canon ef 70-200mm f/2.8 l (11)

[niko]

I'm not being argumentative at all, are you saying the 70-200mm is not worth the money?

yes for me the gains you get dont justify the price tag ,others will disagree with me on that .
or it could be this particular lens was a crap copy (it did miss focus a few times )and running it though focal pro's focus test it actually scored lower than my 24-105 it got 93% hit rate and my 24-105 got 98%
who knows ,well its gone back now so it doesn't really matter .but its left me without a longer faster lens and no idea what to do really

 

[stu.artd]

Have you gave any consideration to the sigma 70-200 os ? It's around half the price at £830 and could be better value. I haven't used one but there are a few people on the forum that have one and are impressed with it.

 

[niko]

Have you gave any consideration to the sigma 70-200 os ? It's around half the price at £830 and could be better value. I haven't used one but there are a few people on the forum that have one and are impressed with it.

i hadnt mate ill take a look ,i am contemplating a 200mm prime (2.8 version)and wheather that and my 100L macro would cover me

 

[jj_glos]

You have to have a good look at what the Canon 70-200 f2.8 mkII zoom lens is all about. It's a wide fast aperture zoom lens that you have compared against a Canon 100mm prime macro lens (known for being very sharp), and it is comparable wide open. This is no easy feat and why the lens commands a premium price. If you want the best, you have to pay the premium. Wait until you start looking at the longer whites, those prices make the 70-200 look great value!

Perhaps your expectations were unrealistic? There is an over-egging of equipment in photography, there is very rarely night and day, life changing differences in kit. CA control, distortion, Bokeh quality, AF speed etc. may all be slightly improved in one lens over another, but when all added together it can make a significant difference for a photographer. For some photographers this 70-200 gives them prime quality at 85mm, 100mm, 135mm and 200mm. Not to mention everything in between. So one quality lens that covers this starts to look much better value. Of course primes can also give you the wider aperture option, which is why I aim to have both.

The Sigma lenses are a good shout, I used the non OS for a number of years and it was sharper than my Canon mkI IS at 70mm but they were about the same by 200mm. There's also the Tamron which is pretty sharp but AF speed is lacking.

 

[niko]

You have to have a good look at what the Canon 70-200 f2.8 mkII zoom lens is all about. It's a wide fast aperture zoom lens that you have compared against a Canon 100mm prime macro lens (known for being very sharp), and it is comparable wide open. This is no easy feat and why the lens commands a premium price. If you want the best, you have to pay the premium. Wait until you start looking at the longer whites, those prices make the 70-200 look great value!

Perhaps your expectations were unrealistic? There is an over-egging of equipment in photography, there is very rarely night and day, life changing differences in kit. CA control, distortion, Bokeh quality, AF speed etc. may all be slightly improved in one lens over another, but when all added together it can make a significant difference for a photographer. For some photographers this 70-200 gives them prime quality at 85mm, 100mm, 135mm and 200mm. Not to mention everything in between. So one quality lens that covers this starts to look much better value. Of course primes can also give you the wider aperture option, which is why I aim to have both.

The Sigma lenses are a good shout, I used the non OS for a number of years and it was sharper than my Canon mkI IS at 70mm but they were about the same by 200mm. There's also the Tamron which is pretty sharp but AF speed is lacking.

thank you you could well be correct perhaps i was/am being unrealistic ,but to me its overpriced for the quality ,
i have little interest in the longer whites ,i went that route in my earlier film days and have no intension of doing so again which was one reson for wanting this with a tele converter
ill keep looking