Canon 70-200 F4 IS vs Non-IS

obrano

Hi all,

I'm planning on making a purchase of the 70-200 F4 lens. I don't want the F2.8 (YET!!) because I want it for travelling and value the lighter weight. I won't really be doing anything in doors.

There is a considerable price difference between the IS and non-IS version of this lens. I would love the IS version, for the 4-stops of IS, but I have read online that there is IQ difference between the two models (non-IS is not as good as the IS but obviously it's still damn good). Is this true?

I had a "go" of the IS version today and loved it. I'm going back in tomorrow for another look where I'll try the non-IS too. That said, a store isn't really the best venue for carrying out IQ testing...

Has anyone had experience with either of these lenses or would anyone like to throw in their two cent?

Thanks in advance.

inkedpt

Hi Obrano,
Regarding the differences you mention I wouldn't know, but I own an IS f4 and the thing is damn good. If you're in Dublin, city center, and have some free time tuesday or wednesday around 4pm I can borrow you my lens for a test

obrano

inkedpt wrote: »

Hi Obrano,
Regarding the differences you mention I wouldn't know, but I own an IS f4 and the thing is damn good. If you're in Dublin, city center, and have some free time tuesday or wednesday around 4pm I can borrow you my lens for a test

Thank you so much for the offer. I'm not in Dublin at the moment, I'm in Japan and want to take advantage of the slightly lower prices. If I were home, I'd definitely take you up on the offer. I'm very excited about the lens.

inkedpt

Forget the lens... just enjoy the place!

flyingsnail

I have had the 70-200 F4 (Non IS) for a few years now and I find it to be a cracker of a lens. I have never used the IS version but I am sure that you would be happy with the quality of either of them.

Two of my albums here with plenty of shots from the 70-200 if you are looking for image quality samples.

http://pix.ie/flyingsnail/album/491993
http://pix.ie/flyingsnail/album/460586

obrano

Cheers everyone for the responses. I ended up getting the IS version. Only a bit more weight but I found the 4 stops stabilisation to be incredibly useful.

Flyingsnail, your shots are great. Thanks for sharing. It really shows the quality and capabilities of both lenses.

It was my last day in Japan so I spent a couple of hours in an 8 floor electronics' store. One of the floors was completely devoted to camera and lenses. Every conceivable lens was on demo so I had a field day

It's onwards to Malaysia and Borneo from here and I really wanted the reach for wildlife.

Thanks again for all the responses. Just knowing how happy people were with these lenses made the purchase a breeze.

LeoB

flyingsnail wrote: »

Two of my albums here with plenty of shots from the 70-200 if you are looking for image quality samples.

http://pix.ie/flyingsnail/album/491993
http://pix.ie/flyingsnail/album/460586

Great albums.

flyingsnail

LeoB wrote: »

Great albums.

Thanks

obrano

Flying snail, one last one. Did you use an extender for the wildlife shots?

flyingsnail

obrano wrote: »

Flying snail, one last one. Did you use an extender for the wildlife shots?

No just the 70-200. I have posted more detail about how I took the shots in this thread
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=90601255

obrano

flyingsnail wrote: »

No just the 70-200. I have posted more detail about how I took the shots in this thread
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=90601255

Those shots are really impressive I must say. You must be proud of those? It shows what interest, patience and enjoyment in photography can result in. We have some wonderful wildlife in Ireland.