Canon XT/XTi with 24-105 but how to check?

Chrissiebeez_NL

hey all!

i recently got a lucky break and may be buying my first DSLR this year. I've been looking to the 350D/XT or the new 400D mostly for its weight (girlfriend has to be able to hold it as well :lust), size, and overall good specs. I'll be using my camera for travel and outings mainly so i thought the 24-105 F4 L would be a nice (light) all-round lens to keep on my camera for most/all occasions. I've heard a lot of good things about this lens on Dgrin, but some mixed reviews on fredmiranda.com and photozone.de. there seem to be some bad copies about which demonstrate soft image quality, CA and vignetting (reportedly unheard of for this price (L) lens). Since it will be my first DSLR and i dont have any lenses to compare it with, how can i make sure i have a good copy of the lens besides trusting the salesman?

I currently own a Konica Minolta Z6 so probably even a bad copy would be an improvement IQ wise, but it would be sad to find out later it could be much sharper/better. :cry

any advise would be mucho apreciated!

p.s:

I have 2000 euro's top for camera and lenses but since i live in the netherlands, that money is very easily spend! (24-105 = 980 euro = 1300 dollar) so i want to get it right the first time if anyone knows a better setup, i'm all ears :ear

Terrence

Do some searches hear for focus testing and read up on the various methods. There is a subjective aspect to this too, so be mentally prepared. Shots I think are soft with my lenses look great to others.

Here are a few posts and sites to get you started. I've been reading these and trying some of the ideas and methods. I have not seen "THE" method for testing so far, but these have some good ideas.

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=14651&highlight=focus+test
http://www.hkdotnet.com/FrancisPhotographyChannel/AF_Test/
http://photo.net/learn/focustest/
http://www.focustestchart.com/chart.html

Also, the 24-105L is a lens I have seen nothing but raves about, so I am thinking the probability of a bad copy is low. Plus you have the return policy of a reputable store and Canon's warranty if you find problems soon after getting and testing it.

pathfinder

The 24-105 does vignette slightly at 24mm on a full frame camera, but this will not be seen with an APS-sensored camera. Great lens, but not very wide on a cropped sensor camera.

Glenn NK

This too is one of my lenses (just posted on the 17/55 thread).

When this lens first came out, there were the problems mentioned by the OP; Canon recalled them all, and made adjustments that cured the problems.

Recent copies of this lens (I bought mine in September 2006) are fine.

The comments by Terence are worth reading again - this is a very subjective area unless you go to great lengths to do rigourous testing.

There doesn't seem to be too many negative comments on this lens at PhotoZone.

http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/lenses/canon_24105_4_is/index.htm

They mention barrel distortion at the wide end - which is pretty common for zooms, particularly ones with a large range (105/24 = 4.375, quite high).

I've never seen any chromatic aberation in my lens - even though they mention it in the review.

Put it this way - I haven't seen many users complain about this lens.

The IS really works well - I frequently shoot at 1/15th second handheld.

Chrissiebeez_NL

wow thanks!
for all the replies!

The links look very handy to do some tests with. I guess you're right, if i buy it at a respected dealer and do some tests i can always bring it back if i dont like the result
maybe i'll par it with a 10-20 lens then ill have most covered for travel right?

If only i could buy in american stores, i could buy the whole set ánd get a ticket to india

ivar

Chrissiebeez_NL wrote:

for all the replies!

The links look very handy to do some tests with. I guess you're right, if i buy it at a respected dealer and do some tests i can always bring it back if i dont like the result
maybe i'll par it with a 10-20 lens then ill have most covered for travel right?

If only i could buy in american stores, i could buy the whole set ánd get a ticket to india

Hi Chris,

The 24-105 is great. I use one, and love it. 24mm is a little long on a crop body I've noticed, though. If you can get a 10-20 or 10-22 to go with it, that would be sweet I imagine.

If you're ever around Utrecht, let me know, and you can have a play with it.

Chrissiebeez_NL

ivar wrote:

Hi Chris,

The 24-105 is great. I use one, and love it. 24mm is a little long on a crop body I've noticed, though. If you can get a 10-20 or 10-22 to go with it, that would be sweet I imagine.

If you're ever around Utrecht, let me know, and you can have a play with it.

Hi Ivar!

that's very kind of you, and i'm sure i'll make use of your offer when it's definite i'll have the money to buy the lens. I'll let you know.