Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM Telephoto Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

Interestingly, the price has crept up a bit on this lens in the last few months. It's value must be becoming more apparent to more folks. Nice to have bought before it went up instead of vice versa.

Nevertheless, this is the most reasonably priced of the Canon L Primes & is a perfect one to start out with, if you don't own any yet. This lens is tack sharp, has very true, very vibrant color and high contrast. In all these areas, it is probably just shy of the 135mm, 85mm and 50mm lenses, but this is a discerning eye speaking, and these are subtle (although modestly notable differences). The difference between this and an ordinary Canon lens will be much greater.

As a side note - if you already own either or both the teleconverters (1.4x and 2x), they work very well with this lens. It maintains AF with both, due to it's speed. And this is a small light lens, considering the focal length. With a 2x it becomes a 400mm f/5.6, yet it is much lighter, narrower, and more portable than any comparable variation (the 100-400mm L, or any of the 400mm L primes, of which there are two, plus a non-L DO prime that looks like an L, and might fool you). If you intend to shoot all the way out at 400mm mostly, this is probably the cheapest method, and the quality loss is less with the 2x on this lens than with many/most others.

Whatever your choice, this is probably the most reasonable L value on the market and is a very smart buy if you wish to see what all the fuss is about.

And Yes, the fuss is warranted. L's are that good.

This is a 5 star lens. If you want a lens much smaller that the 70-200 2.8L and 70-200 F4L but want the quality the 200 F2.8L is the way to go. I purchased the 70-200 F4 and found it just a little to big. The 200 2.8 is perfect.I have also gotton excellent bokeh with this lens.
Pic here to see bokeh photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=2820979
If you are looking for an all in one lens go buy a 28-300 zoom. This is not that lens.

I love this lens. I've already been shooting with it and have only had it for one day. So far, it meets/exceeds my expectations. I got it at a great price. So far, so good.

This lens is Canon's biggest bargain and a rather well kept secret. The 200 f2.8 L lens is an amazing value and has the "red ring", Canon's professional rating. One shoot will convince you of it's value.
Photos taken with this lens are extremely sharp, with colors rich and deep; it takes the 1.4x teleconverter well, adding range. The lens takes sharpening extremely well. I find it easy to handhold, and rarely use my tripod. In comparison, the Canon 70-200 f2.8 was simply impossible for me to use without a tripod; it's size and weight defeated me regardless of the IS. A direct comparison of shots between the smaller 200 f2.8 and the large 70-200 showed the prime in my case to always be superior.
Although the zoom lens are a convenience I personally find I am always at the long end of the telephoto within the 70-200 range. I own 9 Canon lens, owned the 70-200 f2.8 IS L and sold it, keeping this lens in its place. The advantages are many - I find it much sharper, easier to handhold than the white lens at 200, it is possible to take it to affairs where they will not allow the big white lens, and much, much, MUCH less conspicuous. My husband uses the camera on autofocus only, and his shots are outstanding with this lens. He is an artist and has a great eye; matched with this lens he gets what he wants.
The price is outstanding for such high quality;this amazing lens is a genuine bargain in today's camera world. Let's hope that Canon doesn't wise up and price this according to it's quality. Have owned it for several years, definitely a keeper. Buy it - you will not regret it.

amazing lens.. great sharpness, great contrast rich color.. and fast, the USM performs quickly, silently and quite accurate.. considering the alternative this one is a nice package

sharpness is great at f/2.8 and outstanding at f/4 and above. i would like to point out that even at f/2.8 applying unsharp-mask easily increase the sharpness a great deal..this lenses handle post processing better than my other lenses.. i rarely stop down to get sharper results, but rather aim for shutter speed and depth of field which is very shallow at f/2.8 (thats a good thing)..

comparing it with the 70-200mm zooms the decision is not easy.
here are some points that might help you make your decision..

1) this lens is as sharp if not sharper than the 70-200 zooms which are notorious for their excellant performance

2) are you planning on using teleconverters ( 2x, 1.4x ).. primes generally suffer less with teleconverters.. and losing a stop will not slow down the f/2.8 much

3) this lens is perfect for street photography and moderate wildlife, while lacks the versitality of a zoom, it certainly is more compact and less obvious

4) if you need f/2.8 at almost half the price of a zoom..
f/2.8 is fast and the depth of field at 200mm f/2.8 is very nice and very shallow. missing the focus plane by a few millimeters can throw your subjuct out of focus. background blur is smooth and beatifull at this focal length