the images are so outstanding excelling in color, background blur, low light that I hardly notice the weight

For portraits, you get excellent bokeh at 200mm / f2.8 (the smooth background blur where your subject is in focus)For those upgrading from the original Canon EF 70-200mm

Background blur "bokeh" is pleasing (great for portraits)

Blurred, out-of-focus specular highlights are a little harsher in the mk II than in the mk I resulting in a background blur for portraits that isn't as smooth as in the mk I, but I tend to value the improved sharpness, contrast and IS moreso than I weigh the bokeh effect generated by the mk II lens.

IS lens may suffer from a little bit disadvantage in background blur.

zooming-AF Speed is superb, I use this also with canon EF 2x III extender and the speed is slightly reduced with the cost of 2 f stops, but I still like it use with the extender if I want to shoot beyond 200mm.-Filter size is 77mm-The foreground-background blur quality is simply amazing and you can't any better than this!

Third, the background blur isn't very pleasing; it has a concrete, harsh, gritty look to it.

Nice background blur - because of the long focal lengths and large maximum aperture, throwing things into soft focus in the background is one of the strengths of this lens

I suggest a B&W UV filter to protect the front

Now that the price has come down, about $130 from the original price, that should pay for a good B+W 77mm UVA (Ultra Violet

A B+W UV Haze Filter (77mm) is absolutely necessary to protect the lens element and please do not settle for a UV filter of lesser quality

The bokeh is OK but a little busy and not as smooth as with the legendary 135

at -5, there was a noticeable loss of detail; +0 to +5 are indistinguishable and as sharp as it gets.

The feel of the focus and zoom rings are about as "perfect" as it can get.

I'm mostly a portrait photographer (seniors and weddings) and it's great in the studio as well as in churches and other low-light areas.

Briefly, the newer features over the Mark 1 are: new fluorite elements - increased optical quality and reduced CA and less flare (as to whether that is that good or bad is subjective)

I agonized over the upgrade for as long as it took to save the money.

It is without a doubt as sharp as my f4 IS ever was.

It's as good as or better than my 16-35 on that point because the IS is so good.

I suggest a B&W UV filter to protect the front

Now that the price has come down, about $130 from the original price, that should pay for a good B+W 77mm UVA (Ultra Violet

A B+W UV Haze Filter (77mm) is absolutely necessary to protect the lens element and please do not settle for a UV filter of lesser quality

I am not too happy with the 24-70 L it lacks sharpness and color if I am any

L look somewhat soft, even after being micro-adjusted.

Solid build and a great "L" lens

Durable L quality

I have used and owned numerous Canon lenses, and this is the best L lens, and arguably the finest

I am a hobbyist photographer, and I wanted to see what the "L-Lens" hype was all about

well maybe a nice L 50mm)