Canon EF 70-210mm f/3.5-4.5 USM

The 70-200 option nobody considers, but they reall should I'm very picky about lens sharpness and usually use only primes. However, I wanted something that would reach out to telephoto ranges for certain types of landscape shots, without breaking the bank or compromising on image quality. This lens is a hidden gem in the EF lineup. It is not as sharp as L glass, but stop down to f/5.6 or f/6.3 and it might as well be. Even wide open it's great in the center (corners fall off in sharpness predictably). Killer lens for the price especially.

A Real Bargain !!! Great Zoom for a Small Price I was looking for a zoom in the 70-200mm range preferably with USM ring, since this type of lens has the great feature of Full Time Manual (FTM), allowing you to correct or improve the speed of reaction of the Auto focus under certain lighting conditions. And even more important I was looking for something under $200. First I was thinking to buy the Canon 75-300 mm f/4.5-5.6 USM, but after doing some research I was a little dissapointing about it, and most of the reviews qualified it as acceptable in the best case. It is not really FTM, just has an USM motor but not the USM ring. Additionaly, the opinions were even worst about some 80-200 lens made by canon. There was only left the 70-200 f2.8 L (which is one of the best lens you can buy, so if you have the money don't read more and get yours), but this one is over $1000, even used, so it wasn't an option for me. But after some reading I found this amazing lens, the EF 70-210 mm f/3.5-4.5 USM. Auto focus is ultra fast and very accurate even in very low light situations, and with FTM you can adjust focus whenever you like really fast. Building quality is great, and you don't feel like is going to break in pieces like some canon or third party lens, I think the metal mount contributes a lot to its sturdiness feeling. It is a little heavy so, it's easier to handle with vertical grip, is just my personal opinion. Aperture is bigger than the aperture of most of the lenses you can find in this range (price and lenght), allowing you to enjoy a couple of stops more both in 70 and 210 ends. Picture quality is good, again both in 70 and 200 ends. I only found one thing I don't like about it, It tends to suffer of lens creep, but for the price I think I can stand it. I highly recomend this lens if you like to shoot portraits or street photography, that's what I like, so for me this lens is perfect. It is an amazing lens for a great price. I hope this opinion be a useful help. Regards.Read full review

great for 6D I got this to go with my 6D. Its a very old lens, so old there is not even a lens profile available for it to correct for aberrations such as purple fringing or dark corners. However, it produces a sharp image with good colors. I have taken a few portraits with it and my daughter at gymnastics and the results were great. Worked well with my crop 60D as well. Its about a stop faster that the usual low-end zooms out there, so that helps a bit indoors as well.