canon 24-105L thoughts

Andy

lots of folks asking about this lens. here are some early comments:

• build - it feels like an L - solid, great feel
• weight - it's a tad heavier than 28-135i.s. - feels good on 5d, 20d, 1Ds Mark II
• zooming - it's not a push/pull but it does extend when it zooms. it does not rotate when zoomed, grad filters and c-pls will be fine.
• 24-105 focal range is convenient for most "everyday" applications. i used it on the soccer pitch, and for a portrait shoot.
• usm is nice and quiet
• the i.s. works as advertised. depending on how steady you are, you'll get at least two stops of help, and i've gotten as many as four stops worth of handholdability out of it.
• some think that f/4 is limiting - not for everday stuff - remember the i.s. will buy you a lot of light and if it's creamy-dreamy bokeh you're looking for, then this isn't your lens anyhow. the bokeh is pleasant.
• color is nice - saturation, contrast are L-like
• sharpness - i've done no tests other than standard shooting but i find it to be sharp when properly focused and exposed. the sweet spot for this glass is probably just inside of wide open and fully zoomed i.e. ~30-90mm. this does not mean that you can't / won't get sharp shots at 24mm or 105mm, i'm just reminding folks that, as with all zooms, there are compromises.
• ca - the lens performed for me very well in extreme, backlit high contrast situations - zero ca in fact. there was some color fringing in tree leaves distant, against a blue sky. this is easily corrected in ps - and can be further mitigated at shoot by stopping down more (i was not tripodded).

i think this lens is a keeper. it's the only zoom i own presently, and i'll hang onto it for a while i think. i suspect it'll be very useful in travel situations, where packing one lens instead of three is important.

hope this helps. i'll try to put up some example pics in this thread tomorrow. all of the 5D shots i've posted have been with this lens.

davev

andy wrote:

lots of folks asking about this lens. here are some early comments:

• some think that f/4 is limiting - not for everday stuff - remember the i.s. will buy you a lot of light and if it's creamy-dreamy bokeh you're looking for, then this isn't your lens anyhow. the bokeh is pleasant.

Thanks for the review Andy.
I'm a little confused by this part of it, and I'm not even sure how to word the
question.
If bokeh isn't Creamy, what is it?

Andy

davev wrote:

If bokeh isn't Creamy, what is it?

bokeh can be creamy-dreamy (like you get with some really fast lenses) or donutty, or all sorts of different shapes etc...

Techman1

Andy,

Thanks for the write-up regarding this lens. I look forward to seeing some of your samples from it soon.

Take care,

Fred

Andy

rutt

The obvious alternative is the 24-70 f/2.8L, which has been my choice for the "one lens" for walking around, portraits. It doesn't have the reach, but it is fast and also has a macro capability. Very good bokah (but not as good as the 70-200 f/2.8L or the fast primes.)

Andy, I'm sure you've owned this one, too. Care to comment?

rutt

Very nice use of backlighting on this one, BTW. Fill flash?

Andy

rutt wrote:

Very nice use of backlighting on this one, BTW. Fill flash?

nope, no fill flash. i use positive ec, i think 2/3s stop, and then bumped up his face in a 2nd raw conversion. lotta latitude with these files, eh rutt?

thanks for the comments

Andy

rutt wrote:

The obvious alternative is the 24-70 f/2.8L, which has been my choice for the "one lens" for walking around, portraits. It doesn't have the reach, but it is fast and also has a macro capability. Very good bokah (but not as good as the 70-200 f/2.8L or the fast primes.)

Andy, I'm sure you've owned this one, too. Care to comment?

:nono actually, believe it or not, i have *not* owned the 24-70L - ever. i've never even shot with one, iirc.

i can say, that the 24-105 is really useful, i just returned from new year's dinner at some good friends, and the lens came in really handy for grab shots at the party. indoors, low light, f/4 iso1600, iso3200. love the i.s.

ian408

andy wrote:

:nono actually, believe it or not, i have *not* owned the 24-70L - ever. i've never even shot with one, iirc.

i can say, that the 24-105 is really useful, i just returned from new year's dinner at some good friends, and the lens came in really handy for grab shots at the party. indoors, low light, f/4 iso1600, iso3200. love the i.s.

I think you might have shot with on in Sausilito? No?

Andy

ian408 wrote:

I think you might have shot with on in Sausilito? No?

maybe you're right, ian - i have a habit of grabbing OPL's