Canon 70-200mm f/4L USM EF Review Round-Up

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Get information and user reviews for this lens at Amazon: Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

Photo Zone:

The Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 USM L is a very harmonic package combining exceptional build quality with an excellent and very even optical performance throughout the range. Adding an EF 1.4x II only results is a slight loss of quality which is remarkable for such a slow speed zoom. And even better the price tag of this lens is amazingly low for what it offers … or to be precise: what it can offer. Unfortunately the quality of the two tested samples varied quite a bit which is a little disappointing especially regarding the L designation. So if you can get a good one the EF 70-200mm f/4 USM L can be highly recommended! READ FULL REVIEW

Other Canon 70-200mm f/4L USM EF Reviews

SLR Gear

When we ran it through its paces we were quite surprised to find just how good it actually was. We try to be cautious in our use of superlatives, but by any measure, this is a great lens; in our opinion, one of the best Canon makes and a bargain even at its not-inconsiderable price. On a sub-frame camera like our 20D testbed, the Canon 70-200mm f/4L delivers outstanding performance across its full focal length range, and at all apertures from wide open up to about f/16 or so. Wide open, it’s sharp from corner to corner from 70-135mm, showing only a little softness in the corners at 200mm. Chromatic aberration is impressively low at all focal lengths, but is exceptionally so from 135mm on. Bottom line, this is simply an excellent lens, one that we can wholeheartedly recommend to any Canon owner interested in its focal length range. Widely available online for less than $600, it’s also a genuine bargain. READ FULL REVIEW

Photo Review

Another member of Canon’s f4 zoom lens suite, the EF 70-200mm f/4L USM combines a relatively compact size with light weight when you consider the amount if glass it contains. Consisting of 16 elements in 13 groups, this lens has two ultra-low-dispersion (UD) elements plus a low-dispersion fluorite element to minimise chromatic aberration. READ FULL REVIEW

Digital Picture

The Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L USM Lens is arguably Canon’s best value “L” Lens combining professional grade build and optical qualities. Though solidly built, the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L USM Lens is relatively light (25 oz / 705g). Actually it is very light and small compared to the much more substantial Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8 L Lens or the Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8 L IS Lens. This lens is not a burden to carry for long periods of time but has a high quality, solid feel. This lens is very sharp wide open and improves only slightly when stopped down – and primarily in the corners at the wide end of the focal length range. The Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L USM Lens focuses very fast, very quietly and very accurately thanks to Canon’s excellent Ring USM (Ultrasonic Motor). FTM (Full Time Manual) focusing is enabled. The 70-200 f/4 L is a great value and a highly recommended lens. READ FULL REVIEW

Ken Rockwell

The 70-200mm f/4 L is an easy lens to love. It just works. This is a high quality, fast focusing tele zoom. Get it if you want a budget price for a super quality optic and can survive without IS or f/2.8. This is an ideal lens for daytime sports because you don’t need IS (Image Stabilization) or the f/2.8 speed of Canon’s other 70-200mm lenses, and this one retains the super-fast focusing and excellent image quality you do need. READ FULL REVIEW

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