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Canon 200mm f/2.8L II review
Ongoing (started March 20, 2006)
I recently traded my 70-200 f/4 for the 200mm prime. My reasoning was that since Kim has a good zoom (the 70-300 DO) and since I am usually at 200mm on my 70-200 I can use her zoom when I need the flexibility of a zoom, and trade my 70-200 for a fast prime. I also wanted a lens that was smaller and wasn't white as to be a little bit more inconspicous.
First Impressions
Naturally the build quality is fantastic, absolutely top notch as it should be considering it is an L prime. The lens weighs the same as the 70-200 and I immediately noticed the fact it was about an inch and a half shorter. The large front element (filter size 72mm) also stands out. The AF was also extremely fast.
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| The 200 f/2.8L II mounted on a 20D |
Tests
All tests were performed with:
- Canon 20D mounted on a tripod with MLU and remote cable
- ISO 100, RAW, WB: 2850
Some cropping was performed, but no other photoshopping was done.
Sharpness
The first tests I performed were sharpness tests. All are 100% crops.
Click on the image for full size images.
Another sharpnes test.
What can I say? This lens is sharp, probably one of the sharpest lenses I have ever seen. You can also see that the sharpness is only slightly worse wide open than at f/4 with no difference between f/4 and f/8; as to be expected we hit diffraction issues at f/22. Truly amazing. The focus point in the first was set to center, which covers exactly the letters 'wo' in 'clockwork', so the f/2.8 shot you should focus only on that plane, since the DOF will be narrow. In the second series the focus point is at exactly the center of the image. Based on these results, I would have no hesitation to use this lens wide open.
Bokeh
One of the advantages of a faster aperture is the shallow DOF that goes with it. It allows you to isolate subjects nicely. On a full frame camera like the 5D, this lens would also be quite suitable for slightly longer range portraits (which is eventually one of my intents with this lens). However, just having a shallow depth of field isn't enough, there is a quality to how those areas are 'rendered'. Some will tell you of the almost 'magical' buttery smooth bokeh of the Canon 85mm f/1.2L. So I wanted to see the differences in DOF and the bokeh quality with this lens.
Depth of field. Click on the image for a larger version.
I find it interesting that even in the case of a non-circular highlight, wide open the lens renders it circular. I find the bokeh produced with this lens is better than the bokeh produced by the 70-200 f/4L and quite like it. The out of focus areas are very smooth and pleasing to the eye. I think portraits will definitely pop with this lens.
Conclusions
I have no regrets so far with my trade. This is a fantastic lens, and I can't wait to use it to actually take some real pictures. In my opinion this lens is worth the price. My only issue with this lens is the lack of IS, IS at 200mm would be extremely useful.
| Good |
Bad |
- Construction
- Incredibly sharp
- Beautiful bokeh
- Great colors and color saturation
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