OVERVIEW

Most Canon users cover 200mm with one of the various Canon 70-200mm L zoom lenses. I do the same. Over the years the Canon 70-200mm L F4 IS has proven to be a great lens and has been my “go to tele-zoom” when traveling. The 70-200mm L F4 IS is quite sharp and the IS (image stabilization) is outstanding; however, its shortcoming is the bokeh. F4 is not a particularly wide aperture, so isolating the subject from the background can be difficult at times with the F4 lenses. For portraits I like to use a narrow depth of field (DOF) to separate the subject from the background.

A couple years ago I bought a Mamiya 200mm F2.8 APO lens to use with the Mamiya 645AFD II & Phase One P25 Digital Back. Generally, 200mm is one my lesser used focal lengths, so I was surprised at how much I liked the focal length - on medium format. Given the P25’s much larger sensor area, a 200mm’s FOV on the larger negative was about the same FOV as 135mm on a full-frame dSLR. After experiencing a change of heart with Mamiya 200mm F2.8 APO, I decided to give the 200mm a second chance on a Canon a dSLR.

ZOOM VS PRIME

During past 3-4 years I have owned all three of the Canon 70-200mm zooms and found both of the F2.8 versions to be very disappointing at 200mm. I tried multiple copies over the years, and even sent lenses to Canon for adjustment. Each 70-200mm zoom lacked resolving power at the 200mm end. When the zooms were stopped down to F5.6 of F8, the results were okay, but still lacking resolution and detail. Out of frustration, when Canon announced the 70-200mm F4 L IS, I bought one on impulse and hoped for the best.

The Canon 70-200mm F4 L IS is a lightweight lens and easily fits into most camera bags. In my 2-3 years with 70-200mm F4 IS, it has been a great travel lens. Compared to its F2.8 brothers, the F4 version is quite sharp - even at 200mm. Canon’s image stabilization (IS) is excellent, shooting 200mm at 1/30th is very do-able. The 70-200mm F4 L IS did a great in San Francisco and in Hawaii as well. The only downside to the 70-200mm F4 L IS is the F4 aperture - which can have a bit too much DOF at times.

Time to time I have considered trying a 70-200mm F2.8 L IS again, but they weigh almost twice as much as the F4 IS version. When it comes to weight and size, the 200mm F2.8 L has some advantages. The Canon 200mm F2.8 L prime weights 1.7 pounds and is about 30% shorter than the zooms. The Canon 200mm F2.8 uses fewer elements (nine in total), so it has less light loss than a zoom - which improves shutter speeds (about a one stop improvement). Using a 200mm prime offers better quality, but at the expense of flexibility. Is the added quality worth giving up the ease of a zoom? This is something I still struggle with today.

HANDLING

The Canon 200mm F2.8 uses a rear inner focus system, so lens length remains unchanged while focusing. The front element does not rotate - which is good when using circular polarizers and gradient filters. The rear focus design improves focus speed (less mass being moved). The 200mm F2.8 uses Canon Ultrasonic (USM) autofocus motors which are quiet (almost silent) and quick. Sports shooters can further increase autofocus speed by setting the focus limiter selector to 3.5 meters.

The 200mm F2.8 is well balanced with its weight evenly distributed. On the Canon 1Ds Mark III the 200mm F2.8 feels light and does not pull the camera downward. The 200mm F2.8 feels durable. Nothing rattles or clunks inside the lens. The 200mm F2.8 feels like a lens you can “use” it and not like something you have to worry about should it get bounced around in the camera bag. On my first day of shooting with the Canon 200mm, I walked around with the 1Ds Mark III and 200mm for over 3 hours. The combo is large, but it was not fatiguing.

Manual focus is mechanically linked, not electronically linked like the Canon EF 85mm L F1.2 II, so the 200mm’s manual focus responds immediately to any focus ring movement. Manual focus is available at all times, so the lens can be auto-focused and adjusted manually if auto focus fails to achieve the desired focus point. The 1Ds Mark III’s viewfinder is very large and bright, so I do find myself using manual focus more often just because it is easier and quicker than selecting the appropriate AF point.

The lens hood is long, so with the hood attached the overall kit is large and bulky. To reduce the bulk, I am guilty of not using the lens hood at times. Under normal conditions shooting without the hood worked fine.