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Canon EF 24 105mm f 4 L IS USM Lens for Canon EOS SLR Cameras

The L-series is Canon’s flagship professional lens range, designed to include outstanding image performance, ultimate operability and weather resistance. The EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM offers a lightweight alternative to the renowned EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM. offers the highest possible optical quality with no change in aperture over the full focal range of the lens. This allows photographers to set exposure at the widest aperture and zoom all the way through to 105mm without having to vary the shutter speed. Image Stabilizer (IS) dramatically reduces image blur caused by camera shake. Gyro sensors detect unwanted vibrations, triggering the corresponding movement of a correcting lens group perpendicular to the optical axis. This alters the light path, returning the image to its correct position on the sensor or film plane. The 3 stop advantage means that photographers normally shooting a 105mm lens handheld at 1/125 sec can obtain a shake free result with a shutter speed as low as 1/15 sec, for vastly extended options in low light conditions. The ring-type USM motor found in the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM employs ultra-sonic frequency vibrations to drive auto focus with unrivalled speed and near-silent operation. A powerful CPU and improved AF algorithm contribute to speed performance. Good holding torque stops the lens with precision and accuracy, the instant it arrives at the correct focus point and without overshoot. Photographers can choose manual focus instantly and at any time simply by moving the manual focus ring without first having to switch out of auto focus mode. Circular aperture producing attractive background defocus Inner focusing, ring USM and new AF algorithms for fast and quiet autofocusing Manual focusing enabled even during AF mode (full-time mechanical manual focus) Only environmentally friendly lead-free glass used in lens construction Filter diameter 77 mm / Dimensions (dia x len)

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Great Lens
I am an amateur and this is my first L lens. If you could get only one lens, THIS is the one!

The pictures and videos look great.

4 Stars Great Everyday Lens
I had tried this lens first on the 5DMII and thought the IQ was terrific. I then tired it on the 40D and although not as great as on the 5DMII the difference from my non “L” lenses was appreciable. When I purchased my 7D I was hoping this was the kit lens so that I could take advantage of the discounted price, but unfortunately it wasn’t part of the package. I payed full price for it and that is my only complaint. The IQ doesn’t seem to be as good on the 7D (a cropped sensor) as is on the full frame 5DMII, but is still much better than the 17-55 mm that I used as my everyday lens for the 40D. For the price, I think it could have been better than an f/4.0 -especially for indoor low light situations. It’s quiet and focuses quickly. Overall, I think it’s a great lens and if you can swallow the price then you won’t regret getting it.

4 Stars Quality lens
Very good quality lens, feels solid and the picture quality is lovely.

Lens ships with UV filter, canon soft case and sun shield.

5 Stars Canon EF 24-70mm vs. 24-105mm IS: Read this if you are a hobbyist
I am a hobbyist and this review is for people like me. What I mean by that is that I take pictures for fun and nobody buys my pictures. I mostly shoot landscape, nature, and portraits of family, friends, and relatives. I will refer to 24-70mm as the 70, and the 24-105mm IS as the 105. I first made the mistake of buying the 70, then I returned it with a hefty restocking fee and bought the 105 – I don’t have the slightest regret and I could not be happier. I’m taking my time to write this review so that you can spend your hard earned money wisely. Let’s analyze the trade-off between the two:

* Both lenses have excellent build and image quality. So these are not differentiating factors.

* The one and only advantage of the 70 is the one smaller f-stop. For me, this means more blur when I shoot portraits, so this is all good.

* The advantage of 105 over the 70 are as follows:

- You get an extra 35mm, which is 50% more zoom. I like this.

- You get a 3-stop IS. For me, this is a great advantage, because I rarely use tripods and IS saves the day. I would choose the 105 over 70 for the IS alone.

- The 105 is 10 ounces lighter and close to half an inch shorter.

The last part is the most important part: that additional 10 ounces make a heavy lens TOO HEAVY, and that extra length makes a big lens TOO BIG. Carrying the 70 on my 50D was a pain. I can assure you, the 70 is just too heavy to walk around and take pictures for fun. The keyword here is “fun”. The 70 is a pain, the 105 is fun. The 105 is still heavy, but not too heavy. It’s still big, but not too big. After having the 70 for a few weeks, I lost all my joy for shooting. It just made me very uncomfortable (and I’m 6-foot 2). When I replaced it with the 105, it did make a difference. I enjoy taking pictures now, once again. Pros might like the 70 because they need it for their professional work. But if you’re shooting just for fun, stay away from the 70 and get the 105.

4 Stars Excellent All-Purpose Glass
When purchasing the Canon EOS 5D Mark II, I had the option of purchasing it with this lens as part of the package. The combined price represented a savings and the focal-length range of this lens offers a practical, wide selection of options.

The f/4.0 opening at first does not seem very “fast” but all my prime lenses are not much faster, and none of my vintage primes offer auto-focus and image stabilization. This combined with the extreme ISO range of the 5D Mark II renders the f/4.0 of little concern. I have not yet been in a situation where I could not make an image with this lens – even in near-darkness!

It’s a huge heavy lens, which means it’s not going to be as convenient as that little cigarette-pack-sized point-and-shoot 10x zoom, but if you place convenience over all, you probably aren’t in the market for this type of gear anyway. This is convenient in a different way – photographic flexibility, spanning ultra-wide to short telephoto.

As with all zoom lenses, there are compromises to be made. Not fast, not small, it’s also probably not as sharp as a fixed focal length lens. But add up the cost of a 24mm, 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, and 105mm, and see if perhaps the value of having them all in one lenses doesn’t tip the scale in favor of a lens perhaps not perfectly sharp, in favor of something you will likely be able to render many images without fumbling and breaking the bank.

And that’s not to say this lens is soft by any means. Sometimes I think all the hype about sharpness, beyond practical limits, is just one-upmanship. It’s the image that matters, and not everything is always sharp is it? I have uploaded some images to show the flexibility of this lens on the 5D Mark II, as employed by my eyes.

I find nothing yet to complain about!

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Nikon 24 70mm f 2 8G ED AF S Nikkor Wide Angle Zoom Lens

The fast, wide-angle to medium telephoto AF-S zoom lens from Nikon is optimized for edge-to-edge sharpness on both the Nikon FX (23.9 x 36mm) and DX-format image sensors, with focus as close as 14.9 inches. Enhanced optical formulas, engineered to produce exceptional sharpness, contrast and color, render outstanding image integrity, while two ED (Extra-low Dispersion) elements and PGM aspherical lenses futher control chromatic aberrations at even the widest aperture settings It has an exclusive Nano Crystal Coat to reduce ghosting and flare for even greater image clarity. The Nikon Silent Wave Motor (SWM) enables ultra high-speed autofocusing with exceptional accuracy and powerful, super-quiet operation, while the Internal Focus (IF) provides fast and quiet auto focusing without changing the length of the lens and M/A Focus Mode switch enables quick response to changing situations between Auto and Manual focus operation. With all these features, as well as an incredible resilience to dust, water and general wear and tear, the Nikon 24-70mmf/2.8G ED Lens is a welcome way to meet your telephotography needs. Internal Focus (IF) provides auto focusing without changing the length of the lens M/A Focus Mode switch enables quick changing between Auto and Manual focus operation.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Very pleased with this lens
I was frustrated with low light shooting situations, don’t care for flash much, so this was my choice. This lens is the one that just stays on my D5000 body. Travel shots, catching the grandkids at play or whatever, it is the most universal lens I could ask for. It is super fast to focus, produces razor sharp images and the weight helps steady things a bit. I also wanted the new 70-200mm F2.8, but I know I will do more shooting in this range than any other. I love it.

1 Star pronounced front focus on wide end
The copy of the Nikon 24-70 f2.8 lens that I received exhibited gross front focus. The front focus was so severe that no special testing was needed to see the effect. The problem started to decrease after approximately 36mm, but continued throughout the remainder of the focal length. Because the front focus was more pronounced toward the wide end and less severe at 70mm, the use of the fine tune feature in my D300 would only correct one end or the other. I took the lens to a local store and found the problem reproducible with a D300s body. Auto focus or manual focus gave the same results. The problem was the same irrespective of focus point used. I only tried the single shot method, as I rarely use the continuous shooting mode. I had back focus issues with two Canon 5D bodies and the Canon 24-70L f2.8 lens. After sending both bodies and the 24-70L lens to Canon repair facility several times and not getting the back focus issue resolved, I gave up on Canon and switched to Nikon. It has been an unhappy experience so far with Nikon. BTW, I have the LensAlign to test a lens for front/back focus. However, the problem with the Nikon lens was so severe that it was first easily observed in real world picture taking situation. I did use the LensAlign, which showed a front focus issue as well.

Update (December 14, 2009): The lens was exchanged. Unfortunately, the replacement lens was worse for front focus. Besides the D300 body that I own, I tried the replacement lens on two D700 bodies, one D200 body, and one D3 body. The front focus was present with all of the tested bodies. I own five other Nikon lenses and none exhibit front focus problem. One lens out of the five (50mm f1.4) does show ever-so-slight back focus. I also have an inexpensive 12-year old 24-135mm variable aperture third party lens. This lens is not as sharp as the Nikon lenses that I own, however, there are no focusing issues with this lens at all. A brief look at some of the forums online will show that this is not an isolated case. In the end, I would say that this lens is finely crafted and the zoom ring is silky smooth. It takes very sharp pictures, only the focus is about five feet in front of the target that is used to focus (16 feet away)! I have been a Nikon fan since the F3 body days. However, my one-star rating stands mainly due to the fact that this type of quality control is unacceptable in light of the relative cost of the optic.

4 Stars Fantastic, but watch out for quality control
I purchased this lens about 8 months ago. I shoot a D300 with grip. I have traveled to a variety of places and taken some amazing pictures with it. The lens is very versatile in a landscape and portrait setting. There are some times when I wish I was carrying a 14-24mm however, as a main lens for travel and portrait photography it’s fantastic. Additionally, the auto focus is quiet and precise when coupled with manual focus point use. The zoom is smooth and precise as well.

With all that said, there has been one inexcusable flaw and the subsequent fix for this was unacceptable.

After shooting a panorama at the top of a mountain at very small apertures, I found blemishes in all of the photos. It turns out that from the time that I purchased it to when I took those photos (about 1 week) some sort of internal material had collected on the inside of the rear element. As such I had about 60 photos that needed to be corrected.

Returning to the states, I was told that I would have to send the lens back to a processing center. This in my opinion is grudgingly acceptable, however the policy should have been to replace not repair. The final straw was being told to pay the return shipping and the packaging fee. After spending nearly $2,000 for a lens and finding a flaw the hard way, I would expect at the very least the burden would be on the manufacturer and/or supplier to correct their issue.

I purchased this product from Bromfield Camera Co. in Boston. I had hoped to support a local business, but it seems one simply pays more for the same level of service that you’d get from an online shop.

In closing, inspect the rear element before purchase and during early use – also, take a few blank shots of a white object at f/22 to see if there is an internal contamination for the first few weeks of use.

5 Stars Amazing — Sharp — Solid
I’ve owned this lens for about a month. I’ve owned lots of lenses. I’ve owned lots of SLR’s. Slid this baby onto my D700 when I got it and blew off several dozen frames. I immediately liked the feel in my hands. Solid. Smooth. A tank of a lens. Even the lens hood snaps into place with a definitive button snap. This shade won’t fall off accidentally. Everything was just right. Even comes with a belt/shoulder strap case should you ever make the mistake of taking this lens off the camera.

Turned on the camera and the lens springs to life. Shot several dozen frames around the building. Scenes that were pretty challenging. Hoped to find some meaningful improvements over the images I’ve been shooting. It feels good. Focus was snappy and amazingly quiet. Focus was precise. Focus was decisive. View finder was bright. Balance was very, very good. Burned off a few dozen frames and everything just felt right. Like it never had before.

Of course, the tale is not in the feel of the lens, but in the images. Popped the CF card into the computer tonight, fired up Capture NX2, and started loading images. Wow. I’m really taken aback. I really am.

The focus was sharp, sharp, sharp. After color-correcting for the poor/challenging lighting I had been in, the colors jumped to life. The details were razor. The textures velvety. The depth of field precise. The inflatable bags that had surrounded the box in the shipping carton were soft and cushy on the screen. The cardboard box was cold and cardboardy. The bar code label from the box stood out in gentle relief from the surface of the box. Droplets in a water bottle on the table were wet on the screen. Wow. Just “WOW.” What a joy this lens is already. Really. Really.

I’ve had the lens about a month now. Just got back from Phipps Conservatory where I shot most of the morning. This lens is fabulous. Razor sharp. Sharp, sharp, sharp. And the colors were deep and pure and vivid. No distortion at the corners. Depth of field was spot on.

I can’t recommend this lens enough. I’ve used higher end off brand lenses. And I’ve used lower end to mid Nikon. Always preferred the Nikon. They just worked well and created an image that looked real and consistent. But now… This is the lens. Just wow. If you’re on the fence, get off the fence. This is it. If your pictures aren’t what you’re looking for with this lens, it is not the lens.

4 Stars Great lens overall
This is not a 5 star for me. Here are the reasons: very heavy, no VR, and very expensive. For this price there should be VR, that is the biggest negative I can say about the lens. But if you want a top notch walking around lens with very good optics and zoom flexibility, then this fits the bill. To be honest a 50mm f1.4 lens is of the same quality or better sharpness-wise than this lens, but the 50mm gives you NO flexibility when shooting different things. Thats why I got this lens. In most other areas the 50mm f1.4 is better because it is much lighter, cheaper, and the much larger F stop kicks butt in low light which this lens just can’t match with f2.8. don’t get me wrong, f2.8 is great, but f1.4 is MUCH better for low light and backgound blur….but like I said there is zero flexibility with the 50mm lens. So it really depends on you if this 24-70 lens is right. I am going to keep and use my 24-70 all the time. It will probably be my main lens, but mostly for its 24-70 flexibility. If I just wanted pure clarity/sharpness and low light performance then a 50mm f1.4 is the lens to get. but we all know 1 lens is never the ultimate solution for everything. So check the 24-70 out and see if the weight is an issue or not. I can tell you on a D700 body with a SB800 flash this lens get VERY heavy VERY quick. That is not a “all day” walking around setup. So far sharpness has been on par with my prime 50mm, which is high praise. F2.8 is still pretty good for separation of subject from background. Overall a great lens. So good luck. Hope this helps.

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