Canon EF 55-200 mm f/4.5-5.6 II USM review - Summary

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Canon EF 55-200 mm f/4.5-5.6 II USM

30 September 2007

Arkadiusz Olech

11. Summary

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Pros:

small picture resolution difference in the center and at the edges of the frame
very small chromatic aberration at 100 mm and near this focal length
small vignetting throughout the focal length range
small coma
small distortion
USM motor in this price range lens
light weight and small size
reasonable price

Cons:

the lens is not completely sharp for f/8 diaphragms
poor aperture
visible chromatic aberration at 55 and 200 mm focal length
for a USM motor-equipped lens, it missed too many times

For every photo amateur, who already owns the 18-55 mm kit lens, the Canon 55-200 will be a very good and not very expensive addition. It is a pity that Canon did not take care of the lens’s aperture.

There are many cheap 70-300 mm lenses on the market with the aperture changing from 4 to 5.6 so. These lenses, at every focal length range, beat the Canon. Here are some examples: Canon’s maximum aperture at the 55 mm focal length and f/4.5 has a diameter of 12.2 mm while a competing 70-300 mm lens set up at 70 mm and f/4 has a diameter of 17.5 mm. For the Canon set up at 200 mm and f/5.6, the aperture is 35.7 mm, while the 70-300 mm models have the same diaphragm value but at 300 mm the aperture is 53.6 mm. Simple mathematics show that the Canon takes in from 2 to 2.5 times less aperture than the 70-300 f/4-5.6. And this would be the only major reason why we might rethink our purchase.