Lens review

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM

6. Distortion

The 2.86x zoom varifocal lens shouldn’t show too many defects at the edges of the frame. There is nothing to complain about the Canon 70-200 f/4L IS in this category. At any focal length the distortion is very small and almost unnoticeable. At 70 mm we measured a minimal barrel distortion of -0.48%. At 135 mm it becomes pincushion distortion of 0.50%. There is a slight increase when increasing the focal length and at 200 mm the distortion value is 0.76%. We would like to add that those values (with 0.02% accuracy) are the same as in the non-stabilization model, which proves the lens’s good quality and the consistency of our test methods.

A very interesting behavior appears when we attach the converter. The distortion decreases to -0.06%.