When one thinks of a zoom lens that hits 200mm, one probably thinks of a bulky and cumbersome lens. Not so in this case. The EF 70-200mm F4 with Image Stabilization is quite compact and lightweight. I walked around a bird refuge the first time I shot this lens, and I was never bothered by the length, weight, or girth.
The lens has a nice focal range for a walkaround lens, and the ends are capable. At 70mm, nice landscape photos are possible, although compressed. At 200mm, shooting wildlife is possible, providing you can get fairly close. In between, the lens has multiple uses, ranging from street photography to portraiture. The lens is a very good "do-it-all" performer.
Capturing subjects with the 70-200 is enhanced by the very good Image Stabilization unit. Canon claims at least three stops of IS, and the lens does not disappoint. I shot the lens at 1/250th second shutter and got crisp photos.
The pro lens has a minimum focus length of four feet, making it an extremely potent portrait lens. The focal range, constant f4 aperture, and beautiful blurred backgrounds make this lens one of Canon's best portrait lenses. The F4 also makes the lens a bit faster than most telephotos.
The mechanics and build quality are superb. The telephoto lengths are managed without any turning of any part of the lens. Zooming in and out is smooth and effortless. Manual focus is easy and fast, and ultra-smooth. IS buttons are firm, and the lens feels very strong in the hand. The four side positioned buttons are firm and offer minimum focus, AF/MF, IS, and Canon's dual stabilizer. The lens has no "plasticky" feel whatsoever.
The 70-200 glass produces sharp, crisp photos. The color and crispness allow this lens to be fired from even the simplest of DSLRs, the EOS Rebels. Even wide open at F4, photos are sharp and detailed. This lens has a crispness that outperforms most other lenses in its class.
The dual stabilizer is meant for two kinds of IS, one being for static subjects and the other for moving objects. The IS works very good and allows for handheld minimum shutter speeds that produce very nice photos.
Autofocus is extremely fast and accurate. Shooting this lens while anticipating shots, such as wildlife or street photography, is no problem, as the AF unit performs at a very high level. Photo sharpness is very good.
The lens has a Focus Range Indicator, which can be useful for zone-photography or manually focusing a subject whose exact distance is know. There is no Depth-of-Field Scale on the 70-200.
The lens produces some distortion at 70mm, but that is to be expected, and it very slight. Color fringing and vignetting are a non-issue. This lens produces great photos on both full-frame and crop sensor cameras, with little ill effects.
If I had to rate the Canon EF 70-200mm F4 IS USM L, I would say it is a solid four and a half stars out of five. The lens is lightweight for a telephoto, has awesome handling and build quality, and most importantly, the lens produces sharp images throughout the focal range and aperture range.
It is simply a very good lens.
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