Sharp wide open with a unique look of soft background and compressed perspective that cannot be achieved by another lens. An 85mm f1.2 will give the soft background but it will not give the compression that is so attractive in dreamy portraits. A unique lens for a unique lens.

To me, the CANON 200MM F2 has always been a Holy Grail sort of lens, that you often heard of but rarely seen. As a professional portrait and wedding photographer it has been a lens i have coverted for a very long time.

Durable; Full metal construction; Great Features; Great Picture Quality

Bulky; Super expensive

If "Bokeh" and "Crisp" images you are after, then this is the lens for you. I have had the pleasure of comparing this lens to the monster 85 F/1.2L, both lens deliver superb result, however, there is something extraordinary about the 200 F2L, to me that have to be the crisp images produced.

If you watched any broadcasts of the Beijing Olympics you probably saw photographers with Canon's large, ultra-fast telephoto prime lenses, which are purpose-designed to provide pin-sharp images in low light levels.

The Canon EF 200mm f/2L IS USM ($5,999 direct) is an incredibly sharp, and incredibly expensive, telephoto lens for Canon D-SLR cameras . It captures twice as much light as the other 200mm prime lens in Canon's lineup, the EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM ($819.99), a less-expensive lens that can focus just a...

Incredibly sharp from edge-to-edge; Wide aperture; Supports drop-in filters; Optically stabilized.

Very expensive; Limited close focus ability.

Gary Wolstenholme reviews this professional-grade 200mm f/2L IS USM telephoto lens from Canon.

Superb sharpness from maximum aperture; Virtually no CA; Virtually no distortion; Fast f/2 maximum aperture; Excellent build quality; Effective image stabiliser

Price puts this lens beyond the reach of many

I bought this lens because Canon (CPS) stopped servicing my original 200L 1.8 lens. I reluctantly sold the original 1.8 version and bought the 200L IS 2.0 in 2009. I used this lens for well over 2 years till I sold it. The 200L IS 2.0 is sharp and makes lovely pictures but... Let me explain.

Fast subject acquisition; great IS and great IQ

The magic of the 200L 1.8 is not here

The Canon EF 200mm f/2L IS USM ($5,999 direct)($5,699.00 at Amazon) is an incredibly sharp, and incredibly expensive, telephoto lens for Canon D-SLR cameras. It captures twice as much light as the other 200mm prime lens in Canon's lineup, the EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM ($819.99), a less-expensive lens that can focus just a bit closer, but lacks image stabilization. If you're considering purchasing or renting the EF 200mm f/2L IS USM for professional work you'll be happy to know that it's very sharp from edge to edge, even at f/2, which earns it our Editors' Choice award. The EF 200mm f/2L is big enough to ship with its own hard-shell carrying case. It measures 8.2 by 5 inches (HD) without its hood attached, and weighs in at 5.6 pounds. Attaching the hood extends the height by about 6 inches.  The front element is huge, but there's no filter thread; instead there's a rear drop-in filter holder that supports 52mm gelatin filters. A tripod collar is built into the lens; it can rotate fo...

The Canon EF 200mm f/2L IS USM is an ultra-sharp telephoto lens with an ambitious aperture. It's absurdly expensive, but also a top-performing optic.

Incredibly sharp from edge-to-edge; Wide aperture; Supports drop-in filters; Optically stabilized; Built-in tripod collar

Very expensive; Limited close focus ability; Heavy

The Canon EF 200mm f/2L IS USM ($5,999 direct) is an incredibly sharp, and incredibly expensive, telephoto lens for Canon D-SLR cameras. It captures twice as much light as the other 200mm prime lens in Canon's lineup, the EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM ($819.99), a less-expensive lens that can focus just a...

I had the joy of using this lens at a Canon training weekend that I went to through work and I really must say, I was impressed and taken aback by this lens. First of all, what would you use this lens for? Shooting fast moving objects would be the ideal.

Crisp clear lens; fast and accurate focusing

Heavy; the price