Conclusion

The new EF 70-200mm F2.8L IS III USM is a rather modest update of Canon's venerable 70-200mm F2.8 lens for professional users, replacing the 9 year old Mark II version by introducing a small number of minor improvements, most notably new lens coatings to help reduce flare/ghosting and to assist with keeping the lens clean.

So while there's little reason for owners of the previous version to rush out and buy this new edition, any Canon owner looking for a great 70-200mm F2.8 lens should definitely add the Mark III to their shopping list.

Having said that, the third-party alternatives from the likes of Tamron and particularly Sigma have certainly narrowed the gap to Canon's flagship lens, especially the Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM Sports that we recently reviewed.

Although bigger and heavier than the Canon EF 70-200mm F2.8L IS III USM (and most other comparable lenses), the Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 Sports offers fantastic sharpness and image quality, great build quality, and outstanding feature set and performance, all at a much cheaper price than Canon's new lens, which in our view currently makes it the 70-200mm F2.8 lens to beat.

If you want to stick with the first-party option, though (and potentially benefit from a better resale value in the future), then you certainly won't go wrong with the EF 70-200mm F2.8L IS III USM, which offers better all-round optical performance than its predecessor thanks to the new lens coatings, whilst delivering the same feature-set and build quality.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4.5
Features	4.5
Ease-of-use	4.5
Image quality	5
Value for money	4