Man, today was all about putting this Canon 70-200 f/2.8 II beast through its paces. Heard so much hype about it, finally pulled the trigger. Time to see what it can really do in my hands.
First Impressions & Setup
Box felt hefty right outta the gate. Pulled the lens out and yeah, this thing is solid metal and glass – no cheap plastic junk here. Mounted it on my trusty 5D Mark IV – clicked right into place, smooth connection. Felt that familiar chunk. Immediately noticed the weight though; this ain’t no lightweight hiking buddy. My wrist got the memo.
Flipped it to f/2.8 straight away, because why wouldn’t you? That’s the whole point, right? Checked the IS switch – turned Image Stabilization to “On” and Mode 1. Didn’t mess with the focus limiters yet. Pointed it out the window at my neighbor’s gnarly tree. Half-pressed the shutter… bam. Autofocus snapped onto a leaf so fast it startled me. Like, instantaneous. This USM motor isn’t messing around. Spun the zoom ring – smooth, but definitely tight. It felt deliberate.
Getting My Hands Dirty (Literally)
Grabbed my keys and headed down to the overgrown field behind the apartments. Wanted something messy, with light and shade mixing it up.
- Sharpness Test: Found some spiky weeds. Knelt down (careful with this expensive tube!). Framed one against a cluttered background. Fired off shots wide open at f/2.8. Zoomed in on the LCD later – holy smokes. Every tiny fuzz on the seed head was crisp. The background blur thing? Creamy. Like melted butter smooth.
- Bokeh Hustle: Spotted some rusty chain link fencing way in the distance. Stuffed some dandelion fluff close to the front glass and focused past it. That f/2.8 aperture melted the chain links into this beautiful, soft, golden blob. Textbook separation right there. This lens can definitely do that “subject pops” trick.
- Low Light Fumble: Sun started diving. Found this old, faded playground sign under some trees. It was getting dim. Pushed the ISO up way higher than I usually dare. Handheld at 200mm, even without extra support. Held my breath, squeezed the shutter. Checked – the sign was sharp! The IS was working overtime. Would have been impossible with my old kit zoom. This IS system really is magic.
Things That Bit Back
Gotta be real, it ain’t perfect. Carrying this sucker around? My neck knew about it after an hour. Like lugging a small cannon. Trying quick pans on a flitting bird? Forget it. Too much heft for snappy moves. And that big front element sucks in dust like it’s dessert. Had the lens hood on, still ended up wiping the glass down twice. Costs more than some used cars. Found a scratch on the tripod collar (nearly cried) – probably scraped a rock when I knelt down. My fault, but still hurts.
Final Take
Spent the whole afternoon wrestling with it, sweating, crouching, lugging it around. Totally worth the backache. That combination of insane sharpness wide open, the dreamy background blur, and the scary-good IS for shaky hands like mine… it delivers. It feels like a serious tool. Heavy? Hell yes. Expensive? Absolutely. But for when you absolutely need killer image quality and that fast glass advantage, especially grabbing shots where the light is fading? Nothing in my bag beats it. Gonna sleep with the ice pack tonight, but the shots are fire.
