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elfyrulz
12th of August 2004 (Thu), 18:50
..a 200mm f/2.8L II USM or a 70mm-200mm F/2.8L USM?
CyberDyneSystems
12th of August 2004 (Thu), 19:27
The prime... :wink:
cmM
12th of August 2004 (Thu), 19:28
The prime... :wink:

which is sharper

And cheaper

:wink:

No zoom though.
12345Michael54321
13th of August 2004 (Fri), 10:01
While an outstanding zoom may out-perform a mediocre prime, the 200mm f/2.8 prime is far from mediocre. It is, in fact, an extremely good prime.

The zoom in question is an outstanding one, but I have to think the 200mm prime would have the edge. Not just in terms of sharpness, but possibly in various other ways, too. (For example - contrast, performance wide open, distortion, etc.)

The performance gap between primes and zooms has been greatly reduced from what it was decades ago. One can get excellent results from today's better zooms, but ultimately the zoom is a far more complex creature than is the prime, and that complexity comes at a price - and not just in dollars and cents.