Hands on

Gary Wolstenholme takes a look at how this compact telephoto zoom lens performs. Canon's EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM costs around ￡800 and has an Image Stabiliser, silent Ultrasonic focusing with full time manual override and is sealed against dust and moisture.

Excellent optical quality; Superb build quality; Very effective image stabilisation; Fast to focus; Sealed against weather and dust; Light weight

Sometime miss-focuses near minimum focus distance

The Canon EF 70-200mm f4 IS USM L lens is a professional grade 70-200mm lens without the size and heft, as well as price, as found in f2.8 versions.

Professional grade build quality, including dust and moisture sealing; four stops of image stabilization system; relatively lightweight

The tripod collar is optional; relatively expensive

The EF50/1.2L is a totally new optical design (there was an old FD 50/1.2L) and uses a molded aspheric rear element (the 50/1.0L used two very expensive ground and polished aspherics). It has a true ring type USM motor and a high speed CPU for fast focus.

The lens focuses very fast with almost no noise. The IS function is a nice touch, but I am not sure how practical it really is. Having upgraded from an entry level lens, this lens is much heavier. Images are sharp with great color.

Consistent Output; Easily Interchangeable; Easy To Clean; Sharp Focus; Strong Construction

Slightly Heavy

Take one of Canon's most popular lenses, the Canon 70-200mm f/4 L , add an up-to-4-stop Image Stabilizer and you get the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM Lens. If you don't need the subject-action-stopping and background-blurring capabilities of the faster Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS Lens , this lens...