Quoting John M. Lovda: > I want a 70-200L and have the alternative of buying a new f4 at about $600 > or a nice used F2.8 for $850.
Hi, John, why not think of a used 80-200/2.8L instead? I have it for about four months now and its optical qualities are nothing but superb. In some situations I have the impression that it will even surpass my 300/4 L IS USM. The shell of the lens is black so it won't jump into your eye as an "L" lens when you see it somewhere in a shop. You won't miss the USM with this lens; the AF is quick and almost noiseless. I got mine at 1300 Marks which would equal about $600 at the current exchange rate. There are several being offered on ebay.com right now. > Even with the bright 2.8 aperture, will the heavy weight of the big one > make me sorry every time I go on a trip? The 70-200/2.8 is said to weigh in at 1310 grams. I haven't weighed the 80-200/2.8L (cxan do it if you like) but I'd say it is between 1300 and 1500 grams. At any rate it is heavier than my 300/4 L IS USM which is 1190 grams. > How many of you out there with 2.8's secretly hate to lug the thing around > but your ego keeps you from publically acting disappointed? Not at all. I mostly shoot zoo animals and I'd *never* ever go out without those two long tubes, even if the trips usually take 5 to 8 hours of a walk. They're just worth every ounce of it - with only the 300 lens, I was missing many shots I would have needed a shorter lens for, and the old 100-300/4.5-5.6 really wasn't doing that well. My combination of EOS 50, 80-200 and 300 is almost a "complete package" for telephoto situations (and animal photography always is!) - the only thing I'll probably get is the 1.4 extender to close the gap between 200 and 300mm and maybe even use the 300mm @420 once in a while. Best regards - Ralf -- zoo animal photography: http://schmode.net -- GMX - Die Kommunikationsplattform im Internet. http://www.gmx.net * **** ******* *********************************************************** * For list instructions, including unsubscribe, see: * http://www.a1.nl/phomepag/markerink/eos_list.htm ***********************************************************
