One of the camera lens purchases I've been holding back on was the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM. With Canon's new instant rebates, I felt the time was right to purchase it. Weighing in at 3.25 lbs, it's more than twice as heavy as my daytime walking lens, the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L USM IS, which weighs only 1.5 pounds. The camera body weighs about 2 pounds with the batterry loaded, so it's a bit over 5 pounds, with the center of gravity somewhere in the middle of the lens, so two hands are definitely required to keep it stable. It includes an image stabilizer, which then becomes invaluable if your hand strength isn't enough to keep the camera steady. Now all I need is to get the Canon 1.4x II Extender and I'd be set.
It definitely feels like a lens that I need to get used to lugging around and practice taking shots with. Convention season starts for me this weekend with Fanimecon (May 25 - 28), followed by Anime Expo (June 29 - July 2) before finally culminating in the big one -- San Diego Comic-Con (July 25 - July 29).
There are several other conventions in the Bay Area such as Baycon, which is more for Science Fiction authors and runs the same weekend as Fanimecon, Super-Con, which takes place the weekend afterwards, and is more centered on Comic Books, and Con X-Treme, which feels like a sci-fi convention for those who couldn't make it down to San Diego for the comic con.
