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.

On July 18th, 2009 I’ll host the Fort Collins edition of Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photo Walk. We’ll be cruising around the Colorado State University campus. The walk starts at 4 PM and goes until we’re all wore out.

If you live in the area, please come join us! It will be lots of fun. For more, and to register for the walk, visit the photo walk’s web site:

http://worldwidephotowalk.com/fort-collins-co-usa

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.

When I moved to Colorado on New Years Day of this year, I realized that a whole new world of photographs opened up to me. Every day I get to experience something new, something beautiful, something that just begs for a photograph. I started carrying my trusty old backup camera, my Canon D30, with me everywhere I go.

As I go through my day, I keep my camera handy and take pictures of things I find interesting. I’ve started a new blog called Photowalking Colorado where I can post these photos. This is a no frills blog where I can regularly post a photo and a quick and dirty description. That’s it, nothing more. If you like Thomas Hawk’s web site, you’ll recognize the format straight away.

It didn’t make sense to start publishing these photos here, as this blog is mainly dedicated to the art of people photography, and I don’t want to pollute your feed reader with something you don’t necessarily want.

If you’d like to subscribe to the feed for Photowalking Colorado, you can snag it here.

If you visit the blog, let me know what you think! I’m always curious what people think of my photos. Drop me a comment in this post or leave one on Photowalking Colorado.

Cheers!
Tim

It’s been a really long time since I highlighted some of the reader submissions to the Sublime Light Flickr Pool. I think some refreshing is in order.

But first, let me hand out a few updates about the blog. First off, long time readers have undoubtedly noticed a significant drop in the posts over the last six months. As you know I moved from Texas to Colorado during this time, and right about the time I was ready to pick things up again, we decided to start a new business. We’re opening up a retail store in our new home town. In addition to that, we’ll be opening up a studio location for our portrait photography business.

Needless to say, I’ve got my hands full.

Despite my neglect of this blog however, the traffic keeps picking up. More and more people find this blog every day, and of particular interest is the Portrait Lighting For Beginners series (which I will someday finish).

To date Sublime Light has around 600 feed subscribers and gets around 500 extra visitors a day that don’t subscribe. These visitors come from more than 110 countries! Some of these are a little surprising to me (I honestly don’t know why, but they are). For example, 30th on the list is Qatar. Or how about Vatican City. How cool is that?

You guys are coming from all over the world and are coming together based on your love of photography. Awesome!

Reader Photos
OK, enough of that. Let’s see some of my favorite photos submitted to the pool recently.

I’ll start off with Rex Lisman, the pool’s most prolific photo adder guy. Rex’s specialty seems to be senior portraits, something I haven’t dabbled in much but would like to.

I really like Rex’s style of putting these teens in a nice relaxed natural setting in Arkansas. There’s some really beautiful landscape there, and that certainly can’t hurt things. One thing I like about Rex’s work is that even with the strong settings, he still manages to get your attention on to the subject.

Next on to our next biggest contributor, Anthony HB2007. Warning, don’t click to his photostream if you’re at work. Whoops. IT guys, it was an accident, I swear.

Anthony’s photostream is full of beautiful models, which certainly can’t hurt your images. Some are fully clothed. Some are…well…shall we say less than fully clothed. But there’s one thing he does well, he puts the right light on the right model.

Take this image for example. Soldis, his Icelandic model has some of the most arresting eyes I’ve seen in a long time. Anthony put the light directly on her face to really accentuate those eyes. Beautiful!

TimpWeb created this next very unique image. There was clearly some post production going on here, but I really like the departure from typical portraiture. One commenter says it looks like a movie poster. I’d have to agree!

From time to time fabsenstylsen posts a unique photo to the pool. There’s something about this next one. I dig the lighting. I’d tell you more about fabsenstylsen, but I never took German.

There are lots more fantastic photos in the pool. I’d encourage you to check it out. I’d show you more, but I’m out of time. You’ll just have to go have a look for yourself. Better yet, join the 263 members and post some of your own!

UPDATE: Now how did I know that Anthony’s photostream would receive a bunch of traffic after this post went out?