For any of you who have been reading this blog for any length of time, you probably know that I’m not a big fan of technical reviews. You’ve never seen me shoot color cards, comparing RGB values, looking at lines per inch of resolution. When I look at a new piece of equipment, I take it out into the real world, work it over, and make a decision of whether I like it or not.

This review will be no different. I’ve had my Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS for over a month now. I’ve had a chance to use it in the real world both for personal use and for paid portrait sessions, even a wedding. Here’s what I found.

75mm @ f/4

But First

Before I get into specific thoughts on the lens, let me back up and bring any non-gear heads up to speed.

Canon makes two general lines of lenses. There’s the regular lenses, and then there are the professional lenses, those designated “L” in their name and all have a red stripe near the front element. L lenses (or “L glass” if you want to look cool) are made of metal construction rather than plastic, the glass elements have better coatings, and are generally made to a higher quality standard.

The lens I bought is part of a group of lenses by Canon, all in the 70-200mm range:

• Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM – Priced around $625
• Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L IS USM – Priced around $1025
• Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM – Priced around $1200
• Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM – Priced around $1600 (this is the one I got)

As far as image quality goes, all four are basically the same. The glass has the same coatings and the quality of the image is great. Now I know that there are those pixel peepers who will point out differences between the f/4 and f/2.8 versions, but I believe that in real world use they are the same. There are two main differences here: maximum aperture, and whether it has image stabilization (IS). You can see that the prices vary widely, and you may wonder whether the cost differences are justified.

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s move on to my review.

95mm @ f/4.5

First Impressions

The first thing I noticed when I took it out of the box was how large and heavy it was. This is something that most reviewers harp on. “It’s so heavy! There’s no way I’d carry it around all day!” Indeed, this beast weighs in at a whopping three and a quarter pounds. It will make your camera body look like an accessory for the lens (considering the lens cost nearly twice my camera, it kinda is). In contrast, the f/4 non-IS version of this lens is only 25 ounces and is considerably thinner in diameter and shorter in length.

But here’s the rub: if you’re ponying up this kind of money for a lens, I’m assuming you’re serious about your photographs. Which means you won’t mind lugging around such a large weight. Or at least you’re willing to for the prospect of better images. This lens has 23 elements in it, and that’s what it takes to get such a sophisticated lens. Besides, it’s fun to come up with nifty nicknames for your new pride and joy. I call my “the bazooka”.

This lens has internal zoom and focus, which means that it doesn’t extend and change length while zooming and focusing. In addition, the front element doesn’t rotate, making the use of lens filters a breeze. One of my favorite features of this lens is that the focal point stays put when you change zoom. What this means is that you can zoom in, get a good focus, and zoom out without losing focus. It takes a little getting used to, but it’s a great feature.

200mm @ f/3.2

The Extra Stop Argument

Let’s say you’ve decided to go for one of these lenses, but you’re undecided on which version. Proponents will tell you that the extra stop in maximum aperture is worth the extra money for the f/2.8 versions. Opponents will say, “It’s only one stop! Save your money.” Most people focus on the issue of low light here. For me, that’s not something I worry about. If it’s getting too dark for me to get decent shutter speeds, I’ll bring in the help of flash. For me, the aperture question is about image quality. Let me explain.

My favorite aperture for shooting portraits is f/4. I like this aperture because it gives a nice sweet spot depth of field. I can include small groups with enough DOF to include all the subjects, while throwing the background out of focus. If I had the f/4 version of this lens, I’d be at the maximum aperture. However, with the f/2.8 version of this lens, I can be stopped down.

Lenses have a wide range of sharpness, and they’re usually a little soft when wide open at their maximum aperture. By this logic, if you close a lens down a stop or two, you’re getting sharper images. So by using the f/2.8 version and shooting at f/4, I can get a sharper image than using a f/4 lens wide open.

And when I want to shoot at f/2.8, it’s there for me, and who wouldn’t want a little extra aperture?

105mm @ f/4

On Image Stabilization

So this is where people get really heated. Some believe IS to be the best thing since sliced bread. Others don’t think it’s worth it. Rather than beat around the bush, I’ll get straight to my opinion here.

If you can scrape up the cash, do not get this lens without IS! Previous to this lens purchase, I had a 70-300mm Sigma lens. It had no image stabilization. At 125mm or so and above, it’s very difficult to get sharp photos with no blur from camera shake without IS. You need lots and lots of light to get fast shutter speeds. This is not always an option. I’ve discovered that IS saved a number of my shots already. And when there’s no do overs, a saved shot counts. I’ve been able to shoot as slow as 1/30th at 150mm and above and have razor sharp images. There’s no way I could do this without IS. A tripod would do the trick, but sometimes that just doesn’t cut it.

I do have a note of caution though. IS is not a magic bullet. If you’re shooting at slow shutter speeds, IS will save you from blur from camera shake, but it won’t help you with subject motion blur. Beware. Also keep in mind that the IS takes about a half second to spin up once you half press the shutter button. You can’t just grab the camera, point and go. You must plan ahead a bit to give the IS time to engage.

150mm @ f/2.8

Bokeh

Bokeh is that blurred background that looks so flattering in portraits. Lots of factors go in to quality of bokeh. Aside from the lens design itself, you get more bokeh (a more blurred background/foreground) by zooming farther and/or widening the aperture.

By this logic, you can get the most bokeh by taking photos at long focal lengths with a wide open aperture setting. With this lens you get both, which results in beautiful, gorgeous, creamy bokeh. It’s simply amazing and jumps out at you the first time you look through the lens. I routinely shoot portraits at a focal length of at least 135mm and at f/4 or sometimes f/2.8. Doing so gives the most flattering image and puts background distractions at a minimum.

75mm @ f/2.8

Sharpness, Contrast, and Color

If there’s one thing these lenses do well, it’s produce sharp images. All four of them. They are widely regarded as some of the sharpest lenses Canon makes. Sure, if you want true tack sharp images you’ve got to go with a prime lens, but today’s photographer is willing to sacrifice some sharpness for flexibility. I have several prime lenses, and I love them. But they’re nowhere near as flexible as this lens. My Canon 85mm f/1.8 USM is every bit as sharp as this lens, but it’s stuck right there at 85mm, all the time.

One of the best features for me is the contrast and color that I get from this lens. There is just something special about the images produced. The human eye interprets local contrast as sharpness. So this means a lens with better contrast looks sharper. Not only that, better contrast just plain looks better.

I’ve attempted to mimic the look from this lens with other lenses. No matter how much post processing I do on an image, I just can’t get the same look. The raw data just isn’t there.

Watch That Flare

This is something I read about before buying. This lens gets a real bad case of flare. I saw this first hand at a wedding last weekend. Tried shooting without the hood for a bit and it was real bad. So take my advice: never, ever shoot without the lens hood!

70mm @ f/4

Tripod Collar

The f/2.8 lens comes with a tripod collar. If you get the f/4 version, you have to buy it separate. I don’t quite understand this, but it is what it is. I will tell you that with the collar on, it’s rather clunky to manipulate the zoom ring. So for me, if it’s not on a tripod, that collar is left off the lens.

Conclusion

After using this lens for over a month, I’m in love. I mean really, really in love. This lens is amazing. The sharp image with good color and contrast, combined with the silky bokeh every portrait photographer loves makes this my new favorite portrait lens.

I can tell you that you can’t go wrong with this lens. It’s difficult to botch a shot.

Self portrait. Shot with the Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS

I recently took the plunge and spent a very large chunk of change on this new lens. I’ve had it for about two weeks now, and, well, I’ll reserve judgement for a proper review.

But just so you know, it’ll be coming your way soon.

Elizabeth at Eileen Donan Castle.
18mm focal length

My wife and I recently took a vacation, a really big splurge for the two of us. We’ve been married six years now, and we have not taken a “real” vacation since our honeymoon. So we decided to go big. It was kind of a last minute thing, as we have baby #2 coming later this year. So we went on a 15 day trip to Europe. Started in London for one day, went to Edinburgh, Scotland for three days, then to the highlands of Scotland (stayed at a B&B on Loch Ness) for four days, then back to London for three days, then Paris for four days. It was quite a trip, and I’ll never forget it.

But enough of that, let’s get this back to photography, and specifically portraiture. Knowing there would be lots of scenic views to capture, I bought a new wide lens, the Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 to fit on my Canon 20D (yep, still using that old dinosaur, but my new 40D will arrive on Friday).

I gotta tell ya, that lens impressed me. In fact, I used it almost exclusively for the whole trip. You see, I brought a range of lenses: new Sigma 10-20mm, Sigma 28-80mm, Canon 50mm f/1.8, Canon 85mm f/1.8. I brought the primes so that I could do some nice portraits in Europe. But then disaster struck on day one; my all purpose walk around lens, the Sigma 28-80 broke. The aperture blades close down, but won’t open back up. So left with two primes and a super wide zoom, I naturally went for the zoom for flexibility. That lens got a workout, and it was a nice test drive for the next 14 days.

This Thing Is WIDE

Eiffel Tower. 10mm

I mean really wide. At ten millimeters, standing at the base of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, I was able to get the whole thing with frame to spare. The wideness of this lens is great if you’re trying to catch a landscape or suck in an entire London hotel room bathroom (wow…small). Not so great for portraits though. Or is it?

As A Portrait Lens?

Our London room at 11mm

So since my primary lens broke, and the wide lens was my only flexible option, it became my all around landscape/architecture/portrait lens. I quickly discovered one thing about using it at the wide focal lengths: it stretches things around the edges. This is fine for faraway landscapes, but death for a portrait. Let me give you some advice: don’t take a photo of your lady at 10mm, place her off-center, and expect to get away with it. You know how they say the camera adds ten pounds? Well, you’d have to put about 50 Canon 1D’s on your subject to equal the weight this baby puts on at 10mm.

Now, once you get the focal length above about 15mm, you can avoid some of the face stretching. You can put your subject closer to the edge of the frame. The first photo above shows my wife standing in front of Eileen Donan Castle out near the Isle of Skye in Scotland. I took this shot at 18mm, and was able to compose the shot how I wanted, without worrying about stretching. At 20mm, you’re pretty much in the clear except for the very edges.

The Price Is Right

In choosing which super wide lens to buy, I looked at three makers: Canon, Sigma, and Tamron. The Canon has the name recognition and reputation. The Sigma had the price advantage. The Tamron had the largest range of focal lengths. Ultimately, I chose the Sigma because of image quality and price. At the time I purchased the lens, it was more than $300 cheaper than the Canon version. My European test drive proved to me that the image quality is top notch, and I’m glad I saved the dough, since it will go toward replacing my broken lens.

Conclusion

Driving on the left! 10mm

This is a really great lens to have in your bag. I love the image quality (contrast, color, and sharpness) and the ability to go wide when I need to. If you’re a photography generalist, get a lens like this. If you’re a portrait photographer (as I am), then you’ll still find it very useful in your bag.

It’s no portrait lens by any means, but works well in a pinch if you keep the focal length to the longer half of the range, or if going wide, keep your subject dead center in the frame. You’ll find it’s pretty big (much larger than you’d expect for such a short focal length) and somewhat heavy (lots of elements).

While it has the smallest focal length range of the three (10-20 for the Sigma, 10-22 for the Canon, and 10-24 for the Tamron), the cost savings and image quality are significant factors that to me puts it at the top.

To see lots and lots of sample shots with this lens, check out my “Europe 2009″ Flickr set. As of the time of this post I have about the first five days of the trip processed and posted. More to come in the next few days.

Most of all, having a lens this wide is fun! I had a blast playing around with photographic opportunities that were only possible with a wide lens (such as the driving on the left photo above). And when I had too much room in the frame, then let’s face it, nine megapixels is plenty so I just cropped the photo.

Get yours at Amazon.com now.

I got a new toy recently. Shortly before Christmas, I purchased an AlienBees B400 monolight and 30×60 “giant” softbox. The main driver behind this purchase was A) I like Paul C. Buff gear, B) PCB stuff is very cost effective, and C) I wanted to get a really big softbox without doing something home made with my non-standard existing strobes.

The Test Drive
Here’s pretty much the first image I made with the new strobe and softbox. I had literally taken it out of the box ten minutes before. No other lights were used, and I took this in the middle of the living room. I was able to drop the ambient to black by placing my wife and son right next to the light. This shot showed me that I really love the soft light coming from that big softbox.

Getting Down and Dirty
We recently moved into a new house that needed renovation before it could be lived in (a beat up foreclosure). So the new toy went into storage and didn’t get played with again for several weeks. But this past weekend I got to a point where I could take some time for photos. The new house has a great big basement that we’ve decided to make a dedicated studio space. It just needed to be set up. So I took a little time to get things all squared away. Then I decided not to let that work go to waste, so I brought out the new toy again.

For this shot, I used classic butterfly lighting. I put the giant softbox up high pointing down. Then I used a reflector down below to lift any shadows. But I decided to try the gold side to warm up the light. Seeing the nice warm color, I decided to put a deep blue gelled flash on the background for some warm/cool pizazz. I like how it turned out.

Then it was my turn in front of the camera. This time I took away the reflector and just went with the straight softbox. Again, the blue gelled flash on the background, but this time lying on the floor pointing up.

A few observations while testing out the new strobe:

• It’s plenty powerful. I would easily be able to light a decent sized group with the 400 w/s flash.
• The softbox is big, but it folds down easily with the umbrella type mechanism.
• Because the softbox is so big, it’s heavy, and needs a larger than normal stand to hold it up and keep from tipping.
• The flash recycles really fast, especially at lower power settings. It will keep up with my camera’s burst speed. Awesome.
• I like that the modeling light can track the power setting. I also like that it cuts out and turns back on when the flash is recycled. My other strobes beep when ready, and that gets old.

Conclusion
It’s awesome. I highly recommend this combination if you’re looking for a new studio strobe setup. I plan to buy a couple more.

The Pocket Wizard Pre-Trigger

Back in February, I promised to put up a review of the Pocket Wizard Pre-Trigger. I had just bought one and wanted to give it a test out.

Though I’ve been super busy and haven’t had a chance to use this thing much, the perfect opportunity presented itself recently. Spring has a good grip on northern Colorado. The flowers are blooming, the weather is warming up, grass is getting green, and the birds and insects are starting to come out in droves.

A few days ago we put up a few bird feeders with hopes that we could attract a few visitors. Boy did we ever! I tried to get some pictures of those birds, but they wouldn’t come around with me standing there. What ever would I do? Yep, this trigger came to mind instantly.

First off, I should mention that the trigger that came for my Canon 20D doesn’t look like the one pictured (from the PW web site). The little box is much smaller, with just a tiny switch with a “I” and a “O” symbol.

Bird brains shows up to drink

First up was the hummingbird feeder. I set up my tripod, mounted the camera with my Sigma 70-300mm lens, and positioned the whole setup about 5 feet from the feeder with the lens set out to 300mm. I got a focus on the feeder where the bird would be (this particular bird always goes for one side), and set the lens autofocus switch to manual.

Tripod mounted, lens set to 300mm

The trigger doesn’t come with much instruction to speak of. The most important thing to know about this trigger is that there are two switch positions: “I” and “O”. Think of one as holding down the shutter button half way. When you switch it on, the camera will get a focus lock (if set to AF), and wait for a trigger. The moment you press the shutter, there will be no lag. If you have the switch set the other way, when you trigger the remote, it will first attain a focus (if AF is turned on), then take the picture. This explains why I set the focus up then set the switch to manual focus. I turned the switch on the trigger to “half way” I’ll call it. This way, when I trigger the camera, there will be no lag whatsoever.

I went in the house and waited. I couldn’t see the camera, but I could see the feeder. With my other Pocket Wizard in hand, as soon as the bird showed up, I started pushing the button like crazy. I ended up walking away with a few decent pictures that would have been impossible without a wireless trigger.

If I were to do this again (which I will), I’d set up a flash to really accentuate the bird. I’ll post those when I get around to it.

Next up was our finch feeder. This thing is seeing some serious action. At times we have 8-10 birds all duking it out for some seed.

This time I decided to go a little wider. I set up the tripod about 15 feet away and had the same lens, but set to 70mm. Got my focus, composed the shot, and went inside. 20 seconds later the birds showed up and I snapped a few photos.

70mm

I then went back outside and recomposed the shot at 300mm. Went inside and got a few more.

300mm

Unfortunately it was evening and I couldn’t get the shutter speeds I wanted to really freeze the motion. But that’s okay, I’ll try again. Bumping up the ISO would have done the trick, but I was okay with a little motion blur over some noise.

One thing to note about this trigger. When the switch is set to “shutter half way” mode, you can rapid fire the shots. However, just like if you had your finger on the shutter, an image won’t show up on the LCD. You have to turn off that switch and the image will show up, even if it’s been a long time since your last image. Also, because cameras keep priority on the shutter when the button is halfway pressed, know that the images will not write to the card (or will write at a slower rate with a lower priority). So your camera’s buffer may fill up after a handful of images.

When I first got this trigger, I ran out to take some pictures of the sky. I thought that the ability to trigger the camera without touching it would be cool. I was a little frustrated at why the image wouldn’t show on the LCD until it occurred to me what was happening.

So, my overall impressions of this trigger are simply that it’s awesome. It has enabled me to get some photographs that I wouldn’t be able to get without it. This $80 trigger is a LOT cheaper than a $12,000 600mm lens. Sure, I can’t be at the camera, but at least I get the shot. I can also start taking photos of my family with me in it, and don’t have to break an ankle stumbling over rocks to beat the self timer. To me, that’s worth 80 bucks right there.

And don’t even get me started on the distance I can go from the camera thanks to the Pocket Wizard’s amazing range. I haven’t even tested that yet with my flashes.

Have you tried this trigger? What did you think? Drop a comment.