The best 70-200mm lenses offer a weather-proof design and fast aperture, with smaller, lighter bodies and built-in image stabilisation
The best 70-200mm lenses have traditionally offered a weather-proof design and fast aperture. But in recent years lens makers have refined these versatile optics with smaller, lighter bodies and built-in image stabilisation. These days, most manufacturers will offer a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens in a lightweight build with vibration reduction technology.
A 70-200mm lens is a versatile optic with uses for wildlife, wedding, sports, landscape and even portrait photographers. The option of having short, medium and long telephoto focal lengths in one lens with a fast constant aperture gives photographers so many creative options. Not only do they give you the reach to capture subjects from afar or hone in on details, but the best 70-200mm lenses offer a fast aperture that allow you to create shallow depth of field effects.
What is a 70-200mm lens good for?
One of the most useful benefits of a 70-200mm lens is its ability to give the effect of a compressed perspective. When shooting a portrait, for example, with your subject in the foreground, a 70-200mm lens appears to crunch the middle ground and bring your background further into the frame.
The 70-200mm focal range is also useful in so many disciplines of photography. It gets you closer to the action if shooting sport, or lets you hone in on interesting details in the landscape. What’s more, that focal range allows you to crop distracting elements out of your frame.
The rise of mirrorless cameras has also seen manufacturers develop lighter 70-200mm lens bodies with lens-equipped stabilisation, meaning you can now shoot more subjects handheld that weren’t as easy in the past.
