EF 80-200 4.5/5.6 II VS. EF 55-200/4.5-5.6 USM

I am just looking at the advantages/disadvantages of purchasing either a <A

href="http://www.adorama.com/US%20%20%20%20237882.html">EF 80-200 4.5/5.6II</A>

or a <A href="http://www.adorama.com/US%20%20%20%20245278.html">EF 55-200

4.5/5.6 USM</A><BR>

Don't really need the extra focal range of the 55-200 as I have a 17-85mm

already, but the USM would be nice.

Both of those lenses are generally viewed as lousy and have micro USM rather than faster,

quieter, ring USM.

In this class, I would consider the discontinued 70-210 3.5-4.5 (not to be confused with

the ancient non-USM 70-210 F4). Faster, decent build quality and ring USM. Typically

available for $175-200 used. KEH.com has one in Bargain condition for $179. I used to

own one and got pretty good results. Only problem is zoom creep.

Photo.net review here: http://www.photo.net/equipment/canon/70-210

--Joe

If you have the cash, the 70-200 f/4L uses the same filter size, and would offer a similar focal range with much better quality.<br />

...just a thought.

I have a 55-200 somewhere, I found that it's not heavy enough to hold books. It's collecting dust somewhere, which is what it does well. It's autofocus is slow, and in some situations absolutely unusable, and if used wider than f8 it's too soft. The best thing it did for me was convincing me that I didn't have that much use for that particular range.

Andre

From what I hear, both are lousy. Any of the 75-300 style lenses are better buys for not much more money. The somewhat more expensive 70-300 IS is usually considered best. Also worth a look is the 100-300 USM which has much nicer handling with IF and real ring USM focusing.

The micro USM in the 55-200 is not ring-style. It might be a little faster/quieter than a regular micro motor but it`s hardly noticeable. We tested the USM and DC versions of the 75-300 once side by side in a quiet room and the difference was quite negligible.

Get the EF 70-210 /3.5-4.5 USM if you can. It is in a totally different league to the ones you are looking at. Extremely good optics and ring USM. A good second hand copy should be about the same price as the lenses you are looking at.

The micro USM in the 55-200 is largely a waste of time - not fast and doesn't generally allow for FTM focussing.