Note: This is not a technical review. Just some food for thought.
When it comes to choosing a 70-200mm lens, Canon shooters have two IS (Image Stabilization) choices:
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 (over $2,000) and Canon 70-200mm f/4 (around $1,000). Both lenses are super sharp and offer fast focusing.
The f/2.8 lens is more expensive, heavier and takes up more room in a camera bag than the f/4 lens. If you shoot indoors and in low light, the f/2.8 lens is a good choice because you can shoot at a lower ISO and faster shutter speed. What's more, you can add a Canon 1.4x converter (my converter of choice) and still have low-light shooting flexibility.
However, f/4 shooters don't really need to worry about shooting at a slightly higher ISO settings because they can reduce the noise in Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw and with plug-ins like Topaz DeNoise.
The f/2.8 lens beautifully blurs the background when set at f/2.8. However, f/4 shooters can blur the background using plug-ins like Focus Pro 2.
All my plug-ins are listed on my Save on Plug-ins Courses page.
I have both lenses. The image above was taken with the f/4 – my current favorite 70-200mm lens. Check out the sharpness of the eagle's eye.
I took this photograph of a very cool looking dude in a train station in India with an older 70-200 f/2.8 lens - when I was shooting film!
I am waiting for a photo op to use the newer 70-200mm f/2.8, as 90 percent of my shooting is done outdoors. :-)
All my gear is listed here.
Explore the light,
Rick
