Canon EF 70-200 mm f/4L IS USM review - Summary

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Canon EF 70-200 mm f/4L IS USM

9 October 2007

Arkadiusz Olech

11. Summary

Pros:

great picture quality in the center and at the edges of the frame
well controlled chromatic aberration
almost absent coma and astigmatism
very small vignetting
small astigmatism
fast, quiet and efficient autofocus
very solid build
high quality build
efficient stabilization

Cons:

if we try hard to find some flaws, we might say that the performance for f/4.0 and at 70 mm focal length could be a bit better

It is very pleasant to test the lens and have nothing bad to say about it in the summary. In all honesty, the only major flaw we would point out would be the performance for the maximum aperture at the 70 mm focal length. In our overall judgment, the results are very good, but when seeing very high results at other diaphragms and focal lengths, we would want more!

Can the high price be a con too? I did write this as a con and I would leave it if the stabilization was the only difference between the 70-200 f/4L IS and its predecessor. But there is more! The picture resolution is a bit better and the bright light performance is better. Therefore, for the additional 2200 Polish zloty we not only get the stabilization, but better optical performance as well. Is it worth it? I can’t answer this question since it is a practical question that each individual reader must decide on his own.

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Sample shots:


Camera: Canon 20D Parameters: 70 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/60 sec, ISO 400 File: JPG, 3504x2336 pix, 2.5 MB	Camera: Canon 20D Parameters: 70 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/2000 sec, ISO 400 File: JPG, 3504x2336 pix, 3.3 MB	Camera: Canon 20D Parameters: 135 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/1250 sec, ISO 400 File: JPG, 3504x2336 pix, 3.6 MB

Camera: Canon 20D Parameters: 121 mm, f/7.1, exp. 1/1250 sec, ISO 200 File: JPG, 3504x2336 pix, 3.1 MB	Camera: Canon 20D Parameters: 70 mm, f/8.0, exp. 1/1000 sec, ISO 200 File: JPG, 3504x2336 pix, 2.7 MB	Camera: Canon 20D Parameters: 200 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/6400 sec, ISO 200 File: JPG, 3504x2336 pix, 2.6 MB

Camera: Canon 20D Parameters: 81 mm, f/8.0, exp. 1/800 sec, ISO 200 File: JPG, 3504x2336 pix, 3.1 MB	Camera: Canon 20D Parameters: 200 mm, f/5.6, exp. 1/800 sec, ISO 200 File: JPG, 3504x2336 pix, 2.5 MB	Camera: Canon 20D Parameters: 200 mm, f/7.1, exp. 1/800 sec, ISO 200 File: JPG, 3504x2336 pix, 2.2 MB

Camera: Canon 20D Parameters: 70 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/1600 sec, ISO 200 File: JPG, 3504x2336 pix, 2.5 MB	Camera: Canon 20D Parameters: 70 mm, f/7.1, exp. 1/500 sec, ISO 200 File: JPG, 3504x2336 pix, 3.3 MB	Camera: Canon 20D Parameters: 135 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/200 sec, ISO 100 File: JPG, 3504x2336 pix, 2.4 MB