Thanks! Yes, I've seen that with my own eyes. I do intend to, although I've been wondering if a 2.8 makes more sense. Appreciate the input.
Upvote
0
The Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM III Has Been Discontinued
- Thread starter Canon Rumors
- Start date
The ‘magic drainpipe’ was a good lens for its day, but that day has long passed. The EF 70-200/2.8L non-IS that succeeded it delivered better IQ, and today the IQ of the latter is surpassed even by RF consumer / non-L zooms, and more so by modern L-series zooms.
Upvote
0
and yet i sold off the RF 70-200 2.8, which was my first upgrade for those focal ranges, and kept the drainpipe. newer lenses my have gotten better sharpness wide open and less CA, but the rendering on the drainpipe beats all other canon 70-200, for my taste at least. the 24-105 2.8z somewhat reminds me of it.
Upvote
0
When I hear ‘rendering’ I hear Paul Simon singing about nice, bright colors and the greens of summer…complete with the crackle and pop of a vinyl record or the background hiss of a cassette tape.
But if you prefer it, keeping it is the right choice.
Upvote
0
Hard to go wrong with the 70-200Z! It's so good in its native range, and it's unreasonably good up to 400mm considering that a 2x extender is generally tough on image quality. I tried the original RF 70-200 f/2.8 briefly, and the zoom throw SUCKS in comparison to the Z. For fast moving wildlife, such as that dragonfly picture I shared above, that smooth zoom throw is very useful. I'm perfectly happy with a small amount of fixed length increase to have an internal zoom. If you have a want or need for it (and the budget), I highly recommend the Z.I was never really interested in the 70-200mm lenses and I couldn't quite figure out what appealed to a lot of people. The EF mkiii was still really heavy so I figured I´d just get the EF 100-400mm ii which was only 200gr heavier but had double the reach. In 2021, I ordered the RF 100-500mm and it was backordered by several months. So as a "temporary" lens (hint: I still own it) I got the RF 70-200mm F4 L and man was I impressed! Love the range, perfect for landscapes, catches a lot of details, lightweight (this one is really is) and super flexible. After that, I gave the RF 70-200mm F2.8 and EF 70-200mm F2.8 iii both a try. I didn't like the placement of the control on the RF version and the long throw. Furthermore, it is better than the F4 but not 1.500 $ dollars better imo. The EF version is still pretty heavy (also using an adapter alongside of it) so I didn't keep it.
I am really curious about the RF 70-200mm F2.8 L Z and one day (once my kid/ kids go to school) I'll probably get one for all those events and sports. In September, I am shooting a 50th birthday party and I will borrow the lens for a couple of days. So excited about it.
Thanks! I recently got a Godox AD800 flash unit, which was key to getting that first shot. It's the only way to get enough light for that type of shot, and it gives that nice isolation of the subject even in daylight. I love photographing my local butterflies! That shot just won a competition on DPReview, quite happy with it.Lovely shots! I especially like the first one!
Upvote
0
I had the 80-200 EF and was not happy with it.It was soft on the edges at 80mm.The first 70-200/F2:8 was a 100% better!
Upvote
0
GMCPhotographics
Canon Rumors Premium
Yes, you’ve just repeated what I said:
“The new RF Z lens is certainly lighter, sharper and generally slightly better in every metric, although eye watering expensive!“
Upvote
0
GMCPhotographics
Canon Rumors Premium
There’s plenty of grey market sites who will match the relative US price in the uk. The uk price is set / rigged by Canon Europe. We all know how much Europe loves the uk these days!
Upvote
0
We (Europeans, i.e. EU members) did not vote for Brexit, so you’ve only got your own politicians and leave-voters to blame.
Upvote
0
justaCanonuser
Grab your camera, go out and shoot!
Depends on what you want to mainly shoot with that lens: the f/4.0 is a very good landscape and short sports tele zoom; the f/2.8 shines when you shoot people, including portrait (that's why reporters love this lens), and it is of course the better choice if you want to use it with extenders. But I do not want to teach you, you surely know exactly for which purposes you want such a lens.
Btw the f/4.0 L IS USM is not only quite compact & light (like the non-IS version), feels very nice in the hands, in particular turning the zoom ring feels so light and smooth, it is a real fun to use that lens. The f/2.8 L IS USM II that I have feels extremely solid, too, but it is much more massive.
Upvote
0
justaCanonuser
Grab your camera, go out and shoot!
Well. I gonna travel to Northumberland next week, and I am from evil Germany
Upvote
0
ashmadux
Art Director, Visual Artist, Freelance Photography
The 2.8 v2 is my most beloved photographic tool treasure... it is simply wonderful and as long as it's compatible with current r series I see no reason to ever let it go. It just gets the job done it is has Wonderful rendering character and the autofocus is still bang on at least with an R5. I remember the day I bought it from adorama, and the cashier was just shaking his head when he saw the receipt. I worked super hard that year and I deserved it and so I got it. And it's been a trailer ever since. I don't get to use it much nowadays but no way I'm selling it off.
My2c
My2c
Upvote
0
Some of my favorite Photos with the EF 70-200 f2.8 Mark III. A beast of a lens intend to shoot for the next 20+ years.
Upvote
0
Michael Clark
Now we see through a glass, darkly...
"Every 70-200mm f/2.8 lens out there is top shelf."
Every Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 might have been, but there were more than a few clunky and/or not up to snuff in optical terms third party 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses on the market.
One example of the former was the 2008 Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 Di Macro with that clunky push pull ring to engage/disengage manual focus and glacially slow AF. Tamron did join the *top shelf* club with their 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD in 2012. It was much better optically as well as much faster and accurate with autofocus.
One example of the latter was the 2005 Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG HSM. Its 1999 predecessor was even worse, and the 2007 and 2011 follow ups weren't much better. Sigma didn't really enter into the *top shelf* telephoto zoom lens space until their Global Vision series debuted with the | Sports series. The first 70-200mm f/2.8 | Sports did not appear in Sigma's lineup until 2018!
Upvote
0
Michael Clark
Now we see through a glass, darkly...
"The AFD focus motor was Canon's first autofocus motor when EF launched in 1987. The follow-up was in 1995 with the EF 70-200 f/2.8L USM and they have used various ultrasonic motors ever since."
It was 1995 before the very first 70-200/2.8 got a USM motor, but the EF 300mm f/2.8 L USM was introduced in 1987 as Canon's first lens with an UltraSonic AF motor. The EF 200mm f/1.8 L USM followed in 1988 and the EF 70-210mm f/3.5-4.5 USM appeared in 1990. Various other shorter focal length zoom and prime lenses as well as Super Telephoto primes also got USM in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Upvote
0
Michael Clark
Now we see through a glass, darkly...
"The Canon EF 80-200mm f/2.8L was released in 1989 and this was Canon's professional telephoto zoom for the photojournalists and sports shooters of the day."
Most PJs and sports shooters in the late 1980s and early 1990s were still shooting with primes. "Zoom" was still a dirty word which meant lower optical image quality to that crowd.
The USM Primes Canon offered between 1987 and into the very early 1990s, especially the EF 300mm f/2.8 L USM (1987) and the EOS 1 body (1989), are what convinced the vast majority of PJs and sports shooters to switch from Nikon, where their screw drive AF with the motor in the camera body was hopelessly slow for longer and wide aperture lenses with heavy focus groups, to Canon EOS. In the mid 1980s well over 75% of professionals using the 135 format used Nikon as their principal system (apart from China and the Soviet Bloc). By 1993 Canon had taken over the majority of that market and held it for 25+ years until 2020 when Sony decided to practically give their cameras to the AP for a fraction of retail price. Canon declined to offer similar discounts to keep the AP as a Canon shop. By the time Nikon began introducing their first Silent Wave lenses in 1995, the same year Canon introduced the EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L USM, it was already all over but the crying.
Most PJs and sports shooters in the late 1980s and early 1990s were still shooting with primes. "Zoom" was still a dirty word which meant lower optical image quality to that crowd.
The USM Primes Canon offered between 1987 and into the very early 1990s, especially the EF 300mm f/2.8 L USM (1987) and the EOS 1 body (1989), are what convinced the vast majority of PJs and sports shooters to switch from Nikon, where their screw drive AF with the motor in the camera body was hopelessly slow for longer and wide aperture lenses with heavy focus groups, to Canon EOS. In the mid 1980s well over 75% of professionals using the 135 format used Nikon as their principal system (apart from China and the Soviet Bloc). By 1993 Canon had taken over the majority of that market and held it for 25+ years until 2020 when Sony decided to practically give their cameras to the AP for a fraction of retail price. Canon declined to offer similar discounts to keep the AP as a Canon shop. By the time Nikon began introducing their first Silent Wave lenses in 1995, the same year Canon introduced the EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L USM, it was already all over but the crying.
Upvote
0
Similar threads
