canonlover

By the way, if you are going to be using this lens on your boat, in

action scenarios, consider this:

<p>

Last week while on holiday, after owning my lovely new 70-200 f4L for

all of three weeks, I was on a rocky beach in the Canary Islands off

the coast of Africa. It was sunset, and I had a great view of the

coast standing on a small outcrop above the rocky beach. I needed a

wide angle perspective so mounted my 28-105mm to my EOS 30/Elan 7E,

and passed the 70-200mm f4L in its soft case to my girlfriend. My

words to her were "please hold this securely for me, while I take

this shot", and carefully passed it to her. Guess what, she dropped

my new lens, front element and 77mm Hoya SHMC filter facing down. It

fell at least six or seven feet on to the rocks below. Granted the

filter smashed as it hit a protruding rock below, and all the broken

glass of the filter hit the front element, and also jammed the filter

into the filter ring of the lens. Remember this lens fell at least

six or seven feet, front element down onto a solid lumpy rock, and it

still works perfectly. Of course the front element and filter ring

needs replacing, but I think this is testament to the great quality

of this lens.

<p>

If you are interested my girlfriend is now forgiven, and my insurance

company are covering the repair cost, but I doubt a 100-300mm would

be as tough as my 70-200 f4L! It think this lens will last a

lifetime, girlfriend permitting.

I considered getting a Canon 100-300mm after selling my slow focusing

Canon 75-300 IS. When it came down to it, I went for the 70-200 f4L,

which is only 100mm down on the 100-300 (which doesn't bother me too

much), and more than makes up for this 100mm shortfall with

incredible image quality, super fast, accurate focusing speed and

excellent build quality.

<p>

The rest of my kit is made up of an EOS 30 (Elan 7E to you), Canon 28-

105 Mk2, BP-300, infra red remote (not sure which, but it's the tiny

one) and 420EX speedlite. As a complete kit it is highly

satisfactory, with my only reservation being the fact that I now need

to upgrade the 28-105 to a higher quality zoom so this zoom range

will have the same image quality of my new 70-200 f4L.

<p>

If you can stretch to it go for the 70-200 f4L over the 100-300mm.

Then you can start thinking about a 28-70 f2.8L to replace your 28-

105mm at a later stage - just as I am lusting after that lens now I

have entered 'L' territory. If you do go for it, these lenses should

carry a government health warning as they are addictively good.

If you are in the UK or Europe try New York Camera Exchange in

Germany, and speak to Gerold Weinman there. They offer some really

good deals. You can pay by credit card with them aswell for a small

extra charge for added security.

<p>

I bought a Canon 70-200f4L from them for £480.00 including delivery

to the UK and taxes. In the UK this lens would have cost me anywhere

from £600 to £750.

<p>

They even sent a bottle of German 'Champagne' with it aswell!

Is there a particular way that I should be cleaning a flourite lens, as opposed to a standard non-L series lens?

<p>

My camera dealer told me I shouldn't really use a compressed air cleaner on a flourite element as it can damage the coating. He suggested using a cloth and/or a blower brush instead.

<p>

Is this reasonable advice to follow?

<p>

Also, how should I clean the mirror and underside of the focussing screen on my EOS 30/Elan7E?

And don't get the kit lens (Canon 28-90mm), get it with the Canon 28-

105 f3.5-4.5 as it is a much better lens. It will cost more, but the

increase in image quality outweighs the price difference.

As you are in a Canon forum full of Canon users, you are likely to

get the answer "Elan 7". Not that we are biased or anything!

<p>

I am an owner of an EOS 30 (Elan 7), and have always owned Canon so I

can't give you an unbiased opinion.

<p>

If I were to give you an answer I would say go for the Canon, but you

expected me to say that anyway, didn't you?

<p>

: )

Isaac

<p>

I followed up on your answer to me about my 70-200 f4L being clunky

by taking it to my nearest Canon Service Centre at Elstree near

London for a second opinon. I have a European Canon warranty on my

lens as I bought it in Germany, and they honoured the warranty when

checking my lens over. BTW they said that there was nothing wrong

with the lens clunking, and that it is likely to be the helicoid

gearing linked to the zoom ring.

<p>

Canon will always honour an international Canon warranty as far as I

am aware. The only warranties they don't seem to want to honour are

country specific ones if different from the country you are in.

<p>

If your warranty is current get it checked out by your nearest Canon

Service Centre as the last thing you want is for a moving part that

has lost its lubrication getting seized up.

<p>

Have a look at www.canon.co.uk to look up your nearest service

centre. You'll find a PDF map on there with all the locations.

<p>

If you take it or post it to the Elstree Canon Service Centre I found

that the Service Manager (Mr Zahman) there was very, very helpful.

Give him a call if you have a technical question, and he will get one

of his technicians to help you out. Call him on 0870 241 2161.

<p>

Hope this helps.

<p>

Sam

Issac, I knew you would be the one that could help me! You've put my

mind at rest now. I think the clunk seems to happen around the zoom

ring area, but I will check this out.

<p>

I guess I now have a lens that has to have broad operating

capabilities, and being in the UK means that it is going to be at

it's least expanded state for most of the time.

<p>

If I was abroad in a hot country then I guess the last thing I would

want is for the lens and it's metal casing to expand and lead to the

lens seizing up or damaging itself!

<p>

Overall I am so happy with it. Even when looking through the view

finder I can see how fantastic the glass is. I can't wait to get

some film developed now! The focusing speed is really quick, and

totally blows my 75-300 IS out of the water.

<p>

Quibbling about a clunk is peanuts compared to how poorly built my

plastic 75-300 IS was in comparison to the 70-200 f4L.

<p>

I have a really scary feeling that a 28-70 f2.8L will be replacing my

28-105 mkII soon. I just won't tell my wife that it has been changed!

<p>

Thanks again.

<p>

Sam

I have just received my brand new Canon 70-200 f4L lens which is obviously a great lens, and I can't wait to see the results from it.

<p>

Two things that concern me though:

<p>

1.

<p>

There is a very small amount of play on the zoom ring.

<p>

Does anyone have any play on their zoom ring?

<p>

2.

<p>

When I turn the zoom ring from 200mm to 70mm it the lens clunks slightly, and when I turn it from about 160mm to 200mm I can feel it clunk again. If I hold the zoom tightly then it doesn't seem to clunk as much. The clunking doesn't seem to affect the overall smoothness of the movement of the internal lens elements.

<p>

Can this be the internal zooming function or is there a problem with the lens?

<p>

Has anyone that has this lens found that theirs does the same?

<p>

If it is a fault with the lens do I take it to a Canon service centre?

<p>

Hope you can help me.

Many shots that are really sharp before they are posted on the net

come out less sharp when viewed on a PC, through compression. This

is a jpeg, so this is likely to be the case. I have posted a number

of super sharp shots on the net that have been pin sharp, then had

them slated on photo.net etc for them not being sharp enough. I was

giving Peter the benefit of the doubt taking this into account. I

don't think he was posting the photo for a major critique anyway.

<p>

Peter, I'll let you fight your own corner now!

Peter,

<p>

This is a great emotional portrait, even not knowing the person you

can feel the mood of the shot. It's very sharp too!

<p>

What film did you use, and how did you get it on to the web? What

size resolution is the image, and did you scan it or use a photo CD?

<p>

Or have you got a D30 or 1D hiding away somewhere?!?

<p>

Thanks

<p>

Sam

My Canon 70-200 f4L lens arrives on Tuesday, and I just wanted to say thank you to everyone that helped me out with advice and recommedations in making this excellent choice.

<p>

This is a great community and long may it continue!

<p>

Thanks again.

One word for which make of lens you should buy for a Canon camera:

CANON.

I have read here:

<p>

http://www.bsag.ch/~fs/camera/lvsis.html

<p>

The 70-200 f2.8L zoom is not as sharp at the corners than the 75-300 IS at 75-170mm? Can this be true? Look at the conclusion at the end of the article to see what I mean.

<p>

I am in the process of buying a 70-200 f4L, after selling my 75-300 IS, as the 75-300 IS was not sharp enough for me.

<p>

Any advice would be appreciated!

Hi RD

<p>

I have an EOS 30 (Elan 7E to you), and have used Konica IR750 and the

results were excellent with no fogging at all. I am told that the

effect with the Konica IR750 film isn't quite as dramatic as Kodak

HIE, but it still looks like a good IR effect to me. I also used a

Hoya Infra Red Filter (R72) to increase the effect of IR.

<p>

You can barely see through this filter so you have to compose with

the filter off the lens, then meter and shoot with the filter on the

lens. I shot three images of each subject +/- 2 stops either side f

the meter reading to ensure I had a choice of exposure extremes and

the results were great on bright days.

<p>

Have a go with this film/filter combiniation and see what you think.

Let me know what your results are like too if you want!

<p>

Good luck.

I had a sigma 170-400mm lens, that was bought brand new last summer,

and it did not work properly on my Canon EOS 30 (Elan7e). I took it

back to the shop I bought it from, and they told me it had not been

chipped to work on more recent bodies. I bought a Canon zoom

instead, as Canon lenses never have compatibility issues.

<p>

With the Sigma if I tried to take a photo it would focus OK, but when

I wanted to fire the shutter the mirror would jam up and the camera

would go blank. It sounds as if your EOS 3 is having a similar

problem with compatibility issues due to its advanced AF system. The

Rebel 2000 may work OK as it has a different, less complicated, and

possibly earlier technology based focusing system.

<p>

I would try to either get the Tokina chipped (which could be

expensive), or sell the Tokina on and get a compatible lens that you

have tried on your EOS 3 before buying it.

<p>

I would always buy a Canon lens for my Canon body from now on.

I agree with Jim. I'd also back him up on the fact that the Canon

100-300 USM is a much better lens than the Canon 75-300. It is much

faster at focusing with its ring type USM motor (rather than the much

slower micro-motor in the USM 75-300), you get full time manual

focusing, a distance scale window and infra-red markers. It will cost

a little more than the 75-300 but the extra cost will be worth it.

Slower than your 75-300 IS? I find that hard to believe that the

same could be true of the 70-200 f4L with the 1.4x TC.

<p>

Are you sure that there isn't a fault with this combination?

<p>

Issac, if you are reading this can you shed any light at all?

<p>

I don't want to trade my 75-300 IS for the 70-200 f4L and 1.4x TC,

then find it isn't any faster at focusing!

Thanks so much for your suggestions. I think I'll go and check out

all the options and see what sort of a deal I can get. AC Photo

looks pretty good! Can't read German though so there will be some

guess work....

This seems like a good deal to me Tasha. In the UK this camera sells

for £260.00 ($591 Canadian) for just the camera and the lens. You

also got the bag and battery pack aswell. You can reckon on another

£20 ($45 Canadian)for the bag and £45 ($102 Canadian) for the battery

pack over here!

<p>

This would mean that you'd pay $738 Canadian in the UK for the same

kit!

<p>

I reckon you got a great deal.

<p>

If you've just started get a good book to help you through, or even

do a course.

<p>

Good books are founds here:

<p>

http://www.idiotbooks.com/idiotdummybooksphotography.html

<p>

The Idiots Guides are really useful.

<p>

When you are ready to get a new lens, I found that replacing the 28-

90mm kit lens with the 28-105mm Canon lens made my images improve a

lot in quality. It didn't help me make better composition or

metering decisions though.

You could try a close up filter for about £20, or go for a Cosina

100mm f3.5, which you can buy for about £120.00 from various

retailers. For the money it's rated as a reasonable consumer macro

lens.

Jeffrey,

<p>

I learnt by reading books on the subject, and one of the best that I

found was the 'Complete Idiots Guide to Photography' and 'The

Complete Idiots Guide to Photography Like a Pro'. Don't take offence

to the titles, they guide you through the principles of photography

in a very methodical way.

<p>

Goto to - 'http://www.idiotbooks.com/idiotdummybooksphotography.html'

<p>

This should show you the range on books they have.

<p>

Instruction manuals that you get with cameras are good for learning

about your camera, but not always the best for learning about

photography.

<p>

Hope this helps.

Thanks loads for your advice.

<p>

I have seen a place called WestBase Electronics in Regent Street,

London, selling the lens at £599.00. I guess this is a reasonable

place to start? Might use them as an example for Jessops to then

sweeten their price.

<p>

Or, would ordering from Germany (NY Camera) attract an additional

17.5% VAT?

<p>

I've ordered loads of CDs and DVDs from the US, and never been hit

for duty or VAT. Is it because the products are of a higher value

that you attract the attention of customs?