Dave Collett , Jun 29, 2009; 11:15 a.m.
What kind of subject makes you reach for your 70-200?
As I understand it, in general terms, a landscape or architectural photographer would want a wider angle and a wildlife or an airshow photographer would choose the 100-400 or longer. So what niche does the 70-200 fill? Weddings and portraits? Street photography? Anything and everything?
The reason I’m asking, of course, is that I’m shopping for a new lens. I have a 40D and a 24-105 f/4 L and I’d like to add a longer telephoto to my kit. I travel for a living, so size and weight are an issue, and I shoot lots of different subjects, including aerial photography like below. That airplane was fairly close, but I still had to throw away a lot of pixels to make the image a decent size even when shooting a crop sensor camera at 105mm. I’m attracted to the quality and sterling reputation of the 70-200 series, but wondering if the 70-300 would be a better choice. I wouldn’t mind being a rich and famous photographer, so a good quality lens is important in case I happen to see a UFO or Elvis or the next cover of National Geographic.
Your thoughts would be very helpful. What makes you pull out your 70-200 instead of one of the other lenses in your bag?
Many thanks.
Cheers,
Dave
Air Tahiti Nui
Alan Bryant , Jun 29, 2009; 11:42 a.m.
I bought mine for shooting live theater (70-200/2.8 IS). It does this very well. I'd use a 100-400 if it were fast enough, but I really need f/2.8.
I've found the 70-200 to be spectactular for portraits. I've taken it on hikes, and it's good at nature (I don't generally shoot wildlife), though rather heavy to carry around for hours. The size and white finish make it a tough lens for candids, which is too bad because it does excel in that capacity after people start ignoring it.
I've mostly used it full frame, but recently I shot some crop frame with a 1.4x extender, and that's a lot of fun. I've never really done much telephoto, so it's a new world for me.
Ed Rodgers , Jun 29, 2009; 11:46 a.m.
It's very commonly used as a portrait lens in order to compress depth, and to blur out the background.
I've also used it very frequently at weddings. It's a great "down the aisle" close-up lens. It's versitile enough up close as well.
Aaron Hockley , Jun 29, 2009; 12:01 p.m.
Events. Conferences, weddings, parties, etc.
Richard Crowe , Jun 29, 2009; 12:12 p.m.
I carry my 70-200mm f/4L IS lens everywhere as half of a two-lens travel and general photography combination along with the 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens. The f/4L IS lens is light enough to carry all day without fatigue. That is why I opted for the f4L IS over the f/2.8L (series) lens. I can carry the 70-200mm f/4L IS lens AND an extra 1.6x camera at the same weight (and price) of the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens,
I use it for; portraits, isolating portions of subjects, compressing distances and many, many other uses. It is an f/4, 112-320mm equivalent lens which I can with IS assistance, easily hand-hold. It also accepts a 1.4x TC which transforms this lens into a 448mm f/5.6 equivalent with very good IQ and AF while still retaining the IS capability.
That adds up to a LOT OF CAPABILITY at a relatively small weight.
Ed V. , Jun 29, 2009; 12:26 p.m.
70-200 f/2.8 non-IS for indoor sports.
John Vanacore 
, Jun 29, 2009; 12:27 p.m.
Sports, theater, candids.
The 70-200 is IMHO the most useful lens that is available.
Nathan Meador , Jun 29, 2009; 12:29 p.m.
The 2.8 version is frequently used for indoor/outdoor sports where low-light is an issue. Also for weddings and portraits, as noted above.
Tommy DiGiovanni , Jun 29, 2009; 12:35 p.m.
I rarely use mine ( 2.8 non is version ) but when I do I am always very impressed. I prefer smaller lighter gear but this lens is my 1 exception. I used it for travel for the first time and the size and weight really did not bother me.
You can get some good reviews of all the lenses here.
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/
Philip Wilson 
, Jun 29, 2009; 12:53 p.m.
The 70-200 / 80-200 / 70 - 210 has been a standard zoom length since they were invented and works best on full frame bodies. It covers the range from mild telephoto (suitable for portraits) up to a reasonable general purpose telephoto. It is designed for hand held shooting. Longer focal lengths tend to need a tripod or at least a monopod for best results. The other advantage of this range is that it is possible to build fast lenses - I shoot the 70-200 F2.8. On an APS-C camera this lens becomes an effective 112 - 320mm lens. The 70 -300 is effectively a 112 to 480 on your camera. While long focal lengths are tempting in general a constant aperture (and usually faster) zoom is better quality. Canon makes two 70-300mm lenses one uses Diffractive optics and I beleive it produces higher quality results than the regular 70-300 although I have not used it. Both of these zooms are faily slow (F4 to F5.6) which reduces shutter speeds and prevents shallow DOF effects such as in portraits.
In answer to your question on what makes me take my 70-200 F2.8 the answer is:
Image quality and versatility. I rarely see the need for a lens above 200mm so the 70-200 is the lens I carry around for just in case shots. When I am shooting longer lenses I am usually shooting sports and use a 300 F2.8 occasionally with a 1.4x TC. This is a big, expensive lens and not suited to general use - it is however the fastest focusing Canon lens I own.
Once you go beyond 200mm your choice is limited. You can either shoot slow, fairly poor IQ zooms or primes. The primes are futher split into two catagories - relatively slow, cheaper and more portable (e.g. 300 f4, 400 f5.6) or faster very heavy expensive primes (e.g. 300 f2.8, 400 f2.8). Either class of primes delivers much better image quality than the zooms. The 100-400 zomm is not in the same league as the 400 F5.6 prime. The other thing to remember is that AF tends to be worse with slow lenses. Most Canon bodies have sensore that are faster and more accurate than with lenses of F2.8 or faster. Most Canon AF systems have a maximum capability of F5.6 and work slower with these lenses. Some 1 series bodies can work in a limited way with F8 lenses.
