Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM Performance

Sharpness at 70mm is excellent in the centre from f/2.8 through to f/8. It is very good at f/11 and f/16, good at f/22, and only at f/32 does diffraction really get a grip and here it is only fair. 70mm edge sharpness follows exactly the same pattern, and in fact in terms of figures follows the central results very closely.

Central results at 100mm show excellent sharpness from f/2.8 to f/11, very good at f/16, good at f/22 and fair at f/32. The edges are excellent at f/2.8 and f/4, very good from f/5.6 to f/16, good at f/22 and fair at f/32.

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At 135mm, sharpness is excellent from f/2.8 to f/11, very good at f/16, good at f/22 and fair at f/32. The edges are very good from f/2.8 to f/16, good at f/22 and fair at f/32.

At 200mm, central sharpness is excellent from f/2.8 to f/11, very good at f/16, good at f/22 and fair at f/32. The edges are excellent from f/2.8 to f/8, very good at f/11 and f/16, fair at f/22 and soft at f/32.

In summary, this is a very sharp lens that performs to a very high standard throughout the range.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM MTF Charts

CA (Chromatic Aberration) is extremely well controlled at all focal lengths and is really very unlikely to be a problem. If further correction is required, then there are software solutions.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM Chromatic Aberration Charts

Distortion measures at -1.36% barrel at 70mm. At 100mm correction is virtually perfect, measuring -0.02% barrel. This changes to pincushion distortion as we zoom, measuring +0.72% at 135mm and +1.33% at 200mm. This is an excellent result.

Flare is not a problem, not having shown itself in even the most demanding backlit shots. The worst that was seen was a slight reduction in contrast when shooting against very severe backlighting.

The bokeh is highly impressive, being as smooth as silk. The quality of the out of focus areas in an image is quite beautifully rendered.

The claim for the stabiliser is 3.5 stops. A 4 stop advantage is realistic, depending of course on the situation and the individual photographer as well as the IS system.

We now look at vignetting and at 70mm wide open we see the corners -1.3 stops darker than the centre. This reduces to -0.9 at f/4, -0.7 at f/5.6 and -0.5 from f/8 onwards. At 100mm vignetting is -1.8 stops at f/2.8, reducing at f/4 to -1.5, at f/5.6 to -1.4, at f/11 to n-a.3 and then settling to around -1 stops from there onwards. At 135mm f/2.8 shows -1.8 stops, f/4 -1.5, f/5.6 -1.4, f/8 -1.3 and again -1 stops thereafter. Vignetting at 200mm is -1.8 stops at f/2.8, at f/4 reducing to -1.4, at f/5.6 -1.2, at f/8 -0.9 and thereafter -0.6 stops.

Overall, the lens acquits itself extremely well.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM Sample Photos

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM Aperture range