The Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM is a fully professional 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom for half the price of the very similar Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II. The only benefits for paying twice as much for the flagship 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II is Image Stabilization (IS) and slightly better optical and AF performance, so if you're shooting from a tripod, this 70-200/2.8 does the same thing for half the price, with a little less weight.

The Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L USM Lens is a middle child in the very popular Canon L Series 70-200mm family. The 70-200mm L lens family shows many genetic similarities aside from their obvious focal length range similarity. Top notch image quality with build quality to match is at the top of the list.

The Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM is not a new lens, but still offers very good performance on both full-frame and APS-C DSLRs. Optical construction includes four UD (ultra low-dispersion) elements to correct chromatic aberrations, and it is compatible with Canon's Extender EF 1.4x II and 2x II teleconverters. It's not to be confused with Canon's more expensive image-stabilised 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 USM L - Review / Test Report Lens Reviews - Canon EOS (APS-C). The Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 USM L is almost a legend - back in 1995 it was the first professional grade tele zoom featuring a blazingly fast ultrasonic AF drive.