I just read the news of Canon’s latest two super telephoto lenses, the EF 200mm f/2L IS USM and the EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM. Both lenses will be shown off by Canon at PhotoPlus Expo from October 18 to 20.
I’ve been watching in the past few weeks as the old discontinued Canon EF 200 f/1.8 lens has been selling for upwards of $5000. The f/1.8 lens was discontinued due to a lack in popularity – it became uneconomical for Canon to continue producing it.
I have a feeling the new 200mm super telephoto from Canon will slightly kill the market for used f/1.8 versions. Expect to see a few put up for sale over the next few months, I’m expecting to see a steady price drop of the unit gradually falling to around the $3500 mark.
Not enough sales to keep the production running or may be it had to do with the by-products generated during the manufacturing since some of the elements contained lead (as in Pb, a heavy metal)?
Since it contained lead, the by-products (read: waste) will have to be contained and handled appropriately as it may harm the environment. Regardless, this lens has increased in value after it has been discontinued.
The 200mm f/2 IS looks the ticket for low light sports photographers, or event photographers who are constantly shooting in dimly lit halls like Duncan Davidson. It’s already playing in my mind if he’ll purchase this and have it take over the majority of his workload the 70-200 cops week in week out.
The pricing for the 200mm f/2 IS is currently speculated by POTN forum members at around $3500 USD – sitting just below the price of the 300mm f/2.8 IS. However we won’t know this officially for a while.
One thing we do know is this lens will be worth waiting for if it’s anything close in IQ to the f/1.8. Lustworthy is the way to put it.