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  Reviews by: vachss  
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Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM

ef500mmf_4_1_
Review Date: Jul 21, 2006 Recommend? yes | Price paid: $4,600.00 | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: IS makes a tremendous difference at this focal length.
Cons:
Big/heavy enough to dissuade me from bringing it on strenuous hikes.

I had the earlier non-IS Canon 500/4.5 for about a year before upgrading to the 500/4. While both of these lenses are capable of producing excellent images wide open, I can't emphasize enough how much of an improvement in usability the image stabilization provides. With the 4.5 I found it necessary to employ immaculate long lens technique to avoid motion blur. With the 500/4 I can get equally sharp results while being much sloppier. The ability to swing the lens loose on a gimbal or monopod - or even use it hand held (albeit well braced) greatly improved my flexibility at the same time my keeper rate went way up.

All other impressions are similar to those given by other reviewers.
 
Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM

EF10-22
Review Date: May 25, 2006 Recommend? yes | Price paid: $625.00 | Rating: 7 

 
Pros: Nice FOV range. Good center sharpness. Low distortion in mid part of zoom range.
Cons:
Edges not very sharp at wide end.

I've had this lens for almost 1.5 years now and shot with it extensively on a 20D. If you want a superwide Canon lens on a crop body it certainly serves this purpose well enough. That said I have never been impressed with the edge sharpness from 10-12mm. Even at f/8 the edges at the wide end look pretty soft to me. I tried a couple of copies and both were the same in this regard. That said it still is a very effective landscape lens on a 1.6x body and I will keep mine until Canon produces a sharp prime in the 12mm range (i.e. probably until doomsday).