Canon EF 200mm f/1.8L USM Holy Grail

This will be a very short thread, as not too many have this lens.
But if you do, please post some picture and let us have a look.

Here are a few of mine

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With a 1.4x TC

How'd I miss this invitation

Excuse me while I wipe the drool off my desk...

Talk about creamy bokeh and incredible sharpness. It truly doesn't get any better.

JUST FREAKING DAMN!!!!!

Here's an odd one,. this was my first time shooting with it.

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JennB wrote:
Holy Macaroni! I've read in the FM reviews that this lens has been discontinued ...WHY? I know I'd want to buy it given that I have the money. Did another lens replace it that I don't know about?

Nope. No replacements. There have been rumors of a replacement for a few years but they seem to be just that. KEH has 4 of them used. Pick your price. Starting at around $3100 and going to just over $3900.

Michael

CDS.......that shot with the beak coming down on the poor fish is amazing!! Awesome compostition and colour.........great stuff!

dang..... i just looked at a pic of that lens..... daaanngg...... its like a warhead...

i wonder, does the 200mm f/2.8L USM II compare?

Well,. yes and no..

The 200mm f/2.8L compares more with the 135mm f/2L for look and feel of the images,. ( not to mention look and feel and handling of the lenses them selves! )which is very high praise indeed!

But,. the f.18 with it's dinner plate sized front element has necesarily got that much more resolving power and the super insane shallow DOF due to the apeture,.
in short,. though the quality of the f/2.8 might be "just as good" it's quality is still "very different" .. if you know what I mean.

JennB wrote:
Holy Macaroni! I've read in the FM reviews that this lens has been discontinued ...WHY? I know I'd want to buy it given that I have the money. Did another lens replace it that I don't know about?

My understanding is that the lens was discontinued because there lead involved in the manufacturing and environmental concerns prevented continuing to make it.

I am guessing that they must be having a hard time coming up with a way to make a better version of the lens, and wouldn't want to release an inferior follow-on. Nikon has a 200mm f/2 VR that is supposed to be very comparable, so I'd hope that one day they figure it out. I'm becoming very dependent on this lens and knowing that it may one day be un-repairable is a bit worrisome.

One thing that I don't think has been mentioned is that the viewfinder really lights up with this lens. Rocket fast focus, and a bright viewfinder, help to deal with the very narrow DOF.

Canon are indeed continuing to service this lens for the next 4 years..(FACT)

That came straight from the head of sales marketing in the UK.

Buttkicker wrote:
Here are a few of mine

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Amazing!

Another thing to remember about this lens is that it is a "specialty lens". Part of the reason that it was discontinued and not replaced was because sales were just not that high. There were less than 8K manufactured during the entire run as evidenced by the serial numbers. Starting serial numbers were 10xxx and the highest serial number I have heard of is 17xxx. I would think it was as much a financial desision as anything else.

Also this lens has only become a commodity in recent years. A friend of mine bought his before they were discontinued and paid $2500.00 for it. Others at that time in less than mint condition were going in the $2K range. By contrast I saw them on eBay last fall going for over $5K.