The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Canon 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM and the Tamron AF 55-200mm f4-5.6 II LD for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison
Size of a lens is an important deciding factor when comparing two lenses.Canon 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM is the longer of the two lenses at 193mm. The Tamron AF 55-200mm f4-5.6 II LD with a length of 83mm is 110mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Canon 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM also has a larger diameter of 94mm compared to Tamron AF 55-200mm f4-5.6 II LD's 72mm diameter.
Weight of a lens is as important as its external dimensions, especially if you are planning to hand hold your camera and lens combination for longer periods. Tamron AF 55-200mm f4-5.6 II LD weighs 300g, 81% (1290g) lighter than the Canon 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM's weight of 1590g.
Below you can find the dimension and weight table of the 'Telephoto Zoom Lenses in Canon EF Mount for size comparison purposes.
Telephoto Zoom Lenses in Canon EF Mount for Size Comparison
Lens Mounts
Both Canon 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM and Tamron AF 55-200mm f4-5.6 II LD has the same Canon EF lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Canon EF lenses are Canon 1D X III, Canon 6D MII and Canon 5D MIV.
Tamron AF 55-200mm f4-5.6 II LD is also available in Nikon F (DX) and Sony Alpha mounts.
Focal Range
Canon 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM has a focal range of 100-400mm and 4.0X zoom ratio . When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.6x crop, it provides an 35mm (FF) equivalent of 160 - 640mm.
Tamron AF 55-200mm f4-5.6 II LD has a focal range of 55-200mm and 3.6X zoom ratio which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of 88-320mm when used on a APS-C / DX format camera.