Updating a legend: Canon Releases 70-200 f/2.8 IS II USM

Canon’s new L Series lens, the 70-200 f/2.8 IS II USM was announced January 5. The highly anticipated announcement offers photographers new features and an improved IS system.

The updated lens features a re-designed optical system, with 23 elements in 19 groups, with a fluorite element and no fewer than five ultra-low dispersion (UD) elements. These changes, says Canon in their media release, drastically reduces chromatic aberration through the zoom range and produces edge-to-edge definition in high contrast images.

The lens’s new autofocus system is geared towards Canon’s new DSLRs, the 1D Mark IV and 7D. This updated model features a ring-type USM AF motor. When combined with a new high-speed CPU and AF algorithm, focusing is both faster and quieter.