This may well be the best lens Canon have ever made.

When they retired the legendary 200mm f/1.8 L (because the production process was too environmentally unfriendly), Canon knew thay had a tough act to follow. But this lens certainly lives up to expectations.  It's awesome in every respect.  It's built like a tank; it's sharper than a sharp thing that's just been sharpened; the background blur is sensational; and the image stabilisation is so solid you can shoot hand-held down to around 1/5th of a second.  Unbelievable.

This has to be the ultimate lens for indoor sports, but if the focal length suits then it's equally good for outdoor sports, stage photography, weddings, portraits ... you name it, if you want 200mm then you can't do better than this lens.  We love it and you will too.

This lens works very well with Canon Extenders (teleconverters) and it will still deliver superb image quality. The 1.4x Extender makes it a 280mm f/2.8 lens and the 2x Extender makes it a 400mm f/4 lens; both of these combinations will autofocus on all EOS cameras.

Suggested extra: You might find the Manfrotto MN393 long lens bracket useful when mounting this lens on a monopod or tripod.