Canon EF 200mm f/2L IS USM Lens Review

We tested the 200mm f/2L lens on two camera bodies: a Canon EOS 5D and a 400D. On the 5D body it was a comfortable fit and nicely balanced - even with the large hood attached. It should be equally at home on any of Canon's professional EOS bodies. All-up weight with the 5D body is around 3.5 kilograms.
The much lighter 400D body was slightly unbalanced and we had to use shutter speeds faster than about 1/800 second for hand-held shots to ensure sharp images. Slower shutter speeds were possible when the lens was tripod mounted. Although most photographers will attach a tripod or monopod to get the most from this lens, it is actually quite usable hand-held (although the tripod mount does get in the way at times). This is largely thanks to the stabilisation system and the overall balance of the lens on the 5D. It's easy to change the orientation of the camera without having to remove it from a tripod by simply unlocking the tripod collar.
Not unexpectedly, focusing can be challenging at wide lens apertures because even small movements are magnified by the lens. However, as mentioned, Canon provides plenty of focusing options. You can engage or disable the AF system by sliding the AF/MF switch and constrain the AF range with the focus limiter. Two options are provided: 1.9 metres to infinity and 3.5 metres to infinity. You can also use the focus pre-set system or override autofocusing with either the AF stop buttons or by simply turning the focusing ring.
Autofocusing was extremely fast, almost silent and very accurate, thanks to the USM technology. AI Servo tracking of moving subjects capitalised on the system's accuracy and speed. The bright viewfinder image made focusing manually a viable option. You can switch from auto to manual by simply turning the focusing ring (manual focusing automatically overrides AF). The focusing ring moves through just under three quarters of a turn as you shift focus from 1.9 metres to infinity.
Manual focusing was very smooth and the ring offers just enough resistance to make setting precise focus easy. The focus limiter was straightforward to use and definitely speeded up autofocusing. Pre-setting a focus distance was also straightforward and quite effective when shooting moving subjects.

Margaret Brown

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