Canon 50D + 70-200mm f4.0 L USM-Picture taken used Canon 40D

The Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L USM Lens is arguably Canon's best value "L" Lens, combining professional grade build and optical qualities. 

Results from the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L USM Lens will make you smile when reviewing at 100% on a monitor. This lens is very sharp wide open and improves only slightly when stopped down - and primarily in the corners at the wide end of the focal length range. Very slight barrel distortion is noticeable at 70mm on a Full Frame body. Distortion disappears by around 100mm and is insignificant on a 1.3x or 1.6x FOVCF body. Vignetting is very well controlled - full frame users might notice slight vignetting in the corners at f/4. CA is very well controlled. 

Images from the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L USM Lens have great color and bokeh (foreground/background blur quality)


The Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L USM Lens focuses very fast, very quietly and very accurately thanks to Canon's excellent Ring USM (Ultrasonic Motor). 


FTM (Full Time Manual) focusing is enabled. The focus and zoom rings are very nicely sized and turn very smoothly. The 70-200 f/4 does not extend with zooming or focusing - and the front element does not rotate. 

There are MANY uses for the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L USM Lens, but portrait photography is one of the best. Classic portrait focal lengths range from 85mm to 135mm effective focal lengths (field of view crop factor included). The 70-200 f/4.0L lens comes with most (or all for full frame and 1.3x body users) of those mms included. I often use even higher focal lengths for tight portraits - 200mm and/or a 1.6x FOVCF body allows for these tightly-framed shots. 


Outdoor sports photography is another popular use for the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L USM Lens. It is an ideal lens for young children's soccer matches when mounted on a 1.6xFOVCF body.


Need a walk-in-the-park or a beach lens? The Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L USM Lens is ideal for my uses. Combining excellent image quality with relatively light weight and small size, the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L USM Lens has a good focal length range for grabbing candids of the kids and family at play. 


General wildlife and nature photography is area where the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L USM Lens may not be ideal, but often finds use in. Depending on their size and distance, wild subjects may not frame tightly enough with the bare 70-200 focal length. But, this lens starts having some nice reach while retaining very good image quality when paired with the Canon Extender EF 1.4x II on a 1.6x body


When thinking about a landscape lens, many photographers immediately think wide angle lenses. Wide angle lenses can take in vast scenes, but the 70-200mm focal length range is a favorite of professional landscape photographers as it yields beautiful compressed landscape images. When photographing landscapes, wide apertures are generally not needed as narrower apertures are generally used for greater depth of field. When photographing landscapes, packing light makes the long hikes often required to get to the beauty easier.