Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Which 70-200mm lens should I buy?


My camera body is the Canon 7D.  I own these lenses right now:
  • Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8
  • Canon EF-S 18-55mm IS
  • Tokina 35mm DX Macro
  • Canon EF 50mm f/1.4
  • Canon EF-S 55-250mm IS

I am going to sell the 55-250 EF-S on eBay to help fund this purchase. 

Options


Here are the options for the 70-200's on the market (not including old lenses that aren't produced any more, or crazy adapters):

Canon
EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM
$      1,299
Canon
EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM II
$      2,199
Canon
EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
$      2,000
Canon
EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM
$      1,149
Canon
EF 70-200mm f/4L USM
$         674
Tamron
AF 70-200mm f/2.8 Di LD [IF] VC MACRO              
$         1499
Sigma
70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG APO OS HSM
$         1399

IMHO, there is no particular reason to consider the 3rd party lenses for this purchase.  So it comes down to three choices (eliminating the f/2.8 IS ones because they are too expensive for me right now):

Canon
EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM
$      1,299
Old but excellent
Canon
EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM
$      1,149
New model
Canon
EF 70-200mm f/4L USM
$         674
Old, but excellent

IS or Extra Aperture?


First,  I never use my two IS lenses anymore.  (The actual reason I don’t use them is because they are not nearly as good as my prime lenses (I consider my 11-16mm as a prime).)  I don’t miss the IS on any of my lenses.  I generally beat the non-IS-ness of my primes by taking 3 or 4 pix in rapid fire, and then eliminate the shaky ones.  Sometimes I get 3 or 4 good ones; sometimes I get none; usually I get one.

I image using the 70-200 for low-light, action photography, like on the sidelines of a high school football game this fall.  So, for this situation, IS will be helpful (but so would an extra stop of aperture).


Pros and Cons


From what I know, the new f/2.8L II gets absolutely rave reviews, including a “four-stop” image stabilizer.  The new f/4L IS also touts four-stop stabilization, but I have not seen a specific review of this one yet.  All of the lenses Canon has introduced in the last year or so have been through-the-roof sharp, so I believe the new f/4L IS will be, too.   

Pros and cons, assuming same price and same IQ:

Canon
EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM
Wider aperture
Canon
EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM
Lighter, IS, newer design

My son owns the first one, and I have used it to create some GREAT pix!  For example:



Preliminary Conclusion

At this moment I am leaning towards the f/4L IS.  I need to find an opportunity to rent it.

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