Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras Description and Reviews.

Amazon.com Product Description
The compact optical system of the Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L USM makes it a lightweight telephoto zoom lens. Its inner focusing ring and USM focus drive give it high speed, yet silent, autofocusing capabilities. The fluorite and super UD elements in the lens construction give you high image quality across all its focal lengths, and the nonrotating front lens makes it easy to use polarizing filters.

Product Description
This high performance L-series telephoto zoom lens ensures excellent image quality for every photographic situation and milieu. Filter Diameter - 67mm Lens Construction - 16 elements in 13 groups Minimum Aperture - f/32 Focus Drive - Ultrasonic 76mm x 172mm 705g

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Product Reviews:

Canon "L" is for LOVE, April 5, 2006
Reviewer: Conway Liao "Conway L."

I've always heard great things about Canon L series lenses. Some say it means "luxury". I really think it means love. Once you touch and use a Canon "L" lense, there seriously is no turning back. The sharpness, colour, contrast is unparallel. It stacks up to my Carl Zeiss lense on my other camera. The only thing I could ask for is a lower price for the 70-200 F/2.8 L IS USM lense. I'll be looking to upgrade to a faster lense sometime in the near future.
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Sharp Lens, April 5, 2006
Reviewer: S. Lin

Re Lens - This is a great telephoto lens. This was my first L lens from canon. I took it out and took some test shots w/my digital rebel XT and found the images to be very sharp and had great color. Excellent lens for body portraits, environmental shots and action. I would highly recommend this lens.

Re Amazon - I ordered this item on 3/25/06 on a saturday. Amazon did not ship it until 3/29/06, It took more than 24 hours as advertised. But onced it shipped, I got it 2 days later(3/31/06). They could do better!!
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Excellent Lens, March 30, 2006
Reviewer: M. C. Lee

Sharp, lightweight, and excellent results.

I am very satisfied with this lens. Excellent for outdoor uses. Sure f2.8 and IS would be better, but at 2X and 3X cost plus the bulk make this one a winner.
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Fantastic Lens, March 6, 2006
Reviewer: Michi
I have always had some kind of 70-200 lens since I started taking pictures many years ago. Once I went digital, I realized that my old zoom lenses really were not that good. I bought this lens and compared it to what I had, and a friend's Canon 75-300mm. The difference is amazing. The 70-200L is tack sharp.

The other lenses look as if they have problems or didn't focus correctly. This lens also focuses quite fast, and when I use it with my newly aquired Canon 1.4X extender, there is hardly any quality degradation. On my Rebel XT with the 1.6 factor and the extender, I end up having a 450mm tele which still delivers incredible photos. I wish I had the 2.8 version but can't afford it. If you're in this budget range, you can't go wrong with this lens.
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Perfect for 20d/30d/rebel camera sensors, February 28, 2006
Reviewer: Steven M. Wymer "photographer"

this lens has the highest contrast of all the 70-200 lenses. it is also the smallest and lightest lens. best of all, it is very durable and fits in many smaller camera bags with a 50mm prime and a 17-40 zoom!
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I love this lens!!, February 25, 2006

Reviewer: Lehman Security
This is one of the sharpest zooms you can buy for the money. And it has a constant aperture of f/4! Not as fast as the f/2.8 but it's half the price and half the weight!
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More than expected..., February 15, 2006
Reviewer: R. Lozano "Mountainshadow"

One thing that was a BIG surprise on this lens was finding in the box the travel pouch and the hood on the same box. The lens is sturdy and silent.

Excelent quality... the only bad part... Hard to use in low light conditions.
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Hands-down best buy in the "L" class category!, February 2, 2006
Reviewer: Michael P. Entner
This was the first L-series lens that I ever bought. All I can say is "spectacular". At first I was looking at the 70-200 f/2.8 but the sheer weight and price turned me off. Additionally, I was told that I wouldn't be able to get good bokeh at f/4 -- not true as it turns out (look at the sample I've posted of a Buddha statue). I own a 24-70L f/2.8, and 50MM F/1.4 among others and this is probably the best buy for the money. Teamed up with a good teleconverter (like the Kenko Pro 1.4x or 2x) you also get a decent 280 or 400 lens. If you have a moderate (but limited) budget go for this lens and the other two that I listed -- they cover all the ranges and crank out world class pictures.
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