Why I Didn't Like the Canon 70-200mm L USM

The lens I wanted to love.

The title of this post says it all, but let me show you why I returned the lens. Perhaps I should begin with the video I posted on Youtube.

Here are the sample photos I mentioned in the video.

As a result of these findings I opted to return the Canon 70-200mm F/4 L USM lens. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to love this lens. I knew proper light was going to be an issue for this lens given the smaller aperture, but after reading reviews on Amazon I decided to give it a go.

In the end I decided to go with another strategy. I purchased the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 L lens from Adorama. The lens will arrive December 29 and I will then compare it to my current Tamron 17-50mm f 2.8. I'm expecting the results to be strikingly different with the Canon outperforming the Tamron significantly. My full report will be updated on this blog. If everything goes well I will sell the Tamron and save up for the Canon 135mm L lens.

In closing I'm disappointed with my introduction to the L lens line. I was so excited when I researched the lens and found excellent reviews and tests shots on other sites. I spent several hours on The Digital Picture examining the ISO12233 shots and thought the lens would match the hype. I'm not sure what happened but I do know what I saw in those photos.