Canon® Canon 500mm F/4L IS II

The Canon 500mm f/4L IS II is a premium supertelephoto lens designed for Canon EF mount cameras. Key features include:

• Increased image sharpness and reduced chromatic aberration

• Improved 4-stop, 3-mode image stabilization

• Electronic “power” focus

• 20% lighter than predecessor

The Canon 500mm f/4L IS II is the updated version of the highly popular Canon 500mm f/4L IS. It offers increased image sharpness and reduced chromatic aberration thanks to its redesigned fluorite optics.

It features an improved 4-stop image-stabilization system with an IS mode that only activates when you fully press the shutter button (useful for panning with fast-moving subjects). Additionally, it gains Canon’s Power Focus mode which serves as an electronic follow focus.

Canon has managed to shed 1.5 lbs from the 500mm f/4L IS II, while improving dust and water sealing, and repositioning buttons and switches for improved ergonomics and operation.
supertele supertelephoto

OK, so what we’re gonna do is take the best all-around supertelephoto lens made (the original Canon 500mm f/4L IS) and make it a little sharper. Then we’ll fill it with helium or something to make …

OK, so what we’re gonna do is take the best all-around supertelephoto lens made (the original Canon 500mm f/4L IS) and make it a little sharper. Then we’ll fill it with helium or something to make it 20% lighter while we do that. Let’s put in an extra stop or so of image stabilization while we’re mucking about. Oh, and we’ll design it so it loses almost no image quality with the .

Did they pull it off? Yep, absolutely. Is it better than the previous version? Yep, absolutely. Although in this case the differences are small and subtle. Is it worth the price difference? I’m not certain if it is in your case. For me? Well, all I can say is the weight difference is the difference in “I can handhold this with no problem if the light’s good” and “I can handhold this long enough to mount it to my tripod”. Sure, I should shoot it mounted to a nice sturdy tripod. But there’s nothing quite as sweet as walking up to someone straining to mount their lens on their tripod, pulling this up to my shoulder, taking a few shots and giving them that “poor girly-man weakling” look.
January, 2013