I told myself I was OK...

but I'm just not. I thought I could live with my 70-200 f2.8L IS for another couple of years but I just can't handle all the praise of the new version anymore. In all seriousness, I use the heck out of my V1 at 200 and f2.8 so I really want the bump in quality that the new version has to offer.

It just so happens that I've had something go wrong with my daughter every time I turn around for the last two weeks and my wife has been out of town on business. So, my "World's Best Husband/Dad" award (aka big Christmas present) is an upgrade.

Now all I need to do is get my V1 sold first .

how much u lookin to get for your mk 1?

Around $1500, but I need to take some fresh pics so it won't hit the Sell forum until later this weekend. PM me if you or someone you know is interested.

On a side note, to anyone who uses this lens with a 2x converter, I've done a lot of searching and it seems to perform well. Would anyone recommend this setup for things like Zoo or Airshow pics?

Ha there are a few posts in the lens sample gallery of people with the V1 getting the bug. I hav only had mine for 3 days but I am loivng it.

I can't speak to the upgrade portion of it, but you seem to be going down a well worn path....

I was just looking at this lens on Craigslist and could not believe how many are for sale, is the V2 that much better? The "mint" condition V1's are asking $1,500 - $1,600 and V2 is around $2,200. What did Canon change on the lens that could improve it so much as I always thought the original was a great lens?

T2i4me wrote in post #13246852
I was just looking at this lens on Craigslist and could not believe how many are for sale, is the V2 that much better? The "mint" condition V1's are asking $1,500 - $1,600 and V2 is around $2,200. What did Canon change on the lens that could improve it so much as I always thought the original was a great lens?

i's razor sharp wide open and has 4-stop IS. if i owned that lens i would never own a prime in that range unless it was macro.

ed rader

T2i4me wrote in post #13246852
I was just looking at this lens on Craigslist and could not believe how many are for sale, is the V2 that much better? The "mint" condition V1's are asking $1,500 - $1,600 and V2 is around $2,200. What did Canon change on the lens that could improve it so much as I always thought the original was a great lens?

They basically changed everything except the overall look of the body (even that has some differences if you look close enough). Don't get me wrong, my V1 is a sharp, fast, accurate lens that performs well across the board, but after reading and sifting through example after example I'm convinced moving to the V2 will be a worth while upgrade.

If you pull up side by side ISO 12233 charts on The Digital Picture website you can really see the difference in sharpness/contrast/CA at just about every length and aperture.

cueball wrote in post #13242809
but I'm just not. I thought I could live with my 70-200 f2.8L IS for another couple of years but I just can't handle all the praise of the new version anymore. In all seriousness, I use the heck out of my V1 at 200 and f2.8 so I really want the bump in quality that the new version has to offer.

It just so happens that I've had something go wrong with my daughter every time I turn around for the last two weeks and my wife has been out of town on business. So, my "World's Best Husband/Dad" award (aka big Christmas present) is an upgrade.

Now all I need to do is get my V1 sold first .

Why don't you rent it for a few days and see if it's really that much better.

cueball wrote in post #13246806
On a side note, to anyone who uses this lens with a 2x converter, I've done a lot of searching and it seems to perform well. Would anyone recommend this setup for things like Zoo or Airshow pics?

I use it with a cheapo Kenko 2x and it still performs well enough for me to shoot Auto-cross events...

rick_reno wrote in post #13249784
Why don't you rent it for a few days and see if it's really that much better.

It's kind of like when I bought the P90X and Insanity workout programs from Beach Body. I couldn't find a single legitimate bad thing (other than the random person that just likes to complain here or there) about them anywhere. I pulled the trigger and have more than gotten my money from both.

The 70-200 f2.8L IS II has gotten stellar reviews from everywhere I have looked. The only negative comments are related to price and not performance. I would hate to spend money renting it that I could use towards making a purchase.

va_rider wrote in post #13249795
I use it with a cheapo Kenko 2x and it still performs well enough for me to shoot Auto-cross events...

Thanks va_rider. If it can keep up with Autocross then I should be more than good for the Zoo and Airshows.

cueball wrote in post #13249865
It's kind of like when I bought the P90X and Insanity workout programs from Beach Body. I couldn't find a single legitimate bad thing (other than the random person that just likes to complain here or there) about them anywhere. I pulled the trigger and have more than gotten my money from both.

The 70-200 f2.8L IS II has gotten stellar reviews from everywhere I have looked. The only negative comments are related to price and not performance. I would hate to spend money renting it that I could use towards making a purchase.

I felt the same way, I had rented a lens ever few weeks over the past two months, but I am glad I did. I decided I didn't want the 24-70 that all the reviews hade me think I NEEDED.

Spending $100-150 on renting it only to determine that you are indeed fine with your gen 1 (and thus saving yourself $1000) seems somewhat worth it

The 70-200 is an awesome lens, for sure. I love to use it whenever I can! But I must share camera time with a few other lenses

tats wrote in post #13249881
I felt the same way, I had rented a lens ever few weeks over the past two months, but I am glad I did. I decided I didn't want the 24-70 that all the reviews hade me think I NEEDED.

Spending $100-150 on renting it only to determine that you are indeed fine with your gen 1 (and thus saving yourself $1000) seems somewhat worth it

Now if Canon were to upgrade the 24-70 with new optics and IS... I think I'd finally part with my 24-105 .

cueball wrote in post #13249865
I would hate to spend money renting it that I could use towards making a purchase.

This..