First Published Sunday, August 1, 2010

OVERVIEW

From time to time a new lens arrives that totally surprises me and potentially leads to a complete re-think of the camera kit. There is some back story here which is fairly important. For the last 3 or 4 months I have been using the Canon 1Ds Mark III almost exclusively, while the the Leica M9 has been benched. The situation is fairly simple, I like a kit covering 24mm to 300mm and the Leica M9 is too limiting at times. The Canon kit has been -

1. •Canon 24-105mm F4 L IS (review available)
   

2. •Contax 50mm F1.4 Planar N Auto-Focus (review available)
   

3. •Contax 100mm F2 Planar (review available)
   

4. •Zeiss 100mm F2 Makro-Planar
   

5. •Canon 200mm F2.8 L Mark II (review available)
   

6. •Canon 70-200mm F4 L IS
   

There is obvious overlap because of two ongoing comparisons - first, whether to “upgrade” to the Contax 100mm Planar to a Zeiss 100mm Makro-Planar ZE, and second, whether to use primes for the 70-200mm range or the 70-200mm F4 L IS. I have shot 100’s, probably 1000’s of frames trying to decide and the result thus far is analysis-paralysis. So Canon’s new 70-200mm F2.8 L IS Mark II just might be the right lens at the right time. The first outings with the new 70-200mm F2.8 L IS Mark II have been very positive -

1. •Nice bokeh at F2.8, not quite as dramatic as the Canon 135mm F2 L (review here), but the zoom is doing nicely.
   

2. •200mm is very sharp; definitely as good as the Canon 70-200mm F4 L IS, and even seems on par with the 200mm F2.8 L Mark II.
   

3. •Canon latest IS system which is good for at least 4-stops - shooting handheld at 200mm and 1/30th is very do-able.
   

4. •An unexpected outcome has been fairly consistent 3-dimensional rendering, which leaves me wondering if the Contax 100mm Planar (or Zeiss 100mm Makro-Planar) are needed anymore.
   

The only obvious drawback of the 70-200mm F2.8 L IS Mark II is its size. I have been using the Canon 70-200mm F4 L IS since its introduction and it has been a great lens and it weighs only 1.6 pounds. The F2.8 version weighs twice as much. On the other hand the F4 L IS version is an F4 lens and does not offer a strong sense of bokeh - and this was on my main reasons for buy the F2.8 L IS II version --- more on this later.

This review focuses on the Canon 70-200mm F2.8 L IS II’s handling characteristics, rendering style and overall performance. The review will be updated from time to time over a 6 to 12 month period. For a more technical review, DPreview now offers lens reviews and published their findings in May 2010 (click here).

BUILD QUALITY

The Canon 70-200mm F2.8 IS II comes in a very large box. Apparently Canon put a considerable effort in designing styrofoam inserts to cradle and protect the lens during transit. There have been reports of 70-200mm F2.8 L IS II’s with decentered optics and/or uneven sharpness across the frame. With 23 elements, such reports are not a surprise. Thus far my lens appears to have made the trip safely (knock on wood!)

The lens barrel construction is a mix of metal and durable plastic - presumably some type of polycarbonate. The outer barrel appears to be mostly metal; I am assuming the focus and zoom rings are plastic. Compared to the original 70-200mm F2.8 IS, the overall external design is a subtle evolution. With some of the concave radiuses, aesthetically the lens looks more modern with an edgier design like the prism housing on the Canon 1-Series Mark III and Mark IV bodies.

The lens is weather sealed provided it is mounted on weather sealed camera body and a front filter is used. Other bells and whistles include full-time manual focus, USM focus motors, internal rear-focus design and Image Stabilization elements. Points of Light has a nice description / explanation of the Canon marketing icons - click here.