A great stepping stone into the Canon "L" lens series

Canon's most affordable "L" series telephoto lens features rugged construction, silent operation, very sharp optics, and good bokeh. It is a must-have upgrade for any photographer who has become frustrated by the mediocre image and build quality of many consumer-grade zoom lenses. A constant f/4 aperture across the zoom range, fully internal zooming and focusing, and a focus limit switch to prevent "hunting" with distant subjects, enable excellent general portraiture and wildlife photography wherever the light is good enough to justify at least an f/4 aperture.

Lack of an image stabilizer (IS) limits this lens to tripod use in low light, but also makes this lens between 40-60% less expensive and substantially more portable than the next two higher options, the 70-200mm f/4L IS and the 70-200mm f/2.8L. Filters for the 67mm filter ring are also still relatively affordable for an aspiring hobby photographer, whereas the 77mm ring used by some of the up-market zooms can become a significant added cost.

The f/4L is equally at home on consumer-grade camera bodies such as the Rebel series, and on pro-sumer bodies like the 40D and 50D. The all-metal construction is durable yet relatively light weight, however users of composite camera bodies (all Rebels, 60D) should strongly consider adding tripod collar mount (TCM) to avoid unnecessary stress on the camera body's mount when shooting from a tripod. The Canon TCM is pricey but good alternates are available from third parties such as Opteka.

Image Quality is simply OUTSTANDING!

This is quality lens that produces quality images.

- It is Heavy
- It is Expensive (relative to one's financial resources)

However, it produces phenominal image quality (IQ) which justifies the above reasons. Put this lens any Canon body body and the images just pops out. Own one and you will love it.

The down side is weight. Once this lens is added to your camera body with battery grip you are now carrying around the weight of a little baby. That is probably the trade off for high IQ. So until someone figures out a way to make good glass lighter it'll be heavy.

Having owned both version I and version II and the Nikkor version the ONE thing I don't like about the Canon model is the tripod mount! Nikon got the tripod mount right. Did they patented it or something because if Canon were to make the same tripod mount as Nikon it would make it much more convenient to remove the tripod mount without having to unmount the lens. Maybe in version III in about 10 years Canon will fix that.

Expensive but well worth every penny and highly recommended

I have owned this lens for several years and I use it a lot. I find it to be an excellent lens optically and it takes sharp images with great color rendition and it has quick auto focus on a moving subjects.

This lens is expensive but to me it's well worth the cost in terms of construction, quality, and image quality. I love this lens for shooting people when doing street photography with my Canon 5D. It also makes a good lens for sports events and outdoor wildlife photography on my Canon 50D.

I don't know anyone who has this lens and isn't happy with it and doesn't rave about it whenever I talk to them. When paired with the 24-70mm f2.8 lens one has an excellent lens kit for general photography.

I highly recommend this lens to serious amateur photographers and professional photographers.

Super Sharp

This lens made me rethink how sharp my shots can be. Fast to focus with outstanding IS, this lens simply makes your pictures better. Just came back from vacation and was amazed how much detail this lens captures, especially when I need to crop. Remains sharp from wide open to closed down. I had just purchased a Sigma lens prior to this one and thought I was happy with it until I saw what this lens could do. Consequently, I sent the Sigma back I spent the extra dough on another Canon lens.

Saving about 20% buying this "used" on ebay makes it all the better.

amazing quality lens, a must have, worth every penny

Amazing lens, unbelievable picture quality. A must have lens for anyone looking to take their photography or videography to the next level. Because I do mostly video, I rely heavily on the IS for handheld shooting and its a must. This lens far reaches my expectations. Canon's flagship lens is a must have in your kit. At 4lbs. it comes in a little heavy but worth lugging around for those great low light situations. The f/2.8 is unmatched and delivers amazing quality all the way through the focal length.