Uncle Rog & OLAF put the 70-200 f/4L IS II through it's paces

Sharlin

CR Pro
Dec 26, 2015
1,415
1,433
Turku, Finland
Those copy-to-copy variation figures all but confirm that one major driver for these lens updates is compatibility with improved, more automated manufacturing processes, which Roger mentions as well. Canon has been on fire lately regarding variance. Of course this particular lens does have a lot more going for it than just improved QA.
 
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AlanF

Desperately seeking birds
CR Pro
Aug 16, 2012
12,355
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Those copy-to-copy variation figures all but confirm that one major driver for these lens updates is compatibility with improved, more automated manufacturing processes, which Roger mentions as well. Canon has been on fire lately regarding variance. Of course this particular lens does have a lot more going for it than just improved QA.

Has it been on fire regarding variance? I remembered how lensrentals raved about the 100-400mm II 3 years ago - "The 100-400 has some of the highest consistency scores of any zoom lens we’ve ever tested."
https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2015/08/canon-100-400-is-ii-mtf-and-variation-tests/

Going backwards through lensrentals blogs:
"The Canon 85mm f/1.4 L IS is a very consistent lens, both in center sharpness and side-to-side variation. The comparison graphs below shows the Canon (top left), Sigma (top right), Nikon (bottom left), and Sony GM (bottom right) 85mm lenses. The Canon has the least variation overall."
https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2018/01/mtf-testing-the-canon-85mm-f1-4-l-is/

"The sample variation for wide-angle zooms is usually pretty significant, but the new 16-35mm f/2.8 Mk III keeps that under pretty good control."
https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2016/10/canon-16-35mm-f2-8l-mark-iii-optical-bench-tests/

"There’s not a lot of trending with the 35mm lenses. The Canon 35mm f/1.4 and Zeiss 35mm f/2 are two of the oldest designs, yet they also have good consistency scores, but the very best consistency score comes from the newer Canon 35mm f/2."
https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2015/07/variance-measurement-for-35mm-slr-lenses/
etc etc.
 
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