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Canon EF 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 USM II - Review / Lab Test Report |
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Lens Reviews -
Canon EOS (APS-C)
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Page 1 of 2
Review by Klaus Schroiff, published February 2007
Special thanks to Thomas Fall for providing this lens for testing!
Introduction
The Canon EF 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 USM II is typically sold as part of a two lens
kits with entry level DSLRs. However, it is also available separately
for about 180 €/US$. It is a full format lens but, as usual, we´ll
have a look how it performs on a 8mp APS-C DSLR where its
field-of-view is equivalent to 88-320mm.
The optical construction is made of 13 elements in 13 groups based on lead-free
glass. The rear group features an optimized coating to minimize the impact
of internal reflections.
The min. focus distance is 1.2m resulting is a max. object magnification of ~1:5 at 200mm.
The lens features 6 aperture blades. The filter size is 52mm.
The lens is very compact for tele lens with a size of 70x97mm and a weight of
just 310g.
The build quality of the lens is terrible - in comparison with a Coke PET bottle
the Coke shines in this respect. Ok, maybe not THAT bad but the plastic feels very
cheap and inner lens tube wobbles significantly. Canon didn´t even bother to implement
a focus ring nor a fluted front portion on the inner lens tube. The lens extends
during zooming and the front element rotates during focusing. On the positive side
the AF system is based on a micro-USM drive so it works very silent and relatively fast.
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