Does any one knows something about the EF 70-200mm f2.8L USM with IS. According to EOS-Magazine, it is scheduled to be on shelf for August. Go here for more info: http://www.eos-magazine.com/News_28_EF70-200ISUSM.html Eran

-- Eran (ebanon@vtx.ch), August 09, 2001

Answers

See a few questions down on this forum:

Press Release - EF70-200 2.8L IS (Woolly Bugger)

-- Rod Nygaard (rod.nygaard@boeing.com), August 09, 2001.

Canon just officially announced the awsome new lens on Wednesday, August 1 '01 -- According to the press release the lens is due to hit shelves sometime in September. I contacted several pro shops & mail order outfits, and none of them even had a clue the lens exhisted! Frustrating, but give it a couple of weeks. The non IS lens will not be taken off the line-up, and the new one will of course be several hundred dollars more expensive.

What differs from the non IS lens? IS...duh ;-) This is the latest generation IS, which includes auto-tripod detection, 2-stage (panning), now 3-stops handholding instead of 2-stops in previous generations, & the stabilizers go online in .5 secs from shutter press instead of 1 sec! Add to that weather seals to match the new EOS-1V & new series Canon TC's, shorter focusing distance, improved AF algorithms & focusing speed, AND it will come with the lens hood & soft pouch rather than making you buy seperately! How's that for a dream upgrade to an awsome lens? All that remains to be seen...some real production lenses tested to see if the optics are just as good or better than the non-IS version!

I want this lens! Imagine owning an 70-200mm f/2.8 IS USM that converts to a 98-280mm f/4 IS USM that converts to a 140-400mm f/5.6 IS USM! Being able to AF in all configurations! Talk about versatility! (Yes, I'm well aware that true focal lengths differ, but close enough!)

Here is the link to the official Canon posting (The EOS Magazine blurb was less than informative): http://www.usa.canon.com/press/080101.html

If anyone catches wind of an actually hands on review, please post it here! I'm sure we're all dying to know if this lens will truly live up to our dreams!

-- Hung James Wasson (HJWasson@aol.com), August 10, 2001.