There are 4 lenses in Canon's 70-200mm range..

70-200mm f/4 L
70-200mm f/4 L IS
70-200mm f/2.8 L
70-200mm f/2.8 L IS

Forget about the USM for the time being, it comes with just about all of Canon's new lenses.

It depends on the kind of shooting you want to do, I will be honest and say that having IS on a lens is not terribly important. I have a couple of dozen lenses for various cameras in my collection and only one with IS. If you are shooting in good light then IS is not needed. If you are shooting short focal lengths then IS is not needed. Basically, photographers have done perfectly well without it for a very long time.

When buying a lens you should consider (before anything else in my opinion) the aperture. The two lenses in this collection are f/4 and f/2.8. The f/2.8 is a faster lens, is better in low light and it is also more expensive and a lot heavier. The f/4 is still fast, but if you were doing indoor shooting (say a basketball game) then it will not be as good as the f/2.8. When buying a lens you should consider the aperture (and focal length) first, I would rather have a wider aperture than IS in my lens any day of the week.

I think that if you are on a budget then you should consider the 70-200mm f/4 L. If you can stretch your budget then look at the 70-200mm f/2.8 L. The 70-200mm f/4 L IS is pretty close price wise to the 70-200mm f/2.8 L, I would rather take the wider aperture of the f/2.8 over the IS in the f/4.

I hope this hasn't been too confusing for you.. Here are reviews of all the lenses for you to have a look.

70-200mm f/4 L

http://the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-70-200mm-f-4.0-L-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

70-200mm f/4 L IS

http://the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-70-200mm-f-4.0-L-IS-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

70-200mm f/2.8 L

http://the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-70-200mm-f-2.8-L-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

70-200mm f/2.8 L IS

http://the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-70-200mm-f-2.8-L-IS-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

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