My First L Lens!

MMMMmmmmmm! Very nice. I should receive mine this coming week, but like a lot of folk I'm having to sell off my 70-200 L f4 and 28-135 IS to pay towards it.

How are you finding the weight of that beast for the past few days then? Getting used to it or are you finding you get fatigued after a day?

....still waiting for some pics!
HP

I got the F4L and would love to have the 2.8L IS. ENJOY!!

Love the look of the lens. Hate the battery grip. When the hell is Canon going to make a decent grip!

i have to get one of these
do u think santa get's this kind of gifts in xmas????

Hogloff wrote in post #4203922
OK, let us see some images with it rather than of it.

HighPixel wrote in post #4241146
....still waiting for some pics!
HP

I wasn't sure if I should post these in a separate topic or not (mods, feel free to make a change if necessary), but here goes, a few sample shots of my first day out with the 70-200 f2.8L IS lens (shot with 40D in RAW, converted in DPP, and resized and USM in PS to post here).

1. I had previously posted one here: https://photography-on-the.net …php?p=4237243&p​ostcount=5
(110mm, f/5.6, 1/125, ISO-100)

2. 95mm, f/5.6, 1/250, ISO-100

Redsnapper wrote in post #4239316
How are you finding the weight of that beast for the past few days then? Getting used to it or are you finding you get fatigued after a day?

I have only been out with it twice up to now, but so far I have not gotten tired from holding it. Like I said in a previous post, it actually feels very nice (with the balanced weight that the grip adds).

irishman wrote in post #4242321
Love the look of the lens. Hate the battery grip. When the hell is Canon going to make a decent grip!

I do not really like how the grip looks either, but so far I have no choice, as there are no 3rd party grips for the 40D yet (as far as I know?). But it gets the job done; I can't complain too much.

Crossfire wrote in post #4237466
This was my first L also. Great lens, although can't say I've used the IS function a lot

I have IS on full-time (although, I would turn it off if I use a tripod). The only issue I have had is that I need to get used to switching between mode 1 (regular) and mode 2 (for panning). I have found myself forgetting to switch back to mode 1 after taking a series of panning shots in mode 2, heh!

irishman wrote in post #4242321
Love the look of the lens. Hate the battery grip. When the hell is Canon going to make a decent grip!

What don't you like about the battery grips? They are a decent match for the bodies, I find. I suppose it is expensive for what you get. Some of the third party ones aren't so well made, though you can get some with interesting features and decent build quality now from all accounts.

krepta wrote in post #4247612
I have only been out with it twice up to now, but so far I have not gotten tired from holding it. Like I said in a previous post, it actually feels very nice (with the balanced weight that the grip adds).

Good to hear! I'm glad you are enjoying it, I like the first batch of photos you are showing off too. Well worth it for you then. Some people regret the purchase when they find out the weight of it.

Oh yeah, you'll get some oohs and aahs ... it's the ultimate power tool!

The color of your lens looks just like mine ... it's normal! Yous is no darker than the others, and they are indeed a putty-like color. But did you take the collar off? I kind of think you should keep it on, because even though you'll hand-hold it whenever you use it most likely, you'll find the bracket at the bottom of the collar rests in your hand in a perfect position (provided you have your left hand under the lens and turned up). This is a heavy lens for your camera to handle without any help, so keep the collar on.

Another reason, the collar has a perfect handle for helping lift the lens up out of my bag. I tried keeping it off for a couple of days once, and i kept feeling as though i was going to lose my grip on the lens when getting it out! I thought i was going to save a bit of weight and bulk, but no, i'm never taking the collar off again ... two too many reasons to keep it on.

I say over and over that this lens is the most versatile one that i've ever had ... i am absolutely in love with it. And it's soooooo sharp, for a zoom lens. Your images so far speak for themselves!

Just thought i'd throw in a couple of mine too, from my 70-200 (non IS) ... this is my first attempt at uploading. As i said, i LOVE my 70-200! You will too!

I see the quality has degraded some (a lot) due to having to resize to less than 800 x 800 ... i was hoping these would show up as beautiful as they really are.

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Looks great on the 40D there!

Emjay wrote in post #4247914
Oh yeah, you'll get some oohs and aahs ... it's the ultimate power tool!

The color of your lens looks just like mine ... it's normal! Yous is no darker than the others, and they are indeed a putty-like color.

Yep! I only realized it once I saw it outdoors in plain sunlight (for example: http://www.flickr.com …in/set-72157602872572944/ ; this is my coworker finding out why the hell I dished out so much money!). Initially, I thought it looked darker/more greyish than the putty/cream color I had heard about, but that must have been due to the lighting inside my house... or that I was so blinded by its beauty that I could not tell what color it really was!

I was wondering about whether most people hand-hold it with or without the collar, and so far I have only seen people leaving the collar on. I did try out both configurations, however, and I found it more comfortable to leave the collar off. I do position my left hand as you mentioned (palm up under the lens), and my wrist rests against the grip, which extends a bit from the front of the 40D, while my upper arm and elbow rest against my chest. With the collar on, it feels a bit annoying and not as stable as I am not gripping the lens with my entire hand and my wrist is not completely flush with the grip, and the foot (i.e. the tripod mount) somewhat gets in the way of the zoom ring. Maybe I am just weird like that. I do have rather large hands, so I don't know if that makes a difference, but so far I feel fine hand-holding it without the collar on.

As for pulling it out of its lens case, well, the collar is on when the lens is stored. I just remove it quickly before attaching the lens to the camera (as of now I don't have a bag or backpack large enough to store the 40D with the 70-200 attached).

How about all you other 70-200 owners? Do you leave the collar on or off when shooting hand-held?

The reason why I picked it for my first L is precisely for what you have said. It is sharp, fast, and versatile. I love mine as well!

It's a beauty arite! I want another one!

Lorem wrote in post #4248345
It's a beauty arite! I want another one!

What will you do with two of them?