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Pell
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Registered: Apr 26, 2005
Location: Canada
Posts: 1592
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Review Date: Sep 2, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $900.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Speed, Sharpness, Build Quality, Size, Contrast, Colour
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Cons:
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Would really benifet from IS, could use Weather Sealing, but I am just being picky.
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Simply the the best prime I have used. Although It is not worlds better than the 70-200 2.8 IS which in my opinion makes this lens redundant. Who really needs razor sharpness unless I suppose you do very large format prints.
However this lens is still fantastic.
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 Sep 2, 2006
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DonSnyder
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Registered: Jun 16, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 28
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Review Date: Aug 26, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $900.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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very, very , nice lens...
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Cons:
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none after 1 month..
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I really like this lens. The most I ever paid for a prime. I do not regret one dollar.
Part of my low light suite.. 50@1.4,85@1.8,135@2.0
They all reveal their best when pushed to f4 on a full frame.. IMHO.
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Aug 26, 2006
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Craig Lockett
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Registered: Jul 30, 2003
Location: United States
Posts: 566
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Review Date: Aug 24, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Sharp! Great colors and bokeh
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Cons:
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none
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This is a fantastic lens. I found it to be a little long for indoor work, but outdoors it performed like a champ.
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Aug 24, 2006
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iclaudius
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Registered: Aug 31, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 8
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Review Date: Aug 22, 2006
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Recommend? |
Price paid: $890.00
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Pros:
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Great contrast and color. Solid build. F2 very usable in low light indoor photography with acceptable sharpness. Outdoors, depth of field options are virtually unlimited with fast focus.
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Cons:
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None
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My first review disappeared in the ether. I bought this lens in lieu of a 70-200 IS and was concerned that making portraits on a 1.6 crop camera would be problematic, but my worries were unfounded. It produces beautiful portraits of either head or head and shoulders with minimal foot zooming. F2 plus 1600 ISO is a great recipe for low light concert photography(I used a monopod for extra stability in very low light.) Outdoors, this lens is great for compressed landscapes and "portraits" of flowers etc. This lens is worthy of all the high praise it gets and I will certainly consider more primes. It simply produces stunning images.
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Aug 22, 2006
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iclaudius
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Registered: Aug 31, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 8
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Review Date: Aug 21, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $890.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Colors and contrast are second to none. Sharpness is still very usable at f2 (iso 1600) for poorly lit stage performances. Outdoors, it is extremely fast to focus and gives one a huge range of depth of field options. Need to explore all this lens can give you.
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Cons:
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None
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I just purchased the lens for use in portrait and landscape photography with a 20d. I wondered about using the prime on a crop camera, however I find the lens very comfortable to use on a crop camera for both types of photos. Great for head and shoulders, or just head, and terrific for compressed and extremely detailed landscapes. I debated between this and 70-200is. I love the size, weight and solid build of this lens. I did use a monopod for the darkened indoor concert photos during my trial run with the lens, so not sure if that is a fair trade off vs the 70-200is which wouldn't require a monopod. On the other hand, the f2 aperture would seem to be the minimum necessary for much of my indoor concert photography and even that kicks in at iso 1600. For landscapes, I always use a tripod, so IS is of little use. For wildlife I use the 100-400IS. Sharpness at f2 requires little or no capture sharpening depending on scene and available light. The results are simply stunning. This lens deserves all the praise it gets. More primes?....
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Aug 21, 2006
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zeljkito
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Registered: Oct 28, 2005
Location: Croatia
Posts: 44
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Review Date: Aug 21, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Super sharp, fast AF, F/2.0, hood included, built
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Cons:
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nothing worth mentioning, maybe lens hood is too big....
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After reading post all over web, decided to get me one of these. I'll probably never regret it. This lens is super sharp, lightning fast AF, that can hunt sometimes, but this is the case only in abysmal conditions. At F/2.0 images are a tad softer, but still very acceptable, and logically DOF is very shallow. Color rendition is oustanding, bokeh also. Lens is not too big or too heavy, on tripod attached on camera balance is very good. Only thing that simetimes bothers me - hood is maybe too bulky especially in the bag and with the hood attached it's almost twice its size (almost as big as hood on 70-200/4).
Filter thread is also not too big (72 mm) and that makes appropriate filters very affordable. Flare control is top notch, I have observed couple of flare cases in extreme backliting and most extreme angles, otherwise, there is none. MF ring is spot on, size and grip wise, not to flimsy, not to firm, but it can be obstructed by hood (if it's on backwards), especially for those with bigger fingers...
With canon 1,4 extender works like a charm, giving 190/2.8 with only tad lower image quality wide open and almost as equal AF speed.
If you are considering it, don't, just get it. Or at least try it, I know you'll be heading home figuring out the way to explain your wife reasons why this is the lens you just despirately need (been there, done that) :-). Besides EFS-60 sharpest lens I carry in my bag and it NEVER stays home
Wishing you all good lighting
Zeljko
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Aug 21, 2006
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ISO1600
Offline
Buy and Sell: On
Registered: Jul 6, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 3930
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Review Date: Jul 28, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $750.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Sharpness is second to none, the AF is bitingly accurate, built like a tank, and easy to carry. Very well balanced on a 1-series.
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Cons:
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I guess the only stuff i can complain about is more of a wish- i'd LOVE this lens to be sealed.
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If you're even considering this lens as a future purchase, just do it.
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Jul 28, 2006
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Tetsuo
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Registered: Aug 3, 2005
Location: Norway
Posts: 396
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Review Date: Jul 25, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $900.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Very fast. Tack sharp. Light. Black.
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Cons:
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None.
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I read all the reviews here and quite a few elsewhere before buying this lens. I figured it would be sharp, but nothing could prepare me for what I saw when I put it on my 5D (bought at the same time) and started taking pictures. Even at f/2 it was razor sharp. It needs to be kept above 1/200 to ensure you don't get any softness in your images, but once that's in place you're in heaven. I cannot recommend this lens enough. Would I like to see an IS version of this lens? Of course. But I don't need it. I love it as it is. It's definitely my favorite.
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Jul 25, 2006
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Marshall4
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Registered: Jan 21, 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 737
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Review Date: Jul 23, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $869.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Extremely sharp and fast
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Cons:
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None
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My favorite lens. Killer in every way.
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Jul 23, 2006
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tkoet
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Registered: May 12, 2006
Location: N/A
Posts: 1503
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Review Date: Jul 7, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $899.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Reference-level build, sharp images, wonderful colors, fast focus
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Cons:
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none
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In almost 30 years of owning nice camera gear by Olympus, Nikon, Mamiya, Fuji and Canon, this is the only lens I've ever owned with no negative aspects of any kind. A must have. I think I gush for this item because at around 900USD, it's an astounding value as well.
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Jul 7, 2006
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Offline
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Review Date: Jul 5, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Speed, Bokeh, Colours and so on and so on.
This is my favorite lens
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Cons:
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None, wish every Canon lens was as good as the 135L
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The colours, contrast and bokeh from this lens are amazing.
Not to mention TAC sharp.
Great lens for the money even if it was priced higher I would still buy it.
Dan
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Jul 5, 2006
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winman3
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Registered: Jul 19, 2005
Location: Canada
Posts: 368
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Review Date: Jul 3, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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fast, accurate focus, sharp even wide open, short size, black
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Cons:
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none for me
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This is an excellent, excellent lens. I agonized over buying this one or the 85mm f1.2, but settled on the 135mm.
Its focal length is a little longer than I envisioned on my 1.6 factor cameras, but one gets used to it. For this reason I use it mainly outdoors where it excells as a good portrait lens.
Since buying this lens my 70-200 f4 lens is getting minimal use.
This is a lens you will not regret buying despite its cost. It should give you decades of peerless performance.
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Jul 3, 2006
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Lani Kai
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Registered: Oct 3, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 782
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Review Date: Jul 1, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $800.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Excellent in every respect. Sharpness, contrast, saturation, speed, weight... As others have said, this is about as close to perfect as it gets. Although it is a bit of an awkward focal length on 1.6x (for me anyway) I still find myself using it whenever possible, even if that means stepping back quite a bit.
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Cons:
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None
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Jul 1, 2006
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krobatshov
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Registered: Jan 22, 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 552
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Review Date: Jun 30, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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weight, price, AF speed& accuracy,
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Cons:
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none...
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Initially wanted to go for a 70-200 2.8 non IS after the f4, but then, however, none of my prefered sellers had them in stock.
I was given the chance to order it...and I'm not disappointed at all. 135mm may sound little...but on a 1.6x it's enough to get out the part of the pic you want to see.
At 2.8 it's slightly better than the 70-200 2.8 (non IS) -
No use talking about this and that: This is the perfect lens - IS is not really necessary, since you can use f2...and bump iso up...no big deal getting "enough" shutter speed to take pics
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Jun 30, 2006
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whatcheer
Offline
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Registered: May 12, 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 123
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Review Date: Jun 28, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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balance, bokeh, performance.
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Cons:
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Sharp, scintillating lens. You won't be disappointed.
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Jun 28, 2006
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incdigital
Offline
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Registered: Aug 2, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 226
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Review Date: Jun 16, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $720.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Perfect size/weight on 1 Series, Razor sharp from f/2 up, Corner sharpness is near center quality at all stops, Blazing fast AF, L build, Perfect portrait lens
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Cons:
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Nope no negative here...
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After 5 years working w/ EOS camera bodies i just finally bought this lens...now im wishing i bought this gem years ago. I find this and my 85L are my primary workers now a days. I shoot mostly fashion so the focal length is just right on my 5D or 1D. Cant praise this lens enough!
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Jun 16, 2006
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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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383
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503841
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May 20, 2013
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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96% of reviewers
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$1,301.92
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Build Quality Rating
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Price Rating
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Overall Rating
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9.80
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9.41
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9.9
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