| Field-test of the Canon EF 200mm
f/2.8L II USM lens. High performance Canon L-series EF zoom lenses with large maximum apertures are convenient and very versatile to use nowadays as compared with single focal length versions. But there is always a market for single focal length lenses despite the convenience of such zoom lenses. That is why one can still find such a generous range of high performance L-series single focal length lenses in the Canon EOS/EF line-up like the EF 24mm f/1.4L USM, EF 35mm f/1.4L USM, EF 50mm f/1.0L Sum, EF 85mm f/1.2L USM, EF 135mm f/2.0L USM, EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM and EF 400mm f/5.6L USM. The four IS USM super telephotos as well as the EF 200mm f/1.8L USM and EF 1200mm f/5.6L USM are in a different class than these as each of them costs more than either an EOS-1V HS or EOS D30 digital SLR. This EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM, as its designation already suggested, is the second version in the EF line-up. The first one came with a built-in hood and no option for a removable tripod collar. The current version did away with the built-in hood and can be fitted with a tripod collar, which is optional. It is the same collar that was used in the discontinued EF 80-200mm f/2.8L AFD zoom lens. Lens hood is also optional. It has a filter thread of 72mm and a dry weight of only 765 grams, which is lighter than the EF 28-70mm f/2.8L USM by 115 grams and the EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM by 545 grams. It also has the same closest focusing distance as the EF 70-200mm f4L/2.8L USM zoom lenses, which is at 1.5m/5 ft. Its overall length is slightly longer than the EF 28-70mm f/2.8L USM but shorter than either EF 70-200L lenses.
Canon did not offer EOS users an f/2.8 200mm telephoto lens until the first quarter of the '90s. This was due to the EF 80-200mm f/2.8L AFD zoom lens being a best-selling item in the EF line-up and although some users did request very early for an alternative to the EF 200mm f/1.8L USM version, it did not come into the market until much later. The 200mm f/2.8 designation from Canon has been around since the manual focus original version in the early '70s to the New FD 200mm f/2.8 type w/Rear-group focusing offered during the mid-80s. Unlike the EF lens, both FD versions incorporated only elements having low-refractive characteristics to correct chromatic aberrations. The EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM uses two UD elements in its 9-element/7-group construction to earn its L-series designation. << Back to Main . 1 . 2 . 3 . |
||||||||||||||
