Has anyone put the 70-200 f/4L on the very lightweight bodies? Specifically, I have a EOS 300. Obviously it will be very front-heavy but I am considering buying the lens. Does anyone find the off-balance weight to detract too much from handling? The answer to the glaring question is I don't want to spend the money for an EOS 3 or 1 series right now and the features of the 30 don't make it worth the step up.

-- peter bg (pbartzgallag@macalester.edu), May 21, 2002

Answers

I have the 70-200/4L and although I primarily use an Elan IIe, I do have an old Rebel X that I just tried it out on. No problems with balance or handling at all. It actually balances quite nicely. The 70-200/4L is a fairly light lens. Solidly built, very sharp, and very light for this class of lens. You shouldn't have any problems at all.

And it does not make set-up front-heavy. Frankly, I've never quite understood that term. If you support the lens with your left hand and hold the camera grip with your right hand, everything balances out very nicely. I can even use the Rebel X with my much larger and heavier 100-400L IS without feeling like it is "front-heavy". The only way I would think it would feel front-heavy is if you had both hands gripping the camera body and nothing supporting the lens, but who the heck holds a camera like that?

-- Peter Phan (pphan01@hotmail.com), May 21, 2002.

I played around with the 70-200/4 mounted on an Elan 7 at a photo show last fall. I'd describe it as a handling dream - reasonably light, easy to carry, and well-balanced (like the other guy said, proper technique is to have your right hand on the body and your left hand supporting the lens) - plus the fact that the 70-200 doesn't change length when it zooms and focuses. The EOS 300 is lighter than the Elan 7 but not so much that it should make this combination unwieldy.

Go get the 70-200/4 - I'm sure you won't regret it.

-- Steve Dunn (steved@ussinc.com), May 22, 2002.

i second (or third) the others' suggestions. the f4 handled very nicely on my elan 7 while i had the f4. in fact, i have used several larger lenses on the elan 7, like the f2.8 version and the 180 macro, with no problem. in my experience, the larger the lens, the more likely i will hold the camera/lens combo by the lens. i find that being able to use light bodies with larger lenses is very ergonomical.

-- AC Gordon (cgordon@stx.rr.com), May 22, 2002.

How about the 70-200/2.8L on a Rebel 2000 (aka EOS 300)? I do so on occasions and have no problems. Probably because I use a tripod most of the time and the outfit balances fine. I would suggest you obtain a lens collar for the f/4 lens. It's not a good idea to have a fairly heavy lens hanging off a camera body unsupported, especially on a tripod.

If you support the weight of the camera/lens by the lens, there will be no problems at all.

-- Lee (Leemarthakiri@sport.rr.com), May 24, 2002.

I have a Rebel 2000 (EOS 300) with the 28-105 3.5/4.5 lens, which is 13 oz. I'm sure the 70-200 weighs more than that. With the 28-105 lens on the camera, it's a little front-heavy, and wants to tip down when I hold it. Since I've got large-ish hands, it's a little uncomfortable - the bottom corner of the camera is inside the palm of my right hand, and when I hold the camera with one hand, it digs into my palm. With the BP-200 battery pack, handling is much better.

-- Kurt Weiske (maildrop@kataan.org), May 25, 2002.

I own the 7e and 28-70L and 70-2004L...yes the balance probably isn't as centered as the 3 or 1V but it still feels very good in the hand...I would not consider buying the lens based on this one aspect alone...buy it..you'll love it!!

-- chuck lipton (chuxter31@adelphia.net), May 25, 2002.

I second the answer above to buy the collar for the lens. Get the black one for the 200mm instead of the dedicated white one. Much cheaper and fits perfect. Balance is definately much better on a tripod with the collar, especially if you use an extender and/or tubes.

As far as hand-holding, as long as your support the front with your left hand, it's not heavy at all!

All the best, Dan

-- Dan Shallenberger (dshallenberger@cinci.rr.com), May 25, 2002.