Micah Walter

The following is part of a series of articles describing the type of camera and computer equipment I use on a daily basis. These are not exactly reviews of the equipment, but more of just a synopsis of what I like to use and why. I will be adding to this section as time permits, and you will always be able to read through them by selecting the In The Bag category or one of its sub-categories in the sidebar.

When I made the switch to Canon I bought the 20D and this amazing lens — The Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS USM. This lens was my introduction into image stabilization. Before, with Nikon I was still using one of the original 80-200 f/2.8 lenses. While it was a very sharp lens, it was very loud, very slow focusing, and lacked IS. To Nikon’s credit they have certainly improved their lens lineup by adding a good stable of Vibration Reduction (VR) lenses.

Canon now offers a number of choices for lenses in this range. You can get the non-IS version for a little less money. You can also save money by going for the smaller and lighter f/4 version, which also comes in both IS and non-IS. At the time that I purchased this lens, the f/4 versions didn’t exist, but regardless, I think I would have still gone for the faster f/2.8 lens that I now have.

A 70-200 f/2.8 is real workhorse lens for the working photojournalist. It is very versatile and when I have shot news assignments it sees a good deal of use. In fact, I would argue that one could easily get by in the PJ world with two camera bodies, a 70-200 f/2.8 and a 16-35 f/2.8. This and a good flash unit is really all you need to get started.

Lately, I haven’t been using this lens too much. It is pretty big and heavy for daily walking/street photography, and of course it is a very obvious lens to cary around. However, I do take it with me when I am shooting more travel or stock type stuff because it is really great for reaching subjects and keeping a nice tight composition. In fact, with the lens hood reversed or left at home, it fits nicely in my small Domke shoulder bag.

The image stabilization is god-send. It really works and allows you to work later into the evening light, which is always a good thing. It obviously wont stabilize your subjects, but it does remove a good deal of camera shake, especially advantageous for a large and heavy lens. I wish all of Canon’s lenses had IS built in as standard equipment!

One trick I learned right off was to put a piece of masking tape across the switch panels. For some reason, and this may be because of how I hold the lens, I am always switching the AF off, or the IS off. So I make my selection and tape them down. I rarely have to change them, but when I do it is easy enough to peal back the tape temporarily.

I also normally take off the tripod collar. It can get in the way when I am hand-holding this lens, and adds extra weight.

What more can I really say about this lens? I love it! It was a sound investment and of my current stable of three lenses it is the only one I bought brand new. I’m glad I did though as I think I have really gotten my money’s worth so far.

This lens would work really nicely with a 1.4x teleconverter, but I don’t have one at the moment.

---

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 18th, 2007 at 6:50 am and is filed under In The Bag, Lenses. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.