchange my other lenses. This way, if I'm out shooting and I don't need to use the zoom, I just pick up the other camera with the other lens in it. I don't really want to change lenses outside with dust etc. I'm adjusting to the difference in that f/2.8, 70-200mm lens. This is probably due to the fact that I've only been a photographer for one year. :). The photos are very sharp, color great. I am looking forward to really learning how to use it, and getting much use out of it. Oh, I did have it insured, I don't want to have to buy another one, in case something happens to this one, they are a bit pricey. (worth it)
Tsi_girl
2010-04-11T21:00:00
This lense is used with my Canon 5d Mark II camera. I love this lense. No distortion, great pictures everytime, great zoom and with 2.8, you can't beat it. It probably is ranked 1 or 2 for my tops lenses Canon makes.
ahsumtoy
2010-04-05T21:00:00
I shoot people outdoors full light and weak light and in-between - I shoot nature scenes - I shoot the bark on trees to see how the focus works on my cameras.I now have 3 of the canon lenses, This IS lens, a 70-200 L (non stabilized), a 28-70 non-IS and I am extremely disappointed. The focus on all of these is spotty at best and I guess the spotiness is the irritating thing over and above the bad focus itself, for on some occasions I shoot images that are razor sharp but then for the same conditions the focus is just plain off. The shutter speeds are fast 1/400 and above and the f-stop is f/9 or above, and the subject distances are anywhere from 15 feet to 175 feet - so it should not be a depth of field problem - adn I do not have the shakes.For the life of me I cannot understand why the camera manufacturers force us to use an autofocus and do not supply as standard on their bodies the ability to split screen focus.Using just the ground glass to get things in focus is a pain and one cannot get these lens in tack enough unless one has a split screen or a good autofocus. I have used all my lenses in strong light and low light. The strong light works better than the mid to lo light, but for [$] of glass I frankly expected better.Is it too much to ask for the manufactures to provide the algorithm and actually display on the screen the actual distance that the lens "thinks" the subject is at - and the darned depth of field??? And is it to much to ask for the manufacturers to give us a split screen on a Canon 50D??As a final note - Yes I know that these Canon premium lenses have a way to do a micro adjustment for the focus, but WHY should I have to do that. It seems like THAT was just a work-around to cover up for something wrong in the lens itself, or its focusing algorithms. And to make it all worse - the micro adjustment is only good to a particular focal length. So you will get tack and one focul length but possible blur a the others ... SheeeshQuite frankly I am really disappointed - and no- I do not work for any manufacturer - I am just a guy that wants my images to be spot on.
photographer38
2010-01-28T19:00:00
Everything about this lens is great except its size. It's huge; bulky, heavy, cumbersome. This is enough to overshadow all that is good about it. I returned it.
Doug
2010-01-26T19:00:00
Bright and sharp photos. I found IS working very well and very usefull
cristian
2010-01-24T19:00:00
Action photography, a little heavy, but a monopod takes care of that problem.
Sheryl T.
2010-01-12T19:00:00
If you want to shoot sports, IS is not really necessary.
Ohio
2010-01-10T19:00:00
I am so happy to finally have a great lens for sports and action photography.
CHRIS T.
2010-01-09T19:00:00
This lens was purchased for my son who is a student at SCAD...Savannah College of Art and Design. He is majoring in Photography and has wanted this lens for a long time. He raves about this lens. It's a little heavy but he does just fine with it, with or without a tripod. He had 2 portrait photo shoots and the outcome of these shoots were amazing!!!!! This is a must have lens.
Evelyn
2010-01-09T19:00:00
Truly impressive. No other lens to get over
Rene M.
2010-01-09T19:00:00
I use this lens for Landscape/Scenery Portraits and Weddings.
JOHN H.
2010-01-09T19:00:00
I wish I had waited for 3 weeks more, since Canon brought out II version of this great lens ! Yet this is a great investment and is for a long time.
PRASHANT D.
2010-01-09T19:00:00
Great images Great lens
THOMAS B.
2009-11-03T19:00:00
This is a must own lens.
DAN P.
2009-10-01T21:00:00
Worth every dollar! I bought this lens to mainly take pictures of my kids sporting events and our vacations. I like the Rugged design, Consistent output, and extremely fast autofocus. I've only used this lens a little over a month and have more keeper pictures than I know what to do with. I've used it in bright sun and in low light and can't believe the output. It works extremely well with my camera, the Canon EOS 40D, and has been purchased to replace my kit lens that came with the camera. The controls are silky smooth and my pictures been absolutely amazing. The main thing I noticed when using this lens is that your subjects appear to have an almost 3-D like effect as they stand out with amazing clarity and detail against a really nice blurry background. The pictures taken with this new lens have much more of a "POP" than my kit lens could ever produce. The extra weight is really justifiable because it helps you to steady your hands when taking pictures. Now I see why the media uses these. I experimented with several types of polarizing filters and after seeing the before and after pictures, I can quickly see the pictures taken without the filter are much clearer and sharper. Also I noticed there is very little editing neeeded on these pictures like with photoshop as most of the pictures are very sharp and well focused.
L-Lens U.
2009-06-18T21:00:00
I was on an aluminum Bleacher at My sons graduation with this lens and 5d mk2 I also had a Manfroto tripod. I was shooting with IS on and video was great and Pictures sharp. Then I turned IS off and while I was on Live view to pick Him out of the crowed. People came up and down the bleacher; you could not see a thing via the screen because of the shake was so bad. Then I click over to IS and boom, as still as could be even with people shaking the bleachers all evening long video and Pic's came out great. The money I spent extra for IS was worth every penny. In the future if I can afford it, they will be all IS especially now because I can shoot video as well.
GOCANONGO
2009-06-01T21:00:00
I love this lens, its all true. Thankyou to all who have reviewed it previously, as it urged me to spend the extra $ and go for the 2.8 IS, and so glad I did. Also bought a monopod, which along with this lens has helped with sharpness when shooting weddings and family portraits in the last of the day's light. More examples on my website [@]
fiona p.
2009-05-06T21:00:00
Good Glass! Take a loan, pick up pop cans, whatever..If you shoot low light, fast movers, shy critters....quit hemming about & acquire this tool. Good color, fast focus, far reaching, easy to handle without sticks, suggest take a knee if you can tho. Look for any available brace for long distance targets. Carry a short glass on your secondary as this thing needs bout 3.5 ft to focus. so you gotta keep some distance between you & your target. Very light, I believe bout 3 pounds, This is one tool I highly suggest if you do any sort of shooting that it can be used in. DO NOT SCRIMP with a lower grade brand if you need hi speed/low light options. If you don't have the cash off-hand, thats why they made credit cards..[just make sure you keep track of your payments!] :-)
SpecMouse
18 groups /23 elements
34° - 12°
2.8-32
1.3m / 4.3ft.
1:5.8
77mm
7.8" x 3.4" / 197 x 86.2mm
3.24 lbs / 1,470g
Want to catch the action? Here’s a quick guide to the gear—especially lenses--you need. Updated for Fall 2015. Whether you're shooting with a DSLR or a high-end Mirrorless Interchangeable-Lens Compact
“There’s huge potential in the moment, but it is lost in the technical details.”—Mark Lent
Incredible lens system!
By Sean W.
This lense is amazing! The f-stop and image stabilization makes it a PERFECT lens for shooting weddings! The controls are easy, the lens is a little heavy, but I still don't need a tripod or monopod to get great crisp shots! A+
Worth the $$$
By E C.
By far the crown jewell of my small lens collection. It is equally at home catching fast action or low light conditions. Other than the everyday type of shooting, I try to use this lens any time I can. People may look at you funny when you use it only 10ft from them, but the shots you get up close and far away are excellent. The image stabilizer and fast optics make this a must have for any serious or semi-serious photographer.
Incorporating Canon's second generation Image Stabilization technology, this telephoto zoom responds in as little at 0.5 seconds, while providing up to three stops of correction for camera shake. Its AF system has been refined for better response time and tracking speed. And even the new 8-blade circular aperture offers a more pleasing out-of-focus image. Constructed to pro standards, this fast zoom is also highly resistant to dust and moisture, too.