ken_wong1 Posted May 7, 2004 Share Posted May 7, 2004 Canon EF 50-200/3.5-4.5L, Is this lens good? Plese comment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron c sunshine coast,qld,a Posted May 7, 2004 Share Posted May 7, 2004 I'm not sure Ken as i've never used that one.(oh-it's not an 'L' lens by the way) <br>For what it's worth i've used allmost all the kit zooms except that one and the ones that really stand out are the EF100-300 and the EF80-200II <BR>I hope this helps... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob_murray Posted May 7, 2004 Share Posted May 7, 2004 The other poster is wrong they did make an L lens like thisbut it is a 55-200 L. It was one of the first lenses in theEOS system and Photodo gives it a 3.7 rating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Crowe Posted May 7, 2004 Share Posted May 7, 2004 There are two versions of this lens, so it may very well be the "L" that Ken is referring to. You will not find a lot of info on this lens - I've tried. The price they sell for ($300 - $400 USD on eBay)suggests that they are extremely good but I can't believe they're as good or as useful as the 80-200mm f2.8 L which often go on eBay for $400 - $600 USD. Even a 200mm f2.8 L can be had for $400 - $450 on eBay. It would seem logical to assume that the 50-200 would be better than the 100-300 f5.6 L which is said to be quite good. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Crowe Posted May 7, 2004 Share Posted May 7, 2004 Wrong again. It is in fact a Canon EF 50-200mm f3.5-4.5 L lens. They appear less often on eBay now. Over the previous 3 years I've seen about 8 of them. Check the Canon Museum at canon.com. I sure wish every manufacturer had a "museum"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob_murray Posted May 7, 2004 Share Posted May 7, 2004 Jim is correct 50-200 not 55-200. It is built using the same body as the old 70-210 F4.0 lens but with much better glass. Expect slow noisey autofocusing and rough manual focusing in these older lenses... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken_wong1 Posted May 7, 2004 Author Share Posted May 7, 2004 Firstly, thanks for everyone's information. Can I use any 2X tele-converter on this lens? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scavallucci Posted May 7, 2004 Share Posted May 7, 2004 I tried this lens for a day, more or less a year ago, on a EOS Elan: very sharp lens, but I didn't buy for 1) slow and noisy focusing 2) price (the shop that had it was selling it for $375) 3) rotating front element. I ended up getting a 70-210 f/3.5-4.5 for less than half the price, and I'm very happy with it... HTH, Stefano Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Crowe Posted May 7, 2004 Share Posted May 7, 2004 I also ended up with the 70-210 USM version. The Canon 2x converters will not work with the 50-200 because of the protruding element, but a third party one will. Not sure if you will get any autofocus with the 2x on this lens. A third party 1.4 will give better results, but still no autofocus, I don't think. Take care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexdi Posted May 7, 2004 Share Posted May 7, 2004 Ken: Optically excellent, ergonomically poor. Push-pull zoom design, AFD autofocus motor. Discontinued since, I believe, 1994. Very difficult to find, and like most lenses, overvalued on popular auction sites. Actual worth between $225-$300. I had an ad up in the classifieds section to buy one last month. No responses. DI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron c sunshine coast,qld,a Posted May 7, 2004 Share Posted May 7, 2004 Oops-sorry-re. my info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rainer_nagel Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 Ken, I have the "L" flavor one and have very much the same question as you.(paid about 2x used prices mentioned above...) It's a RARE lens whith a decent and useful zoom range. According to an old german test FoMa 3/1989 it is poor at the short end excellent/good (not outstanding) from 100-200mm. Another independent tester claims maybe better than any other canon L zoom lens in that range?!? my own findings: On Fuji ASTIA 100F color rendition was slightly warm for olive green and dark blue fabrics. (On a tripod!) I get sharp pictures at close focus and at infinity distances. Through the viewfinder it looks very sharp!/contrasty? or is it dim? The lens-hood needs improvement, better replace is with a Kompendium. I will try to upload a test pic and post more findings in the next weeks, Rainer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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