LENS canon 70-200 F2.8

*REVIEW

Above from left to right are the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM Lens, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM Lens, Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM Lens and Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM Lens. The two f/2.8 lenses are shown with their included tripod rings. The f/2.8 IS lens is shown with an optional Wimberley P20 Lens Plate attached to the tripod ring. The same lenses are shown below with their included lens hoods attached.   The primary benefit the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM Lens offers over the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM Lens is a 1 stop faster aperture. Letting twice as much light through the lens is more than a small advantage, but there is a cost to this extra f-stop – in size, weight and price.

The Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM Lens is about 1.3 lbs (605g) heavier, .8″ (21.6mm) longer, and .3″ (8.6mm) wider than its smaller sibling. The actual numbers are 3.3″ x 7.6″, 2.9 lbs compared to 3.0″ x 6.8″, 1.6 lbs for the f/4 or 84.6mm x 193.6mm, 1310g compared to 76mm x 172mm, 705g for the f/4. The faster f/2.8 aperture is helpful for isolating a subject from a distracting background and for gaining action-stopping shutter speeds (the action can be from the photographer or the subject). At 200mm, f/4 can blur the background, but f/2.8 can provide more blur.

The 70-200 f/2.8L has the smallest maximum magnification value among its siblings – .16x at 4.9′ (1.5m) vs. .21x at 4.6′ (1.4m) for the IS, .26x at 3.9′ (1.2m) for the f/4 and .21x at 3.94′ (1.2 m) for the f/4 IS. A 25mm extension tube will significantly help the 70-200 non-IS’ closeup capabilities (.41x) while a 12 mm extension tube will help only very minimally (.22x)