lenses

[fasteddiehawaii]

Someone mentioned that the 70-200 F2.8 non IS was one of the earlier ones of this bunch.  As material and technology improve, do you think canon continues to make these current editions now in production  the old way, and not incorporate the new technology or improved methods and results from feedback and other experiences that they have had since they first started making this lens?  I also guess that at some point no matter who is the manufacturer, a lemon has slipped through and gone out to the public so we just have to cross our fingers and hope we don't get one.  So far....so good!!

[fasteddiehawaii · Accepted solution]

thank you very much.  what a great article.  does anyone know if these types of changes have happened to the 70-200 F2.8 non IS lens?   after 12 years of shooting with my flash, I was told that service would no longer be provided to the original 580 flashes due to newer models coming out and canon no longer wanting to make parts for the old one.  canon did an overhaul on the original flash and it is just like new but it got me thinking.  thank you very much for your input and assistance-much appreciated. I have a hard time following technical stuff but that article you referred me to was great.  I shall save it for reference, as well. I have had nothing but good luck and excellent pictures from canon.  the extra weight and the extra grand it cost between the IS and non IS was important at the time, and I am happy with the non IS model.  I don't shoot too much for money now but really started by accident many years ago with a nikon to help a friend who worked in a catering dept shoot a convention when the hired photographer did not show up; swithched to mamiya 645s and RB 67s; then three  full systems of hasselblad for myself and an assistant and spares, then fuji pro S when digital came out, then to canon and recently sold my 1Ds to purchase the 5D III to get the higher ISOs to take night pictures at the race  track even though I was using the 85 mm  F1.2. I am happy with the 5D III and it is smaller, and takes pictures that continue to amaze me.  photography has provided me much enjoyment and for friends and family too, and canon has been a big part of that so I stay with them and only buy their equipment.  yes, there are others who make great gear and probably cheaper but isn't it great that we can all choose our own path? thanks again.

[ScottyP]

Hi, Eddie

Good timing. Roger over at Lens Rentals has just demonstrated that Canon does indeed modify models during their life cycle. He is actually an interesting blog to follow, with lots of stuff like this.
http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2013/07/silent-changes

Scott

[fasteddiehawaii · Accepted solution]

thank you very much.  what a great article.  does anyone know if these types of changes have happened to the 70-200 F2.8 non IS lens?   after 12 years of shooting with my flash, I was told that service would no longer be provided to the original 580 flashes due to newer models coming out and canon no longer wanting to make parts for the old one.  canon did an overhaul on the original flash and it is just like new but it got me thinking.  thank you very much for your input and assistance-much appreciated. I have a hard time following technical stuff but that article you referred me to was great.  I shall save it for reference, as well. I have had nothing but good luck and excellent pictures from canon.  the extra weight and the extra grand it cost between the IS and non IS was important at the time, and I am happy with the non IS model.  I don't shoot too much for money now but really started by accident many years ago with a nikon to help a friend who worked in a catering dept shoot a convention when the hired photographer did not show up; swithched to mamiya 645s and RB 67s; then three  full systems of hasselblad for myself and an assistant and spares, then fuji pro S when digital came out, then to canon and recently sold my 1Ds to purchase the 5D III to get the higher ISOs to take night pictures at the race  track even though I was using the 85 mm  F1.2. I am happy with the 5D III and it is smaller, and takes pictures that continue to amaze me.  photography has provided me much enjoyment and for friends and family too, and canon has been a big part of that so I stay with them and only buy their equipment.  yes, there are others who make great gear and probably cheaper but isn't it great that we can all choose our own path? thanks again.

[ebiggs1 · Accepted solution]

"... and canon no longer wanting to make parts for the old one ..."

Parts, too, suffer form production runs. It may be and probably is, all the parts for the original 580 (or any other product) have been exhausted because they were only made with the last run of 580's. They simply do not make parts by themselves.

[ebiggs1]

Large companies typically make their products in batches instead of continuously. That is the way we did at our company. One reason for the date code is to document the production run.

All changes are not improvements, however, but just different. It may be do to the manufacturer’s (Canon) production line improvements or upgrades. It may be due to a new part supplier. Any number of reasons.

Usually a “better” lens will get a modified name to. Like Mk II or Series II or some such.

[amfoto1]

I do not know if the 70-200/2.8 non-IS has gone through any mid-production changes.

I do know for certain that the original 70-200/2.8 IS did... at least once. In fact, a year or two after I bought mine, Canon got in touch to inform me of an "upgrade" to the IS system in the lens. Their description was that this was primarily to improve servicability of the lens, didn't effect functionalilty or durability in any way. So I didn't send the lens in for what was quoted as $600 worth of work at the time. I figured if the IS in the lens ever failed, I'd do the "upgrade" then anyway. However, as it's turned out, that's never been needed. It's probably taken close to a half million images in the years since and is still one of my most used lenses... and is working just fine.

If trying to decide between the various 70-200s Canon offers, I'd suggest looking at whether or not you need/want IS and comparing various resolution tests you might find for each of them online. There really isn't a major difference in them, but most people think the old 70-200/2.8 non-IS is the "softest" of the bunch... The f2.8 IS first version improved a little on that and is close to tied with the f4 non-IS. The later f4 IS version improved slightly on those two, but the latest f2.8 IS Mark II has further upped the ante a little bit.

Now, I'm a big, big fan of IS... I'd always prefer to have it on longer focal lengths and particularly when I use them a lot on crop cameras where IS can be even more helpful. IS was one of the reasons I switched to Canon system, back in the days when I was using a lot of ISO 50 and 100 slide film. Even shooting digital at much higher ISOs not, IS still allows me to get shots that I'd struggle to get without it.

But if the extra cost for IS is an obstacle, the non-IS lenses are excellent alternatives, with minor limitations. All the Canon 70-200s are durable workhorses. Again, there are some differences in image quality, but if you took them all out and shot with them side by side, you'd have a pretty hard time telling the difference.

I'm still happily shooting with the original 70-200/2.8 IS and also have a 70-200/4 IS as a backup or for those times when I want to carry a smaller, lighter lens. Some day I'll upgrade to the 70-200/2.8 IS Mark II... but I'm not rushing out to do so.   

***********
Alan Myers

San Jose, Calif., USA
"Walk softly and carry a big lens."
GEAR: 5DII, 7D(x2), 50D(x3), some other cameras, various lenses & accessories
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