Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II: updates and new comparison
Mouse over the lower 3 to compare
Update March 28 (late): one subscriber in Sweden sent me a credible aperture series from his 70-200/2.8L IS II which does not show the issue I’m seeing. Obviously I have no access to his lens, so I can’t test it and confirm that directly. I also have no immediate availability to my usual sources for another sample, but I’ll try to obtain a 3rd sample somehow to confirm (or not) my findings with the first two brand new samples. See also Brand-new Blur — but the blur I’ve seen generally has always improved by stopping down.
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The Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II has an image quality issue under certain conditions. See Friday’s entry below for details.
Yesterday I confirmed the issue with a second brand-new sample, courtesy of Paul Indman.
To my review in DAP, I’ve also added a new comparison at 200mm between the original 70-200mm f/2.8L IS and the new 70-200mm f/2.8L II, which might be of help to anyone considering the upgrade. The final choice will depend in part the uses to which the lens is put.
The 70-200/2.8L IS was supplied by LensRentals.com— give them a try and see the discount code under the ad here in this blog.
Which aperture do you want to shoot? These crops are already well sharpened, but just look at the loss in quality.
Every lens has compromises, but some compromises can be unacceptable for some uses and users.
Stopping down almost always increases quality, at least until f/8 or so, but that is not always true, as my findings show. You heard it here first!
