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Archive 2017 · Canon 24-85 redux

  
 
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Canon 24-85 redux


Am I crazy?
http://pp.vk.me/c636321/v636321358/4a8b9/LZh6eQHiuic.jpg

Ever since I gave my old black 24-85 to a friend (so she could start her full-frame system, as she has bought a 5D Mark III but had very little in the way of lenses) I was thinking of getting another one. I've heard the rumors about the silver lens being "better" and while there's no real evidence supporting that claim, at least it looks much cooler.

Last time I had that itch, I was even thinking of ordering one on KEH. The high price of shipping ($60 on top of the lens price of $175) gave me pause and then the sole silver unit they had went out of stock. But when I was perusing the national online classified service for anything of interest (I'm doing this once in a blue moon) I found an unbelievably cheap sample on sale locally... and it was in silver (a few black ones are/were also being sold).

Resistance was thus futile... An equivalent of $85~90 netted me a lens but without any accessories like hood or box sold by a couple of "barely-legal" girls. Most likely the lens was pulled out of a film camera kit. Testing showed it to be adequately sharp. I'll give it a workout soon - when I had the old (black) 24-85 from 2010 to 2015, I kind of liked its performance. Let's see if the new copy is up to that standard...



Feb 18, 2017 at 10:19 AM
OntheRez
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Canon 24-85 redux


At ≈ $90 USD, it's a cheap crazy so I'd be interested. Can't imagine changing the lens color would make any difference, but <shrug> who knows.

Let us know if you've found the holy grail

Robert



Feb 18, 2017 at 12:11 PM
artificialyello
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Canon 24-85 redux


Sure white, err silver is better! It's just that the black paint is cheaper and that's why silver, err white is reserved for complex and expensive telephotos... Good luck, sharp in the middle IIRC. :-))


Feb 18, 2017 at 12:28 PM
Gochugogi
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Canon 24-85 redux


The 24-85 USM was my fav travel zoom in the 90s to mid 2000s. It was designed for the APS SLR and, indeed, was pretty sharp on my 10D, 20D and Rebel. Didn't try it on FF digital although it did a tour of duty on my Elan 7E.




Feb 18, 2017 at 01:17 PM
anscochrome
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Canon 24-85 redux


No, you are not:




Feb 18, 2017 at 01:38 PM
artificialyello
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Canon 24-85 redux


anscochrome wrote:
No, you are not:



YMMV of course:

pixelpeeper.com



Feb 18, 2017 at 02:23 PM
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Canon 24-85 redux


anscochrome wrote:
No, you are not:



Thanks for the cool review. It's pretty unexpected that the lens looks a lot better on FF than on APS-C (even comparing the centers). Maybe it's no good on a 5DSR but it'd make a good companion for a low megapixel body like the 6D, the 1DS Mark II or the 1D X. I can just imagine an 1D X owner wanting a compact walkaround zoom like that! (wait... that's what I've been using it for on my 1D cameras )

Speaking of compactness... I just about forgot how small it is. I think maybe the 24-70/4 L might've been envisioned as a spiritual successor of sorts, but it's just not comparable.



Feb 18, 2017 at 04:08 PM
stanj
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Canon 24-85 redux


Was my favorite lens when it came out in 94 or so.


Feb 18, 2017 at 04:38 PM
Jeff Nolten
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Canon 24-85 redux


Snopchenko wrote:
... a low megapixel body like the 6D...





Feb 18, 2017 at 04:56 PM
dhphoto
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Canon 24-85 redux


I use my (black) 24-85 on full frame all the time, if you use DLO in DPP or lens profiles in LR it works very well and is surprisingly sharp, apart from the extreme corners at 24mm

It's just a brilliant focal range in a small lens



Feb 19, 2017 at 04:13 AM
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Canon 24-85 redux


dhphoto wrote:
I use my (black) 24-85 on full frame all the time, if you use DLO in DPP or lens profiles in LR it works very well and is surprisingly sharp, apart from the extreme corners at 24mm

It's just a brilliant focal range in a small lens


Precisely. My experience has been that this lens punches well above its weight. It remains to be seen if this copy is going to perform as well as the first one had for me. (hmm... it becomes a tendency for me to re-buy the models that I had previously given away as presents - say, the Tamron 70-300).



Feb 19, 2017 at 04:44 AM
dhphoto
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Canon 24-85 redux


The other street-sleeper I like is the Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 Di which is very cheap, small and really pretty good, especially with lens profiles.


Feb 19, 2017 at 05:12 AM
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Canon 24-85 redux


dhphoto wrote:
The other street-sleeper I like is the Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 Di which is very cheap, small and really pretty good, especially with lens profiles.

I had a rebranded version of this one in my Minolta days and was pretty ambivalent about it.
BTW the 24-85 makes a good two-lens set with the Tamron 70-300. If only they had had the same filter size... (the 70-300 has 62mm filters).



Feb 19, 2017 at 05:56 AM
PetKal
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Canon 24-85 redux


I've almost lost count of various EF lenses I've owned, however out of all those I recall there have been only two which were decidedly poor in performance: an entry level 75-300mm and a black 24-85. The latter zoom's poor IQ had ushered my photography hobby into the ruinous realm of L spec lenses, the first one in my bag was 28-70L, and I was happy with that one. Then came 24-70L and so on. However, some people have obviously had more luck with the 24-85 than I did.


Feb 19, 2017 at 06:26 AM
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Canon 24-85 redux


PetKal wrote:
I've almost lost count of various EF lenses I've owned, however out of all those I recall there have been only two which were decidedly poor in performance: an entry level 75-300mm and a black 24-85. The latter zoom's poor IQ had ushered my photography hobby into the ruinous realm of L spec lenses, the first one in my bag was 28-70L, and I was happy with that one. Then came 24-70L and so on. However, some people have obviously had more luck with the 24-85 than I did.


The 75-300 is poor any way you slice it (I tried it once out of boredom) but my old 24-85 was surprisingly good. Maybe you had a poor copy.
A few shots from my old copy (it's now a little difficult to remember which photo is made with which lens, apart from looking inside the original file, but these are the ones definitely made with this lens, mostly on Canon 1D Mark II N body):
http://pp.vk.me/c621725/v621725358/58ff/T2p6qI4NI0w.jpg

http://pp.vk.me/c310524/v310524358/a4d/lN75arwP-AQ.jpg

http://pp.vk.me/c9297/v9297358/1461/SBavPAV6V0M.jpg

http://pp.vk.me/c320322/v320322358/86d7/QWJcc-uRFjo.jpg

http://pp.vk.me/c10602/u2066358/148517630/z_ed89baa3.jpg

http://pp.vk.me/c10602/u2066358/148517630/z_1721c560.jpg

http://pp.vk.me/c10914/u2066358/148517630/z_dab0e472.jpg

Edited by Guest on Feb 19, 2017 at 07:36 AM · View previous versions



Feb 19, 2017 at 07:25 AM
PetKal
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Canon 24-85 redux


That looks very good, Ilya.


Feb 19, 2017 at 07:35 AM
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Canon 24-85 redux


PetKal wrote:
That looks very good, Ilya.

Thank you. Now, the lens is nothing to write home about from the mechanical standpoint: it has stiff and uneven zooming and scratchy MF, but I hope to be able to do some decent work with this new copy.

After all, at $90(ish) it was a crazy good deal, too good to pass up. Funny that the next lens I'm thinking about is a Canon 100-400.



Feb 19, 2017 at 07:39 AM
artificialyello
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Canon 24-85 redux


Snopchenko wrote:
Thank you. Now, the lens is nothing to write home about from the mechanical standpoint: it has stiff and uneven zooming and scratchy MF, but I hope to be able to do some decent work with this new copy.

After all, at $90(ish) it was a crazy good deal, too good to pass up. Funny that the next lens I'm thinking about is a Canon 100-400.


Well if the price is right... Your pictures proved my "IIRC" corect though! Here's an old Photodo test. :-))

http://web.archive.org/web/20050403223248im_/http://193.14.88.41/pix/lens/mtf/CAEF24853545USM.gif



Feb 20, 2017 at 09:24 AM





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