Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM Telephoto Zoom Lens

Calling this a great lense for its...

Strengths: Excellent optics and build quality. Lighter and cheaper than many other high-end telephoto zoom lenses. No front rotating or extending lense elements. One of the best zoom lenses on the market.

Weakness: Lens hood can be a tad awkward, especially with filters. Extra controls for locking focus and zoom would be nice. Can be tricky to balance, and tripod colar not included.

Calling this a great lense for its price would be a bit unfair given that this lense can deliver higher quality images than many more expensive zoom and even many prime lenses. It's lighter and more compact than its F/2.8 sister lenses, has a closer focusing, and delivers comparable, if not better, image quality. For those who really need the wider aperture and/or IS, this isn't the right lens,...
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Calling this a great lense for its price would be a bit unfair given that this lense can deliver higher quality images than many more expensive zoom and even many prime lenses. It's lighter and more compact than its F/2.8 sister lenses, has a closer focusing, and delivers comparable, if not better, image quality. For those who really need the wider aperture and/or IS, this isn't the right lens, but for most people, the lighter weight alone makes this a more practical option, not to mention that it's the cheapest 'L' lens. After suffering through mediocre optics for a while, the image quality of this lens blew me away, and there's no looking back.

By beb74 - Dec 13, 2004

Canon 70-200mm F4

Strengths: Light weight, wonderful color, extremely sharp, excellent build quality

Weakness: For the price, none.

For less than $600, this is the best Canon telephoto zoom lens on the market. Picture quality is almost as good as primes. Autofocus is extremely fast and quiet. I have both this lens and its bigger brother 70-200mm F2.8 IS. I took some test shots on both lenses. From F5.6 and up, there is absolutely no difference in sharpness or color between 2 lenses. For people cannot decide among 3 different...
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For less than $600, this is the best Canon telephoto zoom lens on the market. Picture quality is almost as good as primes. Autofocus is extremely fast and quiet.

I have both this lens and its bigger brother 70-200mm F2.8 IS. I took some test shots on both lenses. From F5.6 and up, there is absolutely no difference in sharpness or color between 2 lenses.

For people cannot decide among 3 different versions F4, F2.8, F2.8 IS: Get the F2.8 IS if you have the budget, or F4 for its low price and light weight.

This is the least expensive L lens, but probably the best one to start your L glass collection.

By skywalker168 - Aug 26, 2005

Canon 70-200 f/4L - worth every penny

Strengths: Great color and sharpness, USM, lightweight compared to the f/2.8L, lens hood is included

Weakness: Tripod mount is expensive if you need it.

This lens has been an absolute pleasure on my Canon Rebel XT (350D) body. I find that I use it for wildlife and sports more than anything, as the 1.6x crop on my 350D makes the short end of this lens pretty long for most other shooting that I do. If you're looking to blend in with the crowd, you won't with this lens attached to your camera body, unless if you're with a crowd of fellow...
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This lens has been an absolute pleasure on my Canon Rebel XT (350D) body. I find that I use it for wildlife and sports more than anything, as the 1.6x crop on my 350D makes the short end of this lens pretty long for most other shooting that I do.

If you're looking to blend in with the crowd, you won't with this lens attached to your camera body, unless if you're with a crowd of fellow photographers. The white color and size of this lens compared to what most people are used to seeing will make you stand out. I don't mind this, as I find it amusing when people come up to me and ask which newspaper I'm shooting for, when I just take photos on my own as a hobby that I'm not paid for. Stealth isn't exactly a feature of this lens, unless if you camouflage it... :)

I don't think you can find a better lens in this focal range at the price they sell this for. This lens is a bargain for being a Canon "L" lens, along with it's great sharpness, color, and build quality. I highly recommend it. If you don't end up liking it, the resale value of used Canon "L" lenses is pretty high and consistent, so you'll get most of your money back if you decide to sell it (like after upgrading to a 70-200 f/2.8 IS :-) ).

By cakier - Aug 29, 2005

Top quality at a reasonable price....

Strengths: quality construction great optics

Top quality at a reasonable price. I use this with a Canon D60 EOS Digital camera and results are professional in quality. Would be nice to have image stabilization and a 2.8 vs a 4 but these come at a high cost. If you can live with F4 then this is the lens to buy in the 70-200mm range! With the 1.6 ratio of the D60 it turns into a 112-320mm lens.

By pjoy - Mar 31, 2004

I bought this len for my canon 20d...

Strengths: Very sharp. Fast focus. Quiet. Solid. Great value for the money.

Weakness: A little heavy, but reasonable considering its range

I bought this len for my canon 20d before leaving for a trip to Grand Circle. I have been very satisfied with its performance. It's not only good for Landscape but for portrait. The len has very solid construction, weight is reasonable and good reach. If you are looking for a good value for the money and very good performance, this is the len you want. Final note: the len does not have IS, but I...
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I bought this len for my canon 20d before leaving for a trip to Grand Circle. I have been very satisfied with its performance. It's not only good for Landscape but for portrait. The len has very solid construction, weight is reasonable and good reach. If you are looking for a good value for the money and very good performance, this is the len you want. Final note: the len does not have IS, but I can leave without it.

By twhan - Feb 1, 2005