Seven frames with EF 50-200mm f/3.5-4.5 L

 Finally, we got some sunshine in this corner of the world. I finished work earlier so I could test my recently purchased Canon EF 50-200mm f/3.5-4.5 L lens. This time, I chose the Canon R6 as the camera body.

Canon EF 50-200mm f/3.5-4.5 L

To my disappointment, I quickly realized that the lens hood I have for the 'standard version' of the Canon EF 50-200mm f/3.5-4.5 doesn’t fit this L-series lens, even though the two lenses look very similar. So, I headed out into the sunny weather without a lens hood— lens flare incoming!

With the help of an adapter, it snaps perfectly onto the R6. It’s fun—and a real win for us consumers—that I can use a 1988 lens on a 2020 camera without any compatibility issues. And as a bonus, IBIS works with these older lenses on newer camera bodies!

EF 50-200mm f/3.5-4.5 L @ 200mm f/6.3

Of course, the camera doesn’t offer any CA or vignetting corrections for this lens (or really for any of these older EF lenses). Also, Lightroom doesn’t have any built-in corrections for this particular lens. But then again, that’s not too surprising—after all, as far as I know, this is quite a rare piece of Canon’s L-series glass.

There’s definitely a need for corrections, as the lens seems to vignette quite noticeably on a full-frame camera, regardless of the focal length. On the plus side, all of this can be corrected in Lightroom during post-processing. However, you do have to adjust the vignette correction slider quite a lot to get a good result.

EF 50-200mm f/3.5-4.5 L @ 50mm f/3.5

The lens is of the push-pull type; some like it, some don't. Personally, I don't see any problem with it, and I’ve never chosen my favorite focusing or zooming method. This is a product of its time and was a typical solution back then. The lens also lacks any weather sealing and is generally more minimalistic compared to newer L-series lenses.

However, there is a three-position switch to select the focusing mode: from macro to infinity, from 1.5 meters to infinity, and manual focus. As for manual focus, well, how should I put it nicely… it’s pretty awful, but I guess it’s better than nothing.

EF 50-200mm f/3.5-4.5 L @ 75mm f/3.5

The autofocus is slow, but at least on the R6, it's accurate. I've noticed that these older lenses focus much more precisely with newer mirrorless bodies. Unfortunately, the new bodies don’t improve the speed, as the lens's AFD motor is outdated and can't compare to any of the newer systems.

I tried several focus mode options on the camera, but I found that this particular lens works best with the single-point focus method. If you choose a more advanced option, the lens might start "hunting" back and forth if the subject is a complex object.

EF 50-200mm f/3.5-4.5 L @ 200mm f/4.5

As for the lens's sharpness, it's a bit soft at its widest aperture at the short end, and I had to reduce chromatic aberration by seven stops in Lightroom (yikes). However, the CA did clean up really nicely in post-processing. The sharpness improves quickly when you stop down the aperture. The photos are still definitely publishable as they are.

EF 50-200mm f/3.5-4.5 L @ 200mm f/4.5

If you shoot only at full aperture, the image improves as you zoom in with the lens. For example, at 200mm at full aperture (f/4.5), the image is already sharp, and chromatic aberration is practically nonexistent. I’m usually used to the image quality degrading when zooming with old zoom lenses, but this lens does everything the opposite!

EF 50-200mm f/3.5-4.5 L @ 90mm f/4

Although the minimum focusing distance is quite limited on this lens, I really enjoyed using it to capture small details in nature. At 200mm, you can beautifully emphasize individual elements, and the background softens nicely. The bokeh it produces is, in my opinion, very "organic" and pleasing to the eye.

EF 50-200mm f/3.5-4.5 L @ 200mm f/9

And yes, here are seven shots from my first short photo walk with the lens mentioned in the title. I really liked it because it combines excellent image quality with a convenient focal length range in a lightweight package. I think the focal length range is so handy that Canon could release an updated version of this lens, perhaps with a fixed aperture like f/2.8.

I’ll definitely be writing more about this objective later,  these are just the first impressions. First impressions that were so good, in fact, that this lens definitely needs more outdoor testing!

Sincerely -TS