The Canon EF 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 II USM
Lens is very light and compact, focuses fast, has a good
focal length range and is inexpensive.

There is a Canon Lens Chart floating around that lists the Canon EF 55-200mm
f/4.5-5.6 II USM Lens as weighing 3.4 lbs. I can assure you that a scale would
require many of them to reach this weight. This is a very light telephoto zoom
lens.

What you don’t get with this lens is good build quality. The Canon
EF 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 II USM Lens has a very plastic-like feel to it. No
distance window is provided. A plastic mount seals the low-end build quality
rating.

One of my favorite qualities of the Canon EF 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 II USM Lens is
its USM AF (Autofocus). It is fast and quiet. Well, at least the
motor is quiet. The lens elements make a “thunk” sound as they make a
poorly-damped stop in their focused position.

Although it has USM AF (Ultrasonic Motor autofocusing), the Canon EF 55-200mm
f/4.5-5.6 II USM Lens does not include FTM (Full Time Manual) focusing. In fact,
the 55-200 does not even include a manual focus ring. Manual focusing is
accomplished by turning the extending portion of the lens barrel after switching
the lens to manual focus. It works, but is not very nice - very cheap. To make
matters worse, the 55-200 extends during focusing. If you do not have the lens
retracted when it is removed from the camera, you must switch to MF and twist
the end of the lens barrel to fully retract it. Of course, you could just leave
it as it is.

The Canon EF 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 II USM Lens’ zoom ring is nicely sized and turns
easily.

From left to right in the picture above are the Canon EF 80-200mm f/4.5-5.6 II
Lens, the Canon EF 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 II USM Lens, the Canon EF 28-200mm
f/3.5-5.6 USM Lens, the Canon EF 100-300mm f/4.5-5.6 USM Lens and the Canon EF
70-200mm f/4 L USM Lens. The same lenses are pictured below extended to their
maximum length.

Like most of Canon’s consumer zoom lenses, the Canon EF 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 II
USM Lens is a slow lens with an aperture that starts at f/4.5, goes to
f/5 around 70mm and to f/5.6 around 100mm. A mid-lower end 6-blade aperture is
utilized in this lens.

The Canon EF 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 II USM Lens is not a good lens for close
subjects as it focuses no closer than 3.9′ for a low effective magnification of
.17x.

Overall, the Canon EF 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 II USM Lens is not a great performer
optically.

Sharpness is one of the disappointments with the Canon EF 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 II
USM Lens. Reasonable sharpness requires at least f/5.6 or f/8 at all focal
lengths. Vignetting is also noticeable until similarly stopped down - even on a
1.3x FOVCF body.

CA (Chromatic Aberration) is especially apparent on the long end of the focal
length range. The Canon EF 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 II USM Lens shows slight pin
cushion distortion at most focal lengths - again, even on a 1.3x FOVCF body.

If you have a Canon EF-S 18-55mm Lens and are very satisfied with its
performance, the Canon EF 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 II USM Lens might be a good
complement for it. If you are looking for top optical performance in a similar
focal length range, the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM Lens is excellent. The
optical quality and build quality difference is very noticeable - the price is
of course higher.