Canon EF 70-200 mm f/4L IS USM
1. Introduction
Originally posted 2007-07-05 on Optyczne.pl
In August 2006, just before Canon announced a major new product, the
Internet forums for photographic professionals were speculating about
exactly what kind of equipment would be introduced. These people were
right that the 400D, the predecessor of the Canon EOS 350D, would be
introduced. But the gossip was mostly about what additional lenses
might be released and which among them would have the biggest chances
for success: the 50 mm f/1.2L, the 100-300 f/2.8L IS, or the 100-400
f/4L IS. Forum readers were right about the 400D, but the second one
was a big surprise for everybody: Canon decided to launch the classic
reporter 70-200 mm focal length range lens, even though Canon already
had three lenses with the same basic configuration. This time,
however, the lens was equipped with picture stabilization (IS) and an
aperture of f/4.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The previous 70-200 mm f/4L on the market wasn’t equipped with stabilization, and with a price of 580$ was one of the cheapest lenses in the L (Luxury) class. The 1250$ price tag, which was announced for the new model with stabilization, was a huge surprise. Now we have to pay about 1060$ for this lens. Is the additional 500$ just for the stabilization? Is the lens offering something else? We will try to answer these questions below.
