CANON EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM

Let me introduce you to the lens that brought to light my understanding of what “L” quality means, “The Canon 200mm F/2.8 Prime”. What a beauty this is. It is fast, accurate, light and sharp as a laser.

I was contracted to shoot a Major League Baseball Game and I needed a lens that would do the job. I had recently been on vacation and was shooting a Minor League Game from the stands for fun about a month before this life changing meeting. Their photographer was there to shoot as well. Well, me not being a stranger to anybody, introduced myself and asked a few questions. The lights here were not great but he gave me some pointers and advised me that to shoot the game at night I would have to have a 2.8 lens and I would probably have to shoot at 800ISO as well. The whole meeting and Q&A session lasted probably no more than 10 minutes tops.

OK, I needed a 2.8 lens on a shoe string budget to get the job done. After looking at them all I settled on the Canon 200mm f/2.8 prime. Mainly it was because of the price. I really had no idea what I was in for. After the first game was shot I was left with my jaw almost dragging the ground. I could not believe I took those images. I kept calling to my wife, “Hey come here and look at this!”

Was it the perfect lens for this type of shooting? Not really. On some shots it was more lens than I needed while on other shots it was more. Bottom line was I got the shots I wanted. Over the next month or so I played with it endlessly.

Although this is a long range at 320mm on the 1.6 crop body you can find quite a lot of surprising shots at this range: Candid’s, head shots, half body and full body from a distance. It is a great secret lens that will let you take pictures of hard to photo subjects from a distance and just let them be themselves.

As far as sharpness goes this is one of the best I’ve seen and on course with the famed 135mm f/2. I knew I was in trouble when I started to analyze each shot and I found I could tell you what time their watch says. Every line wrinkle and detail explodes with this lens.

“Highly Recommended.”

But, beware if this is your first “L” quality lens you will never be happy with less as far as sharpness and detail are concerned.

CANON 28-135mm IS REVIEW

This lens is one of the lenses I both love and hate. Finally the hate grew greater and I sold it.

It is a good lens and can produce some very fine images. It can also be a frustration and capture about as many stinkers. This is my take on the lens and why.

It is f/3.5-5.6 and does have image stabilization. It can be used for a wide range of situations from wide angle landscape to portrait work. It also has USM for supposed faster focusing.

What I have found that it will focus fast but only in heavy sun. When in the shadows it will tend to hunt. In low light it is unbearable. Can you shoot in any situation? Yes. Can you make this lens work for you? Yes. Is it sharp? Sometimes.

Popular Photography has done a review on this lens that can be found here. Unfortunately it was well after I had the lens. The summary chart pretty much tells the story of what I found. It was pretty good up to about an 8x10 print.

I had originally got an DSLR because the point and shoots could not compete with the instant focusing during school plays and performances. But, I also wanted a lens that would have versatile range and cover most situations I would be in. With the increased ISO I should be able to achieve a good image. There was my flaw. I soon realized that I was a pixel peeper. I had moved up to the DSLR because of preformance and quality. Little did I realize at the time the quality was held in the glass more than the camera it was attached to.

If you are looking for a walk around lens and are not a pixel peeper like me, I would suspect most people would be happy with this lens. However if you are considering this lens check out the new lines of Tamron's (3 Lenses) that range from 18-300, one has IS and the specs sheets and test that I have read confirms that they are equal to if not better on the IQ than the 28-135.

AF28-75mm F/2.8 XR Di LD Review

I for one understand that quality means “L” when shooting with a Canon Camera. Usually the image that is acquired by an “L” lens is head and shoulders above the pack in terms of sharpness, speed and build quality. I say usually because there are some standouts in the third party market and today I want to give you my opinion on one of those lenses.


The Tamron AF28-75mm F/2.8 XR Di LD.






I am an avid sports shooter and require the need for a f/2.8 or faster lens for most of my shooting. I have been happy with my 70-200 f/2.8 as well as my first L lens purchase the 200 f/2.8 prime. Speed, clarity, construction and results spoke for themselves in the images that were taken with them. So, when I needed a short lens for indoor use I turned to the Canon 24-70L. I purchased the lens for a photo shoot at a local gymnastics school. Due to the dimness of the lights and no windows the lens did not hold up to the stop action speed that was needed. I was able to adapt with the 70-200 and got the job done but it left me scratching my head at the $1300 purchase.

Back to the computer I went, searching all other 2.8 glass with the same relative focal length. I ran across the Tamron 28-75mm and it really had mixed reviews. Some loved it and theirs were tack sharp, while others claimed it was useless.

One review stuck out among the hundreds I had poured over, it stated that the owner was really happy with the lens. In fact like a lot of forums and reviews we read he stated that, “I must have got a good copy.” Ok, that’s not the part that stands out. It was the reply to his post which stated very lengthy that it is about 1 in 10 of these lenses that are stand outs and that they are tack sharp. The same person also stated that about 1-3 Canon lenses are “The One”.

Off I went with this new information to get my lens. To test the theory I shopped locally where I could test the lenses there. I drove around Atlanta for two days and was in at least 5 stores many of which had only one copy. I tested each one at 28, 50 and 75mm at 2.8. None of which were any sharper than the 28-135IS that I normally use and most were softer on at least one of those focal lengths.

Yes, I do understand that that you are going to give up some quality with a zoom, and I know that you are not going to have tack sharpness at all lengths most of the time. But, remember I am looking for that “1” lens that will knock my socks off.

I ended up at a store in Atlanta that had several copies of the lens available. After testing the first two I was getting really down. The store had 3 more left and I almost said, “just forget it” when the sales lady talked me into trying the others since I was there already. I place the third copy of the camera; which by the way was number 8 tried so far.

The heavens parted and the sun shown almost right on the counter itself. “A perfect copy.” I ran through the test twice more at different signage around the store. With a smile I bought it. While standing there I noticed the other two on the counter and suddenly remembered the 1 in 10 quote from the forum.

Most all of my studio work is done exclusively with this lens. It is also my walk around vacation lens as well. At $400 for the Tamron, I saved $900 and matched the speed and image quality of the 24-70L.

I’m happy

wcandersons.com