{"id":3138,"date":"2010-05-15T02:10:30","date_gmt":"2010-05-15T06:10:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/?p=3138"},"modified":"2017-08-12T13:46:44","modified_gmt":"2017-08-12T17:46:44","slug":"review-canon-70-200mm-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/review-canon-70-200mm-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"review: Canon 70-200mm f\/2.8L IS II USM"},"content":{"rendered":"

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review: Canon 70-200mm f\/2.8L IS II USM<\/h1>\n

The\u00a0Canon 70-200mm f2.8L IS II<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0(B&H<\/a><\/em> \/ Amazon<\/a><\/em>)<\/span>, is touted to have improved optical quality, faster auto-focusing, and much better stabilization than the much-loved previous version of this lens. Using the lens on different shoots and walkabouts and tests, I got a fair idea of how the lens performs. \u00a0In short, the lens is all that .. faster, sharper and with better image stabilization. \u00a0Noticeably so.<\/p>\n

The bokeh<\/strong> of this lens is pleasant. \u00a0Easily seen in this portrait of my little model, where she is busy collecting feathers.\u00a0The image above was shot at f3.2\u00a0(And to go off-topic for a moment: shallow depth-of-field is not the same as bokeh<\/a>.) \u00a0Anyway, this lens has fairly pleasant bokeh. Other lenses might render the background even smoother, but the bokeh in this image above isn’t harsh and intrusive.<\/p>\n

My main disappointment with the lens is that it looks so much like the previous version. \u00a0The focusing grip is slightly different, and the lens is a touch longer by a few millimeters. \u00a0They are quite hard to tell apart. The disappointment would come in that no one would really know you had just spent a small truck-load of money on a new lens. \u00a0Unless they bothered to read the numerals on the front lens barrel. \u00a0At least Nikon had the courtesy to make their new lens look substantially different. \u00a0Easier to swagger with the new gear. ;)<\/p>\n

But the\u00a0Canon 70-200mm f2.8L IS II<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0(B&H<\/a><\/em><\/a>\u00a0\/\u00a0<\/em>Amazon<\/a><\/em>)<\/a>,\u00a0is definitely a good-looking chunk of glass!<\/p>\n

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The lens, even on a classic Canon 5D, follows focus fairly easily on a moving subject.
\nI had enough frames in focus to be happy with the results.
\n1\/500 @ f2.8 @ 500 ISO .. with the lens zoomed to 200mm
\nAs you can seee, the bokeh isn’t entirely smooth if you look at the way the branches were rendered.<\/p>\n

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\nMy personal opinion is that lenses in the range of the\u00a0Canon 70-200mm f2.8L IS II<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(affiliate<\/em>)<\/span>\u00a0is\u00a0ideal for portrait photo sessions. \u00a0Flexible, and with a wide enough aperture to render the background without distracting detail. \u00a0Of course, that depends on your composition too.<\/p>\n

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Available light in the cafe; \u00a01\/50 @ f2.8 @ 400 ISO .. with the lens zoomed to 125mm
\nAs you can see, the image is crisp even at such a slow shutter speed.<\/p>\n

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Video light<\/a>; 1\/200 @ f2.8 @ 800 ISO .. with the lens zoomed to 110 mm
\nI roamed around Birdseye, IN, one afternoon, photographing interesting details in some of the unoccupied buildings. \u00a0Again, the range of this type of zoom is perfect for picking out details, or zooming wider to encompass more of the scene. \u00a0This found collage appealed to me – random decaying items within multiple frames, and a\u00a0bust of John Wayne.
\n1\/100 @ f5.6 @ 400 ISO .. with the lens zoomed to 90 mm<\/p>\n

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\nThe minimum focusing distance of the mk II lens has been every so slightly improved.
\nIt now focuses as close as \u00a03.94′ (compared to the previous 4.6′)
\nZoomed to 200mm, you can get surprisingly tight images.
\n1\/160 @ f5.0 @ 400 ISO<\/p>\n

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\nThis photo below shows but a small section of the astonishing decor and architecture of the West Baden Springs Hotel at French Lick, IN. \u00a0This is part of the vast central dome in the hotel. And the colors gradually change! \u00a0(Click on the photo for a larger version of the image.)
\n1\/50th @ f4 @ 800 ISO … with the lens zoomed to 200mm.<\/p>\n

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The one big feature of this newer version of the lens, is the improved Image Stabilization. \u00a0Here I shot hand-held at 1\/50 @ 200mm .. and the majority of my images were crisp. \u00a0Quite impressive. The Image Stabilization is definitely more aggressive than the mk 1 version of this lens.<\/p>\n

I then decided to push it even more. Here’s a test shot of part of the hotel facade inside, but shot handheld at \u00a01\/5 @ f2.8 @ 1000 ISO<\/p>\n

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.. and here is a 100% crop of a central portion of the image:<\/p>\n

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Truly impressive for 1\/5 of a second hand-held! \u00a0About half the images I shot were this sharp. \u00a0Keep in mind that we’re dealing with the lens wide-open, so the optical quality isn’t at the peak either. \u00a0On top of this, I shot at 1000 ISO which is starting to push it a little on the classic Canon 5D. \u00a0Even then, this might be a good illustration of the sharpness you could expect in low light at very slow shutter speeds, hand-held with this lens. \u00a0This improvement alone makes this lens a strong contender for an immediate upgrade.
\nFinally, let’s look at how the optical performance<\/strong> of this lens has been improved.<\/p>\n

By the way, at f2.8 there is vignetting, as you can see from this cropped screengrab of 2 images next to each other as displayed in Adobe Bridge. \u00a0(The two images were direct-from-camera JPGs.)<\/p>\n

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This is typical for zoom lenses used wide open, and wouldn’t concern me. \u00a0In fact, I often add even more vignetting to portraits.<\/p>\n

For the lens sharpness test, and to compare the mk 1 and mk 2 versions, I photographed the side of this building. \u00a0I could then look at how the detail in the shutters and windows were shown.<\/p>\n

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This is at 70mm, and you can see there is a fair amount of barrel distortion.
\nAt various focal lengths, the mk2 version was sharper than the mk1. \u00a0As it would hopefully be.
\nHere are two examples, all from in-camera JPGs with sharpening set to minimum.<\/p>\n

A: \u00a0from this framing ..<\/p>\n

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A: 100% crop of the left hand side: Canon 70-200mm f2.8 mk 1<\/p>\n

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A: 100% crop of the left hand side: Canon 70-200mm f2.8 mk 2<\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

B: \u00a0from this framing ..<\/p>\n

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B: 100% crop towards the bottom left hand side: Canon 70-200mm f2.8 mk 1<\/p>\n

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B: 100% crop of the left hand side: Canon 70-200mm f2.8 mk 2<\/p>\n

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In both those comparisons, you can see that the newer lens has a sharper image with better contrast at f2.8<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Overall assessment of the Canon 70-200mm f2.8L IS II<\/h2>\n

The lens clearly shows improvement over the previous version of the IS lens;
\n– improved sharpness when used at wide apertures,
\n– image stabilization is quite impressive now,
\n– autofocus is faster.<\/p>\n

While these might seem like incremental improvements, for some photographers these changes will add up to make this lens an obvious upgrade. \u00a0For other photographers, the mk1 version will remain their workhorse lens. \u00a0For photographers that are working in low light, and would need the improved sharpness and contrast at wide apertures, and would need the more aggressive stabilization, the Canon 70-200mm f2.8L IS II will be a compelling lens.<\/p>\n

If you would like to\u00a0buy this lens, it is available via these affiliate links:
\n<\/strong>Canon 70-200mm f2.8L IS II<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0(B&H<\/a><\/em>\u00a0\/\u00a0Amazon<\/a><\/em>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Reviews of other Canon\u00a0gear<\/h2>\n