DPReview Latest Score: Canon vs Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 IS/VR Version II

http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/canon_70-200_2p8_is_usm_ii_c16/page6.asp


http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/nikon_70-200_2p8_vrii_n15/page6.asp

Gotta love DPReview.


Bryan: "...the best 70-200 L lens available - and arguablythe best Canon zoom lens ever made(as of this review date)..."


DPReview: 86%


86% translates to a solid 'B' - I wonder what it takes to get an 'A' from DPReview? At least it's 1% better than the new Nikon equivalent. Of course, the Canon lens costs a little more...


[:P]

DPReview: "...Its combination of exceptional optics and quirk-free design even manages
to surpass Nikon's equivalent that we tested recently, stealing the
crown of 'Best in Class'..."


[H]

Yeah, I read that. But why does the 'Best in Class' only get an 86%? [*-)]

Well, the 5DII only got a 79%.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jon Ruyle

Well, the 5DII only got a 79%.

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Well, the 7D seems to have 'earned' an 84%. [:P]


At least the 1DIV gets an 89%...

A little off-topic, but 70-200 2.8 IS Mark I has listed as "discontinued" on Canon HK!


[:O]


http://www.canon.com.hk/en/consumer/product/discontinued.aspx?series_id=41

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Originally Posted by waving_odd

A little off-topic, but 70-200 2.8 IS Mark I has listed as "discontinued" on Canon HK!


[img]/emoticons/emotion-3.gif[/img]


[url="http://www.canon.com.hk/en/consumer/product/discontinued.aspx?series_id=41]http://www.canon.com.hk/en/consumer/product/discontinued.aspx?series_id=41[/url]
<div style="clear: both;"]</div>

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Well, there's no reason to make it now that it's been replaced by the Mark II, so that was certainly expected. :-)

LOL, oddly enough, the score on the Mark I averaged 8.5/10...


[url="http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/canon_70-200_2p8_is_usm_c16/]http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/canon_70-200_2p8_is_usm_c16/[/url]


<span style="color: #800080;"]

Quote:

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Originally Posted by elmo_2006

LOL, oddly enough, the score on the Mark I averaged 8.5/10...


[url="http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/canon_70-200_2p8_is_usm_c16/]http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/canon_70-200_2p8_is_usm_c16/[/url]


<span style="color:#800080;"]

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Yes, bu their scoring system changed, and there's not a simple conversion between old and new. Read more HERE.

And besides that, the mark-I version is like $900 cheaper(or something like that), so the value is perhaps a little lower.


(I would prefer to have a 50D+70-200 IS-I instead of only the mark-II version)...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by waving_odd

A little off-topic, but 70-200 2.8 IS Mark I has listed as "discontinued" on Canon HK!

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It's still in the main listing on the Canon USA site. I'm actually not sure what to make of that sort of thing. Sean's correct that it certainly makes sense to stop making the MkI once the MkII is released. On the other hand, I find it interesting that the EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM (non-L/non-IS) disappeared from the Canon USA site a while back (despite being a rather different lens at a very different price point) - however, the 100mm non-IS Macro lens still current on the HK site.

I am surprised there are people love the mark II so much despite the price, so I am going to try this one later to see if it will change my mind.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pieter

And besides that, the mark-I version is like $900 cheaper(or something like that), so the value is perhaps a little lower.

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well the good news is that one of my trusted ebay store is selling mark II for only $2379.95(or about $2142 after rebates), I don't know if it will change your mind?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by neuroanatomist

I'm actually not sure what to make of that sort of thing. Sean's correct that it certainly makes sense to stop making the MkI once the MkII is released.

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Yeah, some people might be interested to know if the predecessor is discontinued or going to discontinue very soon so they can get a cheaper mark I that they might have planned for a while. That's why I bring this up.


I guess the decision of when to discontinue is by the Canon local company - if they still see a high availability of local stock they might want to discontinue later.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by waving_odd

Yeah, some people might be interested to know if the predecessor is discontinued or going to discontinue very soon so they can get a cheaper mark I that they might have planned for a while. That's why I bring this up.

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Makes sense.


In fact, a few weeks ago there was an opposite effect - once the MkII was released, the prices on the MkI went up! When it came off the winter lens rebates ($150), the MkI was still selling for a little over $1700 (I remember, because I bought my 100-400mm in early March, and at time I considered getting the 70-200mm f/2.8 IS MkI instead as it was only ~$100 more - but, I wanted the reach and I also wanted to see the reviews of the MkII). Since then, it has gone up from $1700 to $1900. For me, at the time I was ready to make another purchase that reduced difference actually made it a little easier to 'get the II' (which is probably part of the philosophy behind that price increase in the first place!).


I have no doubt that the MkI will be formally discontinued everywhere at some point - I'm sure it's no longer in production. Hopefully for those (like Brendan) considering the MkI, if it's formally discontinued the price of the MkI will drop...