We’ve decided (well, I’ve decided, anyway) the we don’t spend enough time here on Roberts Raw talking about the tried-and-true staples of the business. It’s always new-this and just-announced-that. Well, for a change of pace, I present the first in a series of Lens All-Stars!
To start, we want to highlight the Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS USM, the “affordable” counterpart to the 70-200mm f2.8 lenses. With a slower aperture, it’s able to keep a smaller size and weight and keep the cost down too, which makes it an attractive choice for many consumers looking to upgrade their Canon systems to the fabled realm of L where red rings rule over the vast plains of white with kindness and beneficence.
But that’s not what earns the 70-200 4 its spot on the list, not by itself anyway. What makes this lens an all-star is that in combination with it’s cost and smaller build, it is also one of the sharpest edge-to-edge zoom lenses for any system at any of its available focal lengths and apertures. At 135mm from f4-22 it performs as well as Canon’s 135mm L prime. This goes against the usual conventional wisdom that primes will always be far superior to zooms (an idea which is ever-more wrong these days, and one worth being heartily skeptical of when you hear people throw it around.)
And so, for it’s very reasonable price point, size, weight, and performance, we can safely call this lens an All-Star.
Tags: Canon, lens, roberts, roberts raw, Zoom
