| Field-test of the Canon EF 70-210mm
f/3.5-4.5 USM zoom lens. Long before the popular EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM made its debut in Spring '95, there were two other Canon EF zoom lenses having focal lengths of similar range. One was discontinued (EF 70-210mm f/4 AFD) and the other is the Canon EF 70-210mm f/3.5-4.5 USM, which is still available brand new from many dealers in most parts of the Asian and European markets. This EF 70-210mm f/3.5-4.5 USM zoom is part of the trio that comprises the EF 35-135mm f/4-5.6 USM and EF 100-300mm f/4.5-5.6 USM lenses, launched in conjunction with the Canon EOS 10 (EOS 10s in North America) in Spring 1990. The introduction of this trio of zoom lenses also marks the first time that second-generation of Canon's Ring USM which uses Full-time Manual (FT-M) focusing is being offered to EOS users. Like its two siblings, the EF 70-210mm f/3.5-4.5 USM uses a 58mm filter thread and similar zooming and focusing rings in addition to the appearance (their only differerence is the overall lengths). However, it is also the fastest of the trio with its maximum variable apertures of f/3.5 (70mm) to f/4.5 (210mm) and the heaviest with a dry weight of 550 grams vs. 540 grams for the EF 100-300mm f/4.5-5.6 USM.
Focusing is fast and silent due to the use of USM for AF. Users are, however, limited only by its slower maximum aperture of f/4.5 at the 210mm end when shooting in low light conditions with ISO 100 or slower emulsion. In fact, in many cases where the shooting conditions are under the shades caused by tall buildings, large trees or simply the sun being hidden by the clouds, it can be a problem trying to get handhold-able shutter speeds at the 210mm focal length with the zoom lens' f/4.5 maximum aperture. With the Canon EOS-1, EOS-1N/1N RS cameras, focusing can be even trickier when the center AF point with Cross Sensor is being used alone as it is only sensitive to lenses with f/2.8 maximum aperture, causing these models to hunt when the subject matters are of low contrasts. When these cameras' 5 AF-point activates, the focusing speed is greatly improved as the outer four sensors are capable of autofocus with lenses having a maximum aperture of f/5.6! Surprisingly, the newer EOS-3 and EOS-1v models as well as the entry-level EOS 300 (EOS Rebel 2000) camera are able to focus accurately and faster with the EF 70-210mm zoom lens as compared to the previous EOS-1 series. << Back to Main . 1 . 2 . 3 . |
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