Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM Standard Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras Review
First impression: I was expecting this lens to be heavy because of all the whining about how heavy it is. It’s not heavy. It’s not even close to heavy. What’s heavy is this lens, with a 5d-II body, a battery grip, a 580-EX and a light sphere. And a second 5D-Mark II body with all that, plus a 70-200 2.8. That’s heavy.
If you are not prepared to do whatever it takes to get the best image possible, perhaps you should rent this lens first and see what you think of it’s weight. If you’re a pro, you know that pro level equipment is heavy because it is done right, and you’re used to dealing with that fact in the quest for image quality.
I’d like to address another point I see in the previous reviews. If you are a hobbyist or an amateur who is only thinking about buying this lens because you can afford it… don’t complain when you can’t use it with your on camera flash. It’s not designed for use with an on camera flash. It’s a professional lens, and professionals rarely if ever use an on camera flash. Why? Besides being sorely underpowered, an on camera flash is too close to the lens and gives horrid lighting and shadows. So if you get this lens, expect that you’ll be either using available light, or a real flash.
Okay, on to my review.
Well, it’s surprisingly light for all the complaining I read about it being heavy. I’m not a very big guy, either.
It feels solid, but don’t equate that with “heavy”. Focus ring and zoom ring are very smooth on mine, but the 24-28mm range seems a bit more resistant. I am finding that it’s confusing to me which ring is which after using the 28-135 for so long because the focus ring is where the zoom ring used to be, and the zoom ring is significantly smaller. Now the zoom ring is close to the camera and smaller, and it’s slightly awkward to zoom. I used to be able to hold the camera body with my right hand and hold the lens with my left, and zoom from this position. Now I cannot zoom from a lens holding position (beneath the lens) and must switch to an overhand position to zoom, which defeats the support and puts added stress on my right wrist and forearm. I’m sure I’ll get used to it, but that’s probably going to smart once I start shooing weddings again.
Indoors, I was getting shots I simply could not believe using my standard wedding photography settings – not because it was so sharp (more on that in a bit) but because these settings produced EXACTLY what I saw with my own eyes, in camera, regardless of light. I mean EXACTLY… even when I was shooting a window in a dark room. Even when I was shooting in the dark room with nothing bright in the scene. I was stunned, because usually I have to constantly fiddle with the exposure compensation to get this result. Somehow, this lens paired with this camera body seems to be more intelligent with regards to this consideration. It does require some fiddling occasionally, but a standard -2/3rds compensation seems to work wonders indoors with no flash — perhaps it’s just that this lens isn’t struggling, as my 28-135 used to.
It quickly became apparent that I have a sharp copy because even magnified as much as my camera can magnify, the results are noticeably sharper than my best day with the 28-135. I can count blades of grass across the street, see power lines in the distance that escape my eyes, differentiate the stones in a wall a mile and a quarter away, and read the labels of small bottles across the room, by ambient light.
Testing showed that this lens resolves such fine detail that ISO really affects the sharpness of the results. I’m shooting at 2.8/ISO 2000 in this dim room, and it’s bringing the IQ down to about the level of my 28-135. However, when I use my 580-EX II with a light sphere attached, I can see the pores on people’s faces clearly in the resulting images shot from several feet away. Individual eyebrow hairs are also clearly present and separated from each other.
Out in the garden, shooting in overcast conditions, I set my camera to 1/80th, Tv, auto-ISO and a -1 exposure compensation. The resulting images are so vibrant that I can’t believe my eyes. Saturation, contrast and color accuracy are insane. It chose an aperture of f/4, though, which didn’t give me much DOF to work with… but wow. I then turned my attention to a car a block over, and was able to read 4/6ths of the license plate letters in the magnified image. I could not even see the license plate with my naked eyes (and with glasses, I have 20/20 vision)!
I spent many years wishing I could afford an L lens. Now that I have one, I have absolutely no regrets spending that kind of money on this lens. If I didn’t want the best, I’d have bought something else. Now I can rest assured that any mistakes are mine, and not the camera or the lens. It’s going be good for keeping me on my toes.
Auto focus is very fast and very accurate, nearly instant but not necessarily dead-on. What I mean by that is, it jumps to the focus point and then makes one minor adjustment. This all takes about a fifth of a second in most lighting conditions. Focus is very accurate as far as I can tell so far. It managed to find focus in about half a second in a room that was darker than I have ever been able to focus in by ambient light, on a dark subject. I’m impressed!
Image stabilization: It would be nice, but I’m not missing it. I only used it on my 28-135 when the lens was unable to keep up with lighting conditions, an I don’t see myself having too much trouble with that. I shot some portraits by ambient light in a dimly lit restaurant and was doing spot on exposure at f/3.2, 1/80, ISO 2000-3200. Not the largest DOF, and not the least possible noise, but the shots are quite usable. It seems that this will allow me to work in most situations without having to use a flash, as long as I am careful about the plane of focus and the DOF.
So far, I am very impressed overall, and I can feel myself falling in love. The real test will come when I have more time to hammer this baby and see what she’s really capable of, and when I have had some time to do that, I’ll update my review here.
So far: 4.9 out of 5 stars. (I’m finding the zoom ring placement isn’t quite as easily accessed as I would like right now.)
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM Standard Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras Feature
- EF mount; standard zoom lens; Comes with Lens Cap E77U, Rear Lens Cap, Lens Hood EW-83F, Soft Lens Case 1219.
- Ultra-low Dispersion glass with Fluorite elements; inner focusing ring; full-time manual focus; aspherical lens
- 24-70mm focal length
- f/2.8 constant maximum aperture
- UltraSonic Motor (USM) AF actuator
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM Standard Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras Overview
MODEL- 8014A002 VENDOR- CANON
FEATURES- EF 2470mm f/2.8L USM Lens
This new lens does what many pros throught could not be done-
replace the previous L-series 2870 f/2.8 lens with something even
better. Extended coverage to an ultra-wide angle 24mm makes it
ideal for digital as well as film shooters and the optics are even
better than before with two Aspherical elements and a totally new
UD glass element. It is now sealed and gasketed against dust and
moisture and a new processing unit makes the AF faster than ever.
— SPECIFICATIONs ————————————-
Focal Length & Maximum Aperture: 24-70mm 1:2.8
Lens Construction : 16 elements in 13 groups
Diagonal Angle of View : 74 degrees – 29 degrees
Focus Adjustment : Front-focusing method
Closest Focusing Distance : 0.38m/1.25 ft.
Zoom System : Rotating type
Filter Size : 77mm
Max. Diameter x Length Weight : 3.3″ x 4.9″ 2.1 lbs.
MANUFACTURER WARRANTY: 1 YEAR LIM
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM Standard Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras Specifications
The Canon EF 24-70mm standard zoom lens does what many pros thought couldn’t be done–it replaces the L-series 28-70mm f/2.8 lens with something even better. The lens offers extended coverage to an ultra-wide-angle 24mm, making it ideal for digital as well as film shooters. The new processing unit, meanwhile, makes the autofocus (AF) faster than ever. And thanks to the two aspherical elements and a totally new UD glass element, the optics are far superior to the earlier lens. Sealed and gasketed against dust and moisture, the EF 24-70mm lens carries a one-year warranty.
- Focal length: 24-70mm
- Maximum aperture: 1:2.8
- Lens construction: 16 elements in 13 groups
- Diagonal angle of view: 74 to 29 degrees
- Focus adjustment: Front-focusing method
- Closest focusing distance: 1.25 feet
- Zoom system: Rotating type
- Filter size: 77mm
- Dimensions: 3.3 inches in diameter, 4.9 inches long
- Weight: 2.1 pounds
Customer Reviews
BUY IT! – Michael Jones – Austin TX
I sat on the fence for about a month battling between the 24-105mm L and the 24-70. After countless hours of deliberation, I came to the conclusion that the 1 stop was def worth it over the additional 30mm. I was also concerned, that I had spoiled my self with my 50mm 1.4 I’d been shooting with (exclusively) since I purchased my 7D. I cannot make it any clearer that the difference in contrast, saturation and clarity are night and day compared to my prime. Get this lens, you will NOT regret it! The moment your images start to hit film, you’ll be floored how truly “special” these L lenses are!
Next up Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM
The perfect lens! – R. Jones – boston
I just pulled it out of the box yesterday and shot a fairly large event today and it performed wonderfully! I generally prefer shooting with my 17-40L f4 lens but if I need to shoot people, I have to move so forward that it often makes them uncomfortable. The 27-70 f2.8 is just the right zoom for everyday, event, portrait, any use. It’s heavy, and has a robust look and a feel of high quality and precision. It’s just so darn expensive! Worth it though!?
Attention grabber – Kent – Irvine, CA
This lense is an attention grabber when you have the lense hood on. I find people stare at it as I walk by. It is also very intimidating to people passing by. The quality and speed of this lense is phenomenal. The weight as others have mentioned is a negative factor. I find that carrying this all day attached to my 50D causes side aches the next day. This is the primary lense on my camera eventhough it is heavy. I tend to either shoot at 24mm or 70mm, rarely in between.
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jun 30, 2010 09:12:18
