I've been shooting for about 4yrs now and while I'm definitely not a super seasoned professional, I can say that I have ample experience to offer some good insight about the equipment. I've had a 40D, 50D and am now shooting primarily with a full frame 5D Mark II.
One of my favorite lens is the Canon 70-200 f/2.8 L IS USM lens. I haven't had the need or urge to upgrade to the Mark II version of this lens yet, but I have been waiting for Canon release an L zoom lens that fills the gap my 70-200 and 100-400 so that I don't have to carry both... Anyone of these lens is already heavy enough, so to have to carry both is quite a duty in itself.
Pros:
Prior to this lens, my lens of choice for outdoor photography is my 70-200 f/2.8 lens, but the light weight, size and focal length makes me think twice before I leave the house when I only want to take one lens. If I know my destination has good lighting, I quite often take this lens over my fixed aperture lens. The added 100mm is a great add benefit within a zoom lens.
Overall build quality is superb, as to be expected of all L-series lenses.
Very sharp lens through almost the entire focal length. When compared to the 70-200, I do notice this lens to be a little softer wide open. Zoomed in say, past 100 or 120, the sharpness is on par w/ the 70-200.
Shorter barrel length makes it easy to carry within a toploader case. I was happy to see that I didn't have to buy a new case just for this lens. Again, in reference to the 70-200, I was able to re-use the toploader I used w/ that lens.
While I still try to limit my equipment in terms of exposure to rain & water, this lens is weather sealed compared to the non-L 70-300 lens. Its added comfort in case you HAVE to shoot in the wet or if you unexpectedly get caught in the rain.
I MUCH PREFER this lens' twist zoom (very smooth) over the shotgun style push/pull action of the 100-400 L lens. The zoom ring is smoooth and extends/retracts effortlessly, a welcome quality for a lens of this focal length and size.
Focus ring is also super smooth with little resistance as with most L series lens.
Cons:
I was a little disappointed to see that Canon did not include a tripod mounting ring. I understand that tripod mounts on a lens is most critical for heavy/large lens, but this is no small lens by any means and it definitely teeters on the edge of being a heavy lens. I would highly recommend getting the tripod mount for this lens so you don't stress the mount on your camera.
This lens is not compatible with any of Canon's lens extenders. It would have been great to convert this 70-300 to a 98-420, but as it turns out, the rear element is very shallow in relations to the mounting treads. This is where the shorter barrel is a negative for this lens.
Neutral/Overall thoughts:
I would have much much preferred to have the zoom ring as the inner ring in place of where the focus ring currently is. I would have to say though, having the zoom ring on the outside/end of the lens does offer a little better balance for the lens when you zoom out (barrel extends when you zoom).
I would say, if you already have a 70-200mm L f/2.8 lens, I would heavily recommend the consideration of a 1.4x extender over the purchase of this lens. Not only do you get the benefit of getting a fixed f/4.0 zoom lens after the extender, but you can save yourself the cost of buying another lens. The caveat to this tradeoff is that, w/ a f/2.8 + 1.4x extender, the weight is significantly greater than the 70-300 lens by itself. I haven't necessarily weighed it on a scale, but, the 70-200 f/2.8 + 1.4x extender feels about twice as heavy as the 70-300.
Using Canon provided specs, here are the weight comparisons:
70-300 f/4-5.6L IS:.......................... 2.31 lbs
70-200 f/2.8L IS:............................. 3.24 lbs
70-200 f/2.8L IS + 1.4x extender:...... 3.74 lbs
Overall, I have decided on keeping this lens mainly because of the versatility and the incredibly light weight and size. I can't wait for Canon to refine the well aged 100-400 L lens... I hope it happens soon...
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